The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation across the world. Lives and jobs have been lost, the healthcare sector has been stretched thin, and a shared sense of loneliness and despair has rippled across the globe. Yet, as a community, we have not suffered equally.

When both the rich and the less privileged had to undergo lockdowns and fell ill last year, many thought that Covid-19 would serve as a much-needed equaliser. But as the crisis quickly unfolded, deep inequalities within our society were brought to light.

According to a survey by UK-based charity for children Save the Children, three in four households suffered declining income since the start of the pandemic, with 82 per cent of poorer households affected. Over 2 million households in the US also claimed they had insufficient food since the start of the pandemic.

While we as individuals have a part to play in helping to fight this burgeoning inequality, a 2020 commentary, Corona crisis and inequality: Why management research needs a societal turn, examines how organisations, too, can play a powerful role in making meaningful change, by pivoting existing practices.

Co-written by SMU Lee Kong Chian Fellow and Professor of Strategic Management Gokhan Ertug, the paper shares how practices like corporate social responsibility (CSR), work design, recruitment and selection, and compensation management can contribute to the normalisation, reinforcement and reduction of economic inequalities in society. The researchers hope that management scholars will delve deeper into such issues causing societal disparities, and for organisations to acknowledge their culpability in widening the socioeconomic chasm, as highlighted by Covid-19.

Importance of corporate social responsibility
The pandemic has put corporate giving to the test, as some business leaders may regard CSR a luxury that they could not afford in a time of crisis. For organisations that have upped their corporate social responsibility strategies – with many donating masks to hospitals and citizens – their efforts have been lauded, and rightly so. However, the commentary also questions the extent to which we should valorise such philanthropic efforts, especially in the context of the size and capacity of the organisation, and what more an organisation could do beyond merely utilising CSR as a convenient public relations exercise.

Recognising the rise of job inequalities
The pandemic has also shed light on job inequalities, and the varying effects on individuals depending on the type of jobs they hold. Essential work is often regarded by organisations as dispensable, and come with little employment rights and security. Such work is also usually performed by individuals who already fall in a precarious income group, with no safety net in terms of economic assistance or healthcare options if they lose their jobs or fall ill. The job roles of such essential workers lack the safety, flexibility, freedom and stability of other more “elite” occupations – some of which could be performed in the safety of one’s home.

Identifying bias in recruitment and selection

Class inequality is just one injustice brought to the forefront by the ongoing pandemic. Across the world, racial discrimination and hate crimes have spiked, with a rise in racism faced by individuals with an Asian appearance. Also noteworthy is the majority presence of women in frontline jobs, as well as the fact that all of the first 10 doctors in the UK who died treating Covid-19 patients were Black and ethnic minorities.

While seemingly unrelated, these demographic inequalities might reflect the “recruitment and selection practices of organisations that advantage candidates with demographic privilege and disadvantage the underprivileged”. Further study into the recruitment practices of organisations may be a useful first step in recognising prejudices and discriminations, before rectifying the rise in racial and gender discrimination in the workplace.

Examining compensation management
It is no secret that many lower-level employees do not receive critical non-financial compensation, such as health insurance or sick leaves. For example, only 30 per cent of the bottom 10 per cent wage earners in the US have paid sick leave benefits, compared to 93 per cent of the top 10 per cent earners. This is an especially dire problem in the midst of Covid-19, as those with lower socioeconomic status have higher rates of chronic health conditions, which in turn increases the risk of serious complications from coronavirus infection. Due to a lack of access to health coverage, and the increased risk of exposure arising from the nature of their jobs, the act of falling ill has much more severe repercussions on lower-income individuals than others.

There is no easy solution to addressing such inequalities at an organisational level, but corporations can start by recognising their role in normalising and reinforcing existing socioeconomic disparities – especially through their responses during a worldwide pandemic. The pandemic can also provide lessons to re-examine our combined efforts and drive efforts in new research, strategies and policies to study economic inequality, to create a better world and organisations for future generations.

Adapted from: https://engage.smu.edu.sg/management-practices-post-pandemic