Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 May 2021
Pandemics have historically shaped the world of work in various ways. With COVID-19 presenting as a global pandemic, there is much speculation about the implications of this crisis for the future of work and for people working in organizations. In this article, we discuss 10 of the most relevant research and practice topics in the field of industrial and organizational psychology that will likely be strongly influenced by COVID-19. For each of these topics, the pandemic crisis is creating new work-related challenges, but it is also presenting various opportunities. The topics discussed herein include occupational health and safety, work–family issues, telecommuting, virtual teamwork, job insecurity, precarious work, leadership, human resources policy, the aging workforce, and careers. This article sets the stage for further discussion of various ways in which I-O psychology research and practice can address the issues that COVID-19 creates for work and organizational processes that are affecting workers now and will shape the future of work and organizations in both the short and long term. This article concludes by inviting I-O psychology researchers and practitioners to address the challenges and opportunities of COVID-19 head-on by proactively adapting the work that we do in support of workers, organizations, and society as a whole.
Cort W. Rudolph, Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA. Blake Allan, College of Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA. Malissa Clark, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. Guido Hertel, Department of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany. Andreas Hirschi, Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Florian Kunze, Chair for Organisational Studies, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany. Kristen Shockley, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. Mindy Shoss, Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA. Sabine Sonnentag, Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany. Hannes Zacher, Institute of Psychology–Wilhelm Wundt, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
Mindy Shoss’ contribution to this publication was supported by grant number T42OH008438, funded by the National Institute Occupational Safety and Health (NI-OSH) under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NI-OSH or CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services.
Author order was determined alphabetically (excluding the first author).