A COMMITMENT UNDER CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES: ANALYSING EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT DURING THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 IN THE UK

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed the worlds economies and brought more anxiety and uncertainty in Employment Relations. In response to the outbreak, governments have directed people to work from home if they can thus, minimum social interaction to reduce the spread of the virus. However, some people could not work from home because of the nature of their job. This study aimed to investigate Employee Commitment (EC) during the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK. Potential participants were invited through social media, and three individuals were selected at random to take part in a video interview via zoom technology. The data was processed into 3 case studies before analysing. The results indicated that employees are currently being pushed to work because they need to pay their household bills. Therefore the employees are displaying continuance commitment because of perceived costs or fear to be in debt if they leave the job. The COVID-19 outbreak has brought emotional challenges among the working population employees who can work are only doing so to support their families financially. Despite a small sample, this study concludes that employees lose their love of job when they are faced with high risks, such as COVID-19 virus. Also, employees during an emergency, such as coronavirus pandemic do not see going to work as an obligation. Therefore EC remains a volatile concept that can be affected by circumstances.