COVID-19 Impact on Employee Roles & Responsibilities within E&Y

This research report investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employee willingness to perform their roles and responsibilities within Ernst & Young (E&Y). It identifies challenges faced by employees, such as communication barriers, increased workload, and coordination issues. The study also examines E&Y's responses to mitigate these challenges, including training and development opportunities, online meetings, and maintaining communication hierarchies. Furthermore, the report analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on employee willingness, noting reduced interpersonal skills, minimized appraisal opportunities, and increased frustration. The research employs a positivism research philosophy and uses data analysis techniques to interpret findings and provide recommendations for improving employee engagement and productivity during and after the pandemic.

Research Project
(To identify the impact of COVID-19
on willingness of employee towards
performing their roles and
responsibilities within organisation. A
study on Ernst & Young)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Background to the study..............................................................................................................3
Research aim...............................................................................................................................3
Research objectives.....................................................................................................................3
Research questions......................................................................................................................4
Rationale for the research............................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................................................5
What are the challenges faced by employees during COVID-19 in executing their provided
roles and responsibilities within Ernst & Young........................................................................5
What is the response taken by Ernst & Young to mitigate the challenges faced by their
working employees in executing business functions during COVID-19. ..................................6
What is the impact of COVID-19 on employee willingness in executing their roles and
responsibilities in Ernst & Young...............................................................................................7
METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION...........................................................................8
DATA ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................11
Frequency distribution table......................................................................................................11
Data interpretation.....................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................................22
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................22
Recommendations.....................................................................................................................22
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................24
APPENDIX ...................................................................................................................................26
Questionnaire............................................................................................................................26

INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
The impact of global pandemic COVID-19 is high within the individual, organisation and
different industries. The COVID-19 has also impacted the working condition and willingness of
employees as there are various issues which are being faced by the employees during working
under this condition. An employee is regarded as the person those are executing their roles and
responsibilities within the organisation for the organisation (Tu, Li and Wang, 2021) . There are
different roles and responsibilities which are existed within an organisation and these are
required to be performed. Functions such as attending meetings, solving problems, decision
making and various others which are related with managing the business functions. The
pandemic situation has provided significant impact to the willingness of employees and in this
manner willingness has given influence over roles and responsibilities of the organisation. This is
stated that in order to retain employees the organisation is required to manage their business
functions and include employees in decision making. This is the situation at which organisation
is not able to retain their employees due to the situation of COVID-19. Due to COVID-19 the
employees are not willing to go to the office and because of this reason they are leaving jobs.
Under the current research, various aspects are added so that examination of employee
willingness can be provided (Narayanamurthy and Tortorella, 2021). The current research is
based on Ernst & Young which is an organisation providing professional services. This is one of
the biggest organisation which is headquartered in London, England. The company was founded
in 1989 in which the company is providing services related with assurance, tax advisory, digital
strategy, strategy consulting and legal services. In this manner the organisation is associated with
executing roles and duties as in context of sharing and change management.
Research aim
To identify the impact of COVID-19 on willingness of employee towards performing their roles
and responsibilities within organisation. A study on Ernst & Young
Research objectives
 To analyse the challenges faced by employees during COVID-19 in executing their
provided roles and responsibilities within Ernst & Young.

 To determine the response taken by Ernst & Young to mitigate the challenges faced by
their working employees in executing business functions during COVID-19.
 To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on employee willingness in executing their roles
and responsibilities in Ernst & Young.
Research questions
 What are the challenges faced by employees during COVID-19 in executing their
provided roles and responsibilities within Ernst & Young.
 What is the response taken by Ernst & Young to mitigate the challenges faced by their
working employees in executing business functions during COVID-19.
 What is the impact of COVID-19 on employee willingness in executing their roles and
responsibilities in Ernst & Young.
Rationale for the research
The main rational behind selection of this topic is associated with personal inclination of
research as the researcher was willing to gather knowledge in respect of employee willingness
and the manner in which roles and responsibilities are being performed by them (Mani and
Mishra, 2020). This research is playing essential role for stakeholders as the research will
develop sense of understanding within them. In the context of the organisation the information
can be beneficial for the organisation in making various decisions and developing succession
opportunities as well. The research is having dual perspective which are personal and
professional. In the context of personal perspective the research will enhance significant skills of
researcher such as research skills, IT skill, data collection skills, analytical skills and many
others. Researcher would be beneficiary as in using these developed skills in managing their
career (Das and Tiwari, 2021). In context of professional skills the research is going to assist the
researcher in managing their future researches in more appropriate manner.

LITERATURE REVIEW
What are the challenges faced by employees during COVID-19 in executing their provided roles
and responsibilities within Ernst & Young.
As per the viewpoint of Bartsch and et. al., (2020), there are various challenges which are
faced by company in COVID 19 while executing roles and responsibilities within an
organisation such as communication issues, work over time, coping with change and
unpredictability, employee productivity and many others.
Communication Barriers:
It is one of the challenge which is faced by employees while executing roles and
responsibilities within E&Y in COVID 19. Due to crisis, employees are not able to communicate
effectively due to which it becomes difficult to achieve the goals and objective of business. It is
important for the manager of E&Y to continue to update their staff regarding the changes
occurred in business activity (Mao and et. al., 2021). The management of E&Y must be
transparent so that employees can make decision and also give their productive output while
working in the tough time of COVID 19. Communication barrier can influence the morale and
motivation level of staff which creates an impact on the business performance.
Work over time:
Work over time is also a challenge which is faced by staff during COVID 19 in executing
given roles and responsibilities within organisation. In order to fulfil roles and responsibilities
employees of E&Y have to work over time which creates an impact on their performance and
productivity (Mao and et. al., 2021). By working over time, the health problems and safety risk
of employees increases. The over time work can decreases the productivity of employees and
also increases absenteeism due to which they are not able to give the valuable outcomes while
working in COVID 19.
Coordination and cooperation issues:
It is also a problem which is faced by employees in the tough time of COVID 19 while
executing roles and responsibilities within company. Due to COVID 19, there is no coordination
and cooperation within employees due to which it becomes difficult to accomplish the work
collectively. Staff of Ernst & Young are bot able to interact and communicate with each other in
effective manner which leads to poor productivity and performance (Cameron, Thomason and

Conzon, 2021). The differentiation in roles and responsibility of employees results in lack of
coordination and cooperation.
What is the response taken by Ernst & Young to mitigate the challenges faced by their working
employees in executing business functions during COVID-19.
As per the opinion of Iglesias-Pradas and et. al., (2021), there are various response taken
by Ernest and Young in order to overcome the challenges faced by employees while working in
pandemic such as training and development issues, conducting online meetings, focusing on
implementing management activities and also following the proper communication hierarchy.
Training and development opportunity:
It is one of the way through which company is focusing on reducing the challenges faced
by employees in COVID 19. Ernest and Young is offering training and development opportunity
on continuous basis in order to boost the motivation level of employees in the tough time of
crisis (Ecklebe and Löffler, 2021). Through conducting training and development sessions,
company can improve the performance of employees and also encourage them to give productive
output in COVID 19.
Conducting online meetings:
Conducting online meetings is also a response which is taken by Ernest and Young for
overcoming the challenges faced by employees while working in COVID 19. Through online
meetings, the staff of Ernest and Young can interact and communicate their problems in effective
manner (Rahman and et. al., 2020). While working from home there are various problems which
are faced by employees, so it is the responsibility of manager to conduct online meetings on
regular basis in order to discuss the work and problems.
Following proper communication hierarchy:
Following proper communication hierarchy is another way through which Ernest and
Young overcomes the problems faced by employees due to crisis. The manager of company
ensures that their must be proper communication hierarchy so that each employees get to know
their work and responsibility (Cheng, Hong and Zhong, 2021). Though proper communication
hierarchy, staff can communicate effectively and also work to accomplish the goals and objective
of Ernest and Young. It also helps in promoting motivation by clarifying and informing the staff
about the roles and responsibilities to be perform due to which their performance increases.

What is the impact of COVID-19 on employee willingness in executing their roles and
responsibilities in Ernst & Young
According to Singh and et. al., (2021), there is a great impact of COVID 19 on the
willingness of employees towards performing their roles and responsibilities in Ernest and
Young. Employees generally get rigid to work, it also minimised the interpersonal skills and
reduce the opportunity for appraisals. These impacts creates an influence on the productivity and
efficiency of employees.
Reduce interpersonal skills:
It is one of the impact which has been created on the willingness of employee towards
performing their roles and responsibility in COVID 19. The pandemic has created an impact on
the willingness of employees due to which their interpersonal skills gets influenced. When there
is lack of interpersonal skills among employees they work unharmoniously and inefficiently (Yu,
Park and Hyun, 2021). It is important for the staff to have good interpersonal skills so that they
can collectively work together in order to attain the vision and mission of organisation.
Minimise opportunity for appraisals:
Minimise opportunity for appraisals is another impact of COVID 19 on willingness of
employee towards performing their roles and responsibility in E&Y. The impact on the
willingness of staff can minimise the opportunity for appraisal (Vo-Thanh and et. al., 2021).
While working from home, the roles and responsibilities of employees gets influenced due to
which it minimises the opportunity for appraisals.
Increase frustration and patience level:
Due to COVID 19, employees work from home due to which they get frustrated and do
not have patience level to work effectively and give their productive output. When staff gets
frustrated with their work, it influences their performance from their previous performance. It is
important for the company to overcome the frustration and encourage them patiently so that they
work with stress free an fulfil their roles and responsibility in effective and efficient manner (Qiu
and et. al., 2021). In order to reduce the frustration of staff, it is necessary to interact with them
on regular basis and also discuss the issues which they face while working form home.

METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION
Research methodology is defined accumulation of such tools and process which are used
in order to get detailed information regarding the research topic. With the help of research
methodology overall reliability related research topic can be exerted so that topic can be analysed
in required manner. Using research methodologies researcher may create path to attain research
objectives in desired manner. In the current research various research methodologies are used
which are elaborated as under:
Research Philosophy:
Research philosophy is that set of principles which are covering the entire view of the
research. Research philosophies are divided into two types such as positivism and interpretivism.
Under the current research positivism research philosophy is followed so that to manage subject
matter of the research (Haydon and van der Riet, 2017). With the help of research philosophies
research can be executed in smooth and effective manner. Positivism research philosophy is
dependent over quantitative research methods and using this researcher gets acknowledgement to
avail reliable information related with research.
Research approach:
Research approach is such detailed plan that will be followed within research so that to
understand various research concepts in better manner. Research approaches are of two types
such as inductive and deductive. Researcher uses research approach for the major purpose of
emphasising on relevant information and in the same manner research can be executed as well.
Under the current research, deductive approach is followed in order to align the research in
quantitative manner. Using deductive research approach this will be easier that to evaluate
related data and acquire research results as well.
Research Strategy:
There are different research strategies such as action research, grounded theory, case
study and many more. These are used within research in order to gather information related with
research topic and to analyse information as well (Guthrie, 2015). Under the current research
survey research strategy is used as this will give appropriate information to the researcher in
terms of research topic which will assist the researcher in gathering accurate information as well.
Using survey raw data can be collected which is significant and facilitate the researcher to
answer research questions and attain research objectives as well.

Research Choice:
The research choice is defined as the area in which researcher choose the manner in
which data will be gathered. There are two types of research choice such as quantitative and
qualitative. Under the current research quantitative research choice is selected as this research
choice will gather statistical information related with research topic and in this manner aim and
objectives within research can be attained (Gilroy and et. al., 2018). With the help of quantitative
research choice statistical facts can be collected so that research can be managed in needed
manner.
Data Collection:
Data collection is the process which is used by the researcher in order to acquire and
analyse information related with research so that research can be executed. Researcher is
required to emphasis on the process of data collection as this is base for the researcher and would
assist researcher in completing the research in desired manner. Data collection is that significant
step within research which is having high degree of essentialism within the research. Data
collection is of two types such as primary and secondary. With the help of primary data
collection raw information can be gathered (Brown, 2017). On the other hand, secondary data
collection methods are related with gathering information from already existed data so that to
manage reliability of the research. In the current research, primary and secondary methods of
data collection are used so that to manage the research and to gather information related with
research.
Time Horizon:
Time horizon is regraded as such time duration which is needed by the researcher in
order to complete the research. There are two types of time horizon such as longitudinal and
cross-sectional (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 2017). Under the current research cross-sectional time
horizon is followed so that to manage the research in multidimensional manner and to align
with research aim and objectives.
Sampling:
Sampling is one of the most crucial research methodology which is divided into two
types such as probability and non-probability sampling. Under the current research, probability
sampling is used as this will provide equal opportunities for selection to every member of the

population. In the current research, 40 respondents are taken those are employees of the
organisation so that to discover accurate information to the research.

DATA ANALYSIS
Frequency distribution table
Q.1. As per your experience, what is the influence of COVID-19 over
employee willingness and their capacity to work?
a) Positive impact 5
b) Negative impact 35
Q.2. As per your perception, what is the major challenge faced by
employees during COVID-19 at the time of exerting their roles and
responsibilities?
Frequency
a) Issues in working from home 6
b) Lack of one to one interaction 7
c) Issues in employee collaboration 11
d) Lack of cooperation and management 8
e) Issues in managing work life balance 8
Q.3. What are the major measures taken by Ernst & Young in dealing with
the challenges faced by their employees during COVID-19?
Frequency
a) Organising different training and development programs 9
b) Daily meetings with teams 8
c) Using appropriate hierarchy of communication 7
d) Managing team work 6
e) Arrangement of managerial activities 5
f) Providing appropriate performance appraisals 5
Q.4. What is the impact drawn over employees due to global pandemic
COVID-19?
Frequency
a) Inability to work 6

b) Decrease in employee involvement 5
c) Not so appropriate work life balance 8
d) Unbalanced interpersonal skills 6
e) Internal gaps within employees 9
f) Lesser possibilities of required appraisals 6
Q.5. What is the role of crisis management within an organisation? Frequency
a) Dealing with uncertain situations 6
b) Deciding future actions 8
c) Devising strategies to deal with contingent situations 4
d) Examine signs of crisis 5
e) Examination of potential risks 10
f) Mitigate organisational shortcoming 7
Q.6. What are the major aspects of crisis management used within an
organisation?
Frequency
a) Clearly defined team roles and responsibilities 10
b) Formal assessment of team and process 12
c) Effective Incident Action Planning 8
d) Effective crisis management team communication 10
Q.8 What is the influence of appropriate crisis management practices over
employee willingness of Ernst & Young at global level?
Frequency
a) Positive impact 35
b) Negative impact 5
Q.9. As per your analysis, did Ernst & Young handle situation of COVID-
19 using their preparedness?
Frequency
a) Yes 30