The future of work post Covid-19: key perceived HR implications of hybrid workplaces in India

Abstract

PurposeHuman history observed an arduous time fighting the novel infectious respiratory disease Covid-19 coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, China and spread rapidly across the globe in 2020. Economies and the countries including India around the world experienced dismay with nationwide lockdowns and the fear of the unknowing. The unforeseen circumstances enforced immediate transitions in the organizations' work environment through remote working, digital infrastructure, online collaborations and new ways of interaction. The pandemic altered the workplace trajectories in lasting ways as the employees settled into a new routine of working from home more quickly than imagined. Now, as India and many other countries slowly move beyond the crisis, there exists a need to realize the implications of the pandemic on the workplace and articulate the future of work. This article, therefore, investigates the key perceived benefits and the HR implications of the new and emerging concept of hybrid workplaces and presents an HRM framework for their successful adoption in India. The findings may prove crucial in framing new workplace norms and shaping them. Moreover, this research would provide practitioners, policymakers, business leaders and HR professionals insights about the need to review the existing workplaces and successfully roll out hybrid work models in accordance with HR strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of Systematic Review of Literature (SLR) was adopted to study the key perceived benefits and the HR implications of hybrid workplaces.FindingsThe findings of the study would help business leaders, HR professionals, policymakers and researchers in developing HR policies and approaches for the adoption of the hybrid workplace as they chart the path toward the post-pandemic future.Research limitations/implicationsThe study stresses the HR implications of the future of work as the hybrid workplace paradigm evolves. The approach is explorative and would require quantitative validation in different sectors and countries.Originality/valueThe study makes a direct link between the hybrid workplaces and the impetus for the transformation of HR strategies. It also examines the changing role of the human resources (HR) functions and professionals after the pandemic.