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Social Sciences
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Challenges in Managing the Transition into Post-pandemic Work
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Challenges in Managing the Transition into Post-pandemic Work

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Work, Employment and the Labor Market".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2023) | Viewed by 5073

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Talia Esnard

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Behavioural Sciences, The University of West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
Interests: gender; work and organizations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions related to the changing dynamics and future of work. The acceleration of digital transformation and the mushrooming of e-commerce and artificial intelligence during this time (Lund et al., 2021; Khan et al., 2021) capture deepening trends and disruptions for work(ers). These patterns have centered discussions on changing production systems (Schumacher, Bildstein, and Bauernhansl, 2020), workflow processes and competencies (Fonseca and Picoto, 2020; Elia et al., 2020), and those on organizational structures, cultures, and relations of engagement (Goodchild, 2021; Norris, 2022; Reuschl, Deist, and Maalaoui, 2022). The rise of high-income jobs also raises more pointed questions on matters of access and equity, with concerns for the classed and gendered divisions of labor, a reality which has heightened the vulnerability of disadvantaged workers during the pandemic (Killewald and Gough, 2013; Rothwell, 2021; UNCTAD, 2021; World Bank, 2020). Nevertheless, the alienation of workers and the strains experienced by blue collar, informal, domestic, and healthcare workers during this time all signal a need to rethink worker engagement and wellbeing (Recchi et al., 2020; Lipman, 2021; Norris, 2022). Issues of worker livelihoods and social protection also unfold as urgent public policy agendas (Seemann et al., 2020), with ongoing calls for needed examinations of the challenges related to managing the transition into post-pandemic work.

Potential topics for this Special Issue therefore include but are not limited to:

  • Digital transformation and workforce readiness;  
  • Inclusivity, diversity, and upskilling;
  • E-commerce and the labor market;
  • Mental health and worker engagement;
  • Work life interface and motivation;
  • Worker wellbeing;
  • Precarity and worker protection;
  • Labor market shifts and social policy;
  • Worker retention post-COVID-19.

References

Elia, G., Margherita, G., and G. Passiante 2020. Digital entrepreneurial ecosystem: How digital technologies and collective intelligence are reshaping the entrepreneurial process. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119791.
Goodchild, L. 2021. Going Back to Office? 6tips to help you adkust. Ideas.Ted.Com. Accessed October 6, 2022. https://ideas.ted.com/going-back-to-the-office-6-tips-to-help-you-adjust/.
Fonseca, P. and W. Ng Picoto 2020. The competencies needed for digital transformation. Online Journal of Applied Knowledge Management. 8(2):53-70. 10.36965/OJAKM.2020.
Killewald, A., and M. Gough 2013. Does specialization explain marriage penalties and premiums? American Sociological Review,78(3):477–502.
Khan M, Mehran M. T., Haq Z. U., Ullah, Z., Naqvi, S. R., Ihsan, M., and H. Abbass 2021. Applications of artificial intelligence in COVID-19 pandemic: A comprehensive review. Expert Systems with Applications doi: 10.1016/j.eswa.2021.115695.
Lipman, J. 2021. The Pandemic Revealed How Much We Hate Our Jobs. Now We Have a Chance to Reinvent Work. Times 2030. Accessed October 6, 2022. https://time.com/6051955/work-after-covid-19/.
Lund, S., Madgavkar, A., Manyika, J., Smit, S., Ellingrud, K., and Roninson, Olivia. 2021. The Future of Work After COVID-19. McKinsey & Company. Accessed October 6, 2022. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-future-of-work-after-covid-19.
Norris, K. 2022. Helping People Return to Workplaces After Extended Periods Working at Home During COVID-19. Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance. Accessed October 6, 2022. https://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov.au/getmedia/954ab984-f614-4f9a-8858-8082bec6879c/Covid-guides-return-to-workplaces.pdf.
Recchi, E., Ferragina, E., Helmeid, E., Pauly, S., Safi, M., Sauger, N. et al. 2020. The eye of the hurricane paradox: an unexpected and unequal rise of well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown in France. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 68, 100508.
Reuschl, J. A., Deist, K. M. and A. Maalaoui. 2022. Digital transformation during a pandemic: Stretching the organizational elasticity, Journal of Business Research 144: 1320-1332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.088.
Rothwell, J. 2021. How Social Class Affects COVID-Related Layoffs Worldwide. The New York Times. Accessed October 6, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/upshot/covid-layoffs-worldwide.html.
Seemann, A., Becker, U., He, L., Hohnerlein, E. M. and Nikola Wilman 2021. Protecting livelihoods in the COVID-19 crisis: A comparative analysis of European labor market and social policies. Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Germany Global Social Policy 21(3) 550–568.
Schumacher, S., Bildstein, A., and Bauernhans, T. 2020. The Impact of the Digital Transformation on Lean Production Systems, Procedia CIRP, 93, 783-788, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.03.066.
UNCTAD 2021. Gender and unemployment: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. https://unctad.org/news/gender-and-unemployment-lessons-covid-19-pandemic.
World Bank 2020. Opinion: How COVID-19 Puts Women’s Housing, Land, and Property Rights at Risk https://news.trust.org/item/20200501162120-ciblo/.

Dr. Talia Esnard
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Post-COVID-19 work
  • Worker wellbeing
  • Precarity
  • Work
  • Social protection

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 513 KiB  
Article
Post-Pandemic Mental Health: Psychological Distress and Burnout Syndrome in Regular Basic Education Teachers
by Edwin Gustavo Estrada-Araoz, Judith Annie Bautista Quispe, Benjamin Velazco Reyes, Humberto Mamani Coaquira, Papa Pio Ascona Garcia and Yessenia Luz Arias Palomino
Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(5), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12050279 - 04 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1660
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of regular basic education teachers. Despite the fact that in recent months the number of infections has decreased significantly, the return to face-to-face classes is of great concern to teachers due to the adverse educational [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of regular basic education teachers. Despite the fact that in recent months the number of infections has decreased significantly, the return to face-to-face classes is of great concern to teachers due to the adverse educational context they must face. In this sense, the objective of this study was to determine whether or not psychological distress is significantly related to burnout syndrome in regular basic education teachers upon their return to face-to-face classes. This research employed a quantitative approach, the design was non-experimental, and the type of study was descriptive–correlational and cross-sectional. In total, 184 teachers participated and responded using the Psychological Distress Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which are instruments with adequate psychometric properties. The results indicated that 40.7% of the teachers had a moderate level of psychological distress, and 45.1% also had a moderate level of burnout syndrome. Likewise, it was found that the Pearson’s r correlation coefficient between the variables psychological distress and burnout syndrome was 0.752, and the p-value was below the level of significance (p < 0.05). It was concluded that there is a direct and significant relationship between psychological distress and burnout syndrome in regular basic education teachers upon their return to face-to-face classes. For this reason, it is suggested that the Ministry of Education should design policies that allow a reassessment of the work that teachers have been carrying out and that promote the implementation of preventive and corrective programs to improve their mental health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges in Managing the Transition into Post-pandemic Work)
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12 pages, 436 KiB  
Article
The Career Adaptability and Support Structures of Pilots Losing Medical Certification
by Trevis Kurukulaadithya, Rajeev Nair, Waqas Tariq, Jeremy Wall and John Rodwell
Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(4), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12040237 - 16 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1277
Abstract
The regulation of occupations such as aviation pilots can result in their facing the shock of losing their medical certification and thus, their license to work. What are the issues that these former pilots face upon losing their medical certification? The key issues [...] Read more.
The regulation of occupations such as aviation pilots can result in their facing the shock of losing their medical certification and thus, their license to work. What are the issues that these former pilots face upon losing their medical certification? The key issues may take the form of protean career characteristics and mechanisms such as identity, adaptability, and agency, which may help the individuals match to a new occupational environment. The method of convergent interviewing is used to inductively acquire the key common issues that arise when pilots lose their medical certification in Australia. The results indicate that the clarity and strength of the pilots’ sense of occupational identity may amplify the impact of the shock when that career is denied to them. The findings highlight the importance of adaptability, although the reliance on adaptability varies depending on the pathway chosen to respond to the shock. Those in situations with less adaptability, agency, or support may be most in need of career and mental health counseling. Support and adaptability may be particularly important for those facing career shocks in occupations with substantial investments in their career identity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges in Managing the Transition into Post-pandemic Work)
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12 pages, 306 KiB  
Article
Influence and Inequality: Worker Identities and Assessments of Influence over Workplace Decisions
by Cristen Dalessandro and Alexander Lovell
Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(4), 205; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12040205 - 31 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1601
Abstract
Though research shows that diversity and equity in the workplace lead to more innovation and other positive outcomes for organizations, businesses often struggle to accomplish their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Promoting employee voice is one strategy to support equity; however, employee perceptions [...] Read more.
Though research shows that diversity and equity in the workplace lead to more innovation and other positive outcomes for organizations, businesses often struggle to accomplish their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Promoting employee voice is one strategy to support equity; however, employee perceptions of who has a voice at work may be increasingly unbalanced in the post-2020 workplace. Thus, drawing from an original survey dataset of workers across 20 countries and regions (n = 9197), we use logistic regression to explore how sociodemographic characteristics and perceptions of inclusion at work predict whether participants believe they help influence important decisions at work (our measure of employee voice). Across our global sample, we found that although feelings of inclusion predict the perception that one has more voice, workers who belong to groups historically marginalized in the workplace due to gender, education level, compensation type, leadership status, and self-identified “minority” status report lower levels of agreement with the statement of voice. We conclude that while promoting feelings of inclusion is one strategy for achieving a greater diversity of employee voices at work, organizations should also take concrete steps (such as diversifying leadership) to reach equity more fully regarding voice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges in Managing the Transition into Post-pandemic Work)
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