Speaker: Professor Chidiebere Ogbonnaya (Kent Business School)
Hosted by: University of Liverpool Management School's Work, Organisation and Management Group
Open to: all University of Liverpool staff and students, with no sign up needed
Date: Wednesday 18 October 2023
Time: 13:30 - 15:00
Place: Management School - Seminar Room 1 (first floor)
Abstract
As the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, developed economies swiftly enacted rigorous quarantine and social distancing protocols.
Similarly, lower and middle-income countries, such as Nigeria, initiated strict lockdown measures despite the associated risks to street vendors' financial well-being and livelihoods.
This study sheds new light on the economic and social challenges Nigerian street vendors encountered during the Covid-19 lockdown, such as reduced earnings, financial struggles, societal disparities, and confrontations with the law enforcement.
The study also delves into the adaptive methods employed by street vendors in tackling Covid-19, and whether their precarious working conditions made them more vulnerable to crime (e.g., burglary, prostitution, and illegal drugs trade).
These insights underline the need for a more cautious approach to poverty reduction and wider concerns around job creation, crime prevention, and social protection for the poor and most vulnerable members of society.
Keywords
COVID regulation, precarious work, employee wellbeing
Speaker
Chidiebere Ogbonnaya (Chidi) is a Professor of Human Resource Management at Kent Business School and Head of the Department of Leadership and Management.
Before joining the University of Kent he held academic positions at the University of Sussex and University of East Anglia.
Chidi completed his Bachelor’s degree in Nigeria, where he was born and raised. He holds an MSc in Occupational Health and Safety Leadership, an MA in Higher Education Practice and a PhD in Management Research.
He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of numerous professional organisations, including the Academy of Management, British Academy of Management, Nigerian Institute of Management, European Academy of Management and British Sociological Association.
Chidi is currently an Associate Editor for Human Relations, an international peer reviewed journal ranked among the Financial Times Top 50 journals list (FT 50).
He serves on several Editorial Boards such as Human Resource Management Journal and as a Guest Editor for Special Issues at various journals such as Applied Psychology: An International Review.
Chidi has received a number of academic awards such as the Academy of Management HCM Division's Outstanding Paper based on a dissertation.
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