HRM practices during the global recession (2008‐2010)

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate human resource management (HRM) practices adopted by firms during the recession period of 2008-2010, their impact on employees' happiness at work, and whether there are any differences by the size of the firm. Design/methodology/approach -Two survey questionnaires were developed for the study, one targeting non-managerial employees and the other targeting senior managers. Two random samples of non-managerial employees (n ¼ 263) and senior managers (n ¼ 76) attached fulltime to globally distributed software development firms in Sri Lanka responded. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple regression were used. Findings -It was found that reduction in financial rewards, reduction in benefits, and training and development provision significantly vary by the size of the firm. Further, the communication of information, performance management, reduction in financial rewards, and reduction in benefits significantly predict employees' happiness at work during recession.Research limitations/implications -The research was designed as a cross-sectional study employing survey methodology. Respondent senior managers were reluctant to provide actual data on layoffs and quits during the recession period. Practical implications -The findings of this study would contribute for practitioners to better understand the HRM practices adopted by the firms during recession and effects of these HRM practices on employees' level of happiness at work.

A Conceptual Framework of Power Outage, Global Economic Recession and Green Human Resources Management: A Palestinian Health Sector Perspective

“…Power outage was based on 6-items scales by Amadi (2015). The global economic recession was based on 7-items scales by Wickramasinghe and Perera (2012). GHRM practices was based on the 12-items scale by Mousa and Othman (2020).…”

Using Government Data and Machine Learning for Predicting Firms’ Vulnerability to Economic Crisis

“…Furthermore, during economic crises firms usually reduce capital investment in production equipment, ICT, buildings, etc., and also in product, service and process innovations; this reduces the degree of renewal and improvement of their equipment, products, services and operation, as well as the exploitation of emerging new technologies, which causes serious medium-and long-term consequences for their efficiency and competitiveness. Considerable research has been conducted concerning the negative impact of such recessionary economic crises on different aspects of firms' activities and performance, as well as the factors that affect the magnitude of this negative impact [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. It has concluded that the above negative consequences of the economic crises differ significantly among firms, and depend critically on their individual characteristics, such as their human and technological resources, their strategic orientations, etc.…”

The Relationship Between Gender and Promotion Over the Business Cycle: Does Firm Size Matter?

“…However, to survive during recession, all firms must find ways to reduce costs with strategies such as redundancy, recruitment and promotion freezes being common (Wickramasinghe and Perera, 2012). This reduction is expected to be greater within large firms, as their smaller counterparts typically have fewer employees whose roles are more likely to serve an essential function.…”