Olena Kirianova, MIM-Kyiv’s HR professor discussed the massive change of employer–employee relations during the online GetInTouch meeting of the EBA (European Business Association) meeting. Here are the main points of her presentation:

• People rather than technologies make or break projects. Pandemic proved that human2human works and HR or even labor is more interacted with than managed. 
• Distance working is not new. It has been developing for more than 10 years. New forms of distance working and employment have been evolving before the pandemic. Freelance, outsource, etc. appeared much earlier. We live in a distance-working era. Deloitte research shows that we are faring well. 72% of employers worldwide and 63% of Ukrainian employers believe that their people can adapt to any changes. 
• Employers are expected to be even more responsible than governments, families, and even healthcare institutions. They are considered to be the safety heaven. 
• In April 2020, 1.6 billion jobs were jeopardized. In 2021 2.7 billion people are afraid to lose their jobs. The labor market has transformed into an employers’ market overnight. Some abuse their powers directly threatening their employees. However, all employers go the extra mile to keep the best. On the other hand, when the situation reverses once again, abuses of power will compromise employers’ brands.   
• Hidden unemployment or long-term furloughs is another threat that we cannot ignore. A quarter of companies are using furloughs. It is a very stressful situation. If companies cannot keep people, they’d better lay them off.   
• Responsible employers remain responsible. They rotated their people, referred them to their stakeholders, or tried to lay them off in the least painful way.