When Covid 19 Came to Town: Remote Work and Human Resources Challenges by the Organisational Practices of the Portuguese Institutions

The pandemic scenario from 2020 to 2022 has cast a spotlight on remote work (RW). Thus, this recent past has brought a new reality to organizations and a novel way of organizing work. The results of the qualitative study for the Portuguese case of the EURECA Project are presented here. The guiding question of this research was, 'What role does remote work play in addressing the new challenges in human resources/career management arising from the Covid-19 pandemic scenario in Portuguese institutions?' The study followed a case study approach, based on the assumptions of practice-based theory. Ten Portuguese organizations were surveyed, with input from their directors or human resources representatives. The results highlight the new challenges faced by the hybrid work model, such as communication and ICT, internationalization and HR, workforce diversity, and team leadership, among others. Practical implications are also discussed, and some recommendations for these organizational practices are presented.