The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work environment: recommendations to Coca-Cola HBC for the way forward

Abstract

During the end of 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic had emerged, affecting the work environment in varying ways. Throughout the pandemic, the workforce has seen a significant impact with a substantial number of employees giving their resignation, giving rise to the term ‘Great Resignation’. Thereafter, recruitment practices have evolved and through the pandemic, online recruitment has become a new norm. Many companies have now incorporated online recruitment within their recruitment practices. Amongst the greatest impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the work environment was remote working, which has shown through research has posed both benefits and challenges to both employees and companies. While remote working has shown to possess advantages, it also carries with it several challenges which need to be taken into consideration by companies and employees when implemented. Additionally, the 4-day week is also another trend that the COVID-19 pandemic helped embed into companies’ culture. While employee well-being and work life balance have become more essential after the COVID-19 pandemic, the 4-day week has gained evermore value to both employees and employers. With that being said, both changes also have an impact on companies’ values which need to be adjusted in order to better suit the changes needed to adapt to the new needs derived from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the work environment has evolved, companies need to follow in order to best operate, as has been demonstrated by Coca-Cola global and more specifically Coca-Cola HBC. However, in the efforts to best accommodate the changes of the workforce, the relevant practices, found through research, should be implemented by Coca-Cola HBC.