Employment strategies in response to the first Covid lockdown: A typology of French workplaces

Abstract

This research connects the literature on crisis management and on firm flexibility to investigate human resource (HR) strategies in response to unexpected crises such as the Covid‐19 pandemic. Leveraging data from French workplaces we identify five main types of strategies implemented during the first lockdown, which go beyond the massive use of teleworking or the use of short‐time work. The analysis demonstrates that a combination of preexisting HR practices (teleworking agreements, wage levels, risk exposure, and health and safety committees) and public policies (short‐time programs, legislation on short‐time contracts, and temps) influences which of these five strategies firms adopt.