Abstract:

As coronavirus reaches pandemic proportions, organisations globally are faced with navigating one of the most challenging economic situations seen, not just since the 2008 / 2009 financial crisis, but for a generation. With many countries in March 2020 closing borders; some sectors, including aviation, service and retail facing a slump in business with some having to place staff on temporary unpaid leave; other businesses face bankruptcy and immediate closure; all but pharmacies and food shops remaining open in some countries; mass gatherings being banned; national labour laws on the provision of sick pay and absence being hastily readjusted by governments; extensive travel restrictions put in place at short notice across the world and globally people infected by coronavirus (or having been in contact with an infected person) being told to self-isolate for up to 14 days or longer; stock markets reporting losses worse than those seen during the financial crises, and as such employers are having to rapidly reconsider their approach to how work is organised; how employees are managed and whether coming to work is even necessary in order to conduct business. As such businesses and organisations who can continue to function are looking to remote access for staff and options of working from home. While for many organisations and sectors, working remotely or having remote access is acceptable and well supported – for others with a culture of presenteeism, the reality is a much greater challenge as they consider the ‘how’ of remote and virtual working for the first time including issues regarding its infrastructure; data protection implications and importantly employee support, engagement and the need for, not just ongoing organisational learning in order to meet business needs, but rapid – nay immediate – relearning, education and development in order to cope, adjust and succeed in the new landscape of daily work and living. As such, this article proposes that simply having a portable device and good home broadband is not sufficient. Rather, having an appreciation of how long-term distance working affects people in different ways; the challenges as well as benefits it presents; the reshaping of how to manage staff – now virtually distant from you; performance and importantly continual learning and development all need to be re considered - rapidly. Therefore, this paper will examine the significant contribution which the extant literature on online learning can make during this global crises including the body of knowledge it presents in relation to how people engage with virtual learning approaches; the socio-demographic differences in how people view and engage with online learning technology; how to maintain quality standards when staff remain at home but are still required to uphold business practices; the etiquette of learning and doing business when using a web-cam; how people’s interpretation of a working day can be augmented within a virtual learning environment and how ‘isolation’ in such a virtual learning environment presents issues which have existed long before ‘self-isolation’ became part of our daily lexicon. As such this paper proposes that well established online learning practices can help. There is an antidote – online learning practices – fear not.

Keywords:

Online learning, organisational learning, pandemic, coronavirus, virtual learning, distance learning, human resources.