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Do Economic Crises Reshape the Skill Content of Jobs? Evidence from Organizational Changes in the Post-Pandemic Era

Author

Listed:
  • Benner, Niklas

    (RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research)

  • Heuer, Felix

    (RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research)

  • Kamb, Rebecca

    (RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research)

  • Storm, Eduard

    (Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), RWI)

Abstract

How do economic crises reshape firms’ skill demand through changes in the organization of work? Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a shock to workplace practices, this paper examines whether short-term disruptions prompt lasting shifts in job requirements. We draw on 11 million German online job vacancies from 2017–2024 and implement an event-study design that exploits pre-pandemic variation in workfrom- home feasibility across occupations. This approach identifies firms’ differential exposure to remote-work constraints based on the occupational mix of their job postings. We find that crisis-induced shifts in skill demand were mainly short-lived, but one adjustment persisted: a lasting rise in interactive requirements, reflecting the emergence of hybrid collaboration. This form of organizational change contrasts with the technology-driven automation emphasized in prior crises and was shaped mainly by structural factors —digital infrastructure, firm size, and sectoral exposure —rather than by cyclical variation. Our results show that temporary shocks can trigger selective and enduring shifts in firms’ skill demand through evolving workplace organization.

Suggested Citation

  • Benner, Niklas & Heuer, Felix & Kamb, Rebecca & Storm, Eduard, 2025. "Do Economic Crises Reshape the Skill Content of Jobs? Evidence from Organizational Changes in the Post-Pandemic Era," IHS Working Paper Series 62, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ihs:ihswps:number62
    as

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    File URL: https://irihs.ihs.ac.at/id/eprint/7362
    File Function: First version, 2025
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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