During the economy’s contraction, the demand for labor and the number of jobs decreases. Accordingly, the unemployment rate rises, competition between employees for jobs is growing, and it is easier for HR to find new employees. However, in the context of the contraction of the economy, the task is instead not to find new employees but to choose the right people who will be subject to reduction (Hooper et al., 2020). This task is not easy and requires careful employee productivity analysis. Inflation significantly affects the salary, which is a primary reward for work. A decrease in the purchasing value of money means the need to increase wages for employees, which is only sometimes possible due to a lack of company resources (Hooper et al., 2020). Companies must responsibly allocate their finances in stressful economic conditions to compensate for inflation.
The first two opposing factors reduce job satisfaction and employee productivity, which is also a problem for HR. Such a problem requires significant resources to overcome it. Team building, training, and extra-work interactions can increase job satisfaction and resume employee productivity (Clegg, 2019). Managers should remind employees of the value of their work so they can feel their own importance. Dealing with inflation and a shrinking economy leads to psychological burnout of employees, which means that their efficiency decreases in the long term (Clegg, 2019). HR should avoid workers’ burnout: partly, this task can be solved by eliminating the other three problems described above. Another way to reduce the risk of psychological burnout is the qualified distribution of employees between projects (Clegg, 2019). Changing the nature of work will avoid the adverse effects of psychological burnout.
Reference List
Clegg, S. R. (2019). Radical revisions: Power, discipline and organizations. Routledge.
Hooper, P., Mishkin, F. S., and Sufi, A. (2020). ‘Prospects for inflation in a high pressure economy: Is the Phillips curve dead or is it just hibernating?’, Research in Economics, 74(1), pp. 26-62.