Human Resource Management and Greek SMEs in a Context of Crisis

The global economic crisis of 2008 cascaded through the countries of the Eurozone, with some being more adversely impacted than others. Greece was one of the countries to be badly affected, facing the risk of a default and having to enter into a tripartite partnership with the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission. Employment protection was also at risk, as the political economy of Greece was already characterised by high flexibility and low job-security. The main providers of employment and the majority of businesses in Greece are small and medium-sized enterprises, and this political context – and the resulting labour reforms – elicited a range of responses from business owners. Specifically, the responses of business owners were contingent upon the sectors to which they belonged and influenced by the pressures exerted on their respective businesses by the external environment. Examining empirical evidence and deploying a qualitative research approach, this study discusses the differences between the responses of business owners in three sectors of the Greek economy: retail, tourism, and construction. The findings of the study suggest that the key practices implemented in this context were changes in employees’ working hours and status, dismissals of temporary and seasonal employees, and increases in underdeclared work and bogus self-employment. Overall, a lack of efficacy in policymaking and the failure of the Greek government to implement effective inspections and monitoring mechanisms reinforced the use of atypical employment by SMEs and of practices that further endangered employment protections.