Corporations and COVID-19 in the Workplace

79 Pages Posted: 12 Aug 2022

See all articles by Jonathan B. Cohn

Jonathan B. Cohn

University of Texas at Austin

Lixiong Guo

University of Mississippi

Zhiyan Wang

Wingate University

Date Written: July 31, 2022

Abstract

Using novel workplace COVID infection data, we document large variation in workplace infection rates across industries, firms, and establishments. Firms with higher infection rates experienced larger declines in operating performance in 2020. An employer's 2020 workplace infection rate is positively related to its pre-pandemic workplace injury rate, even across establishments within a firm, but unrelated to financing constraint measures. We conduct extensive tests to allay concerns that unobserved differences across employers drive the COVID - injury rate relation. Firms with higher pre-pandemic injury rates also experienced more COVID-related employee complaints and larger stock price declines early in the pandemic.

Note:
Funding Information: None.

Conflict of Interests: None.

Keywords: COVID-19, Organizational Resilience, Organizational Capital, Workplace Safety, Financing Constraints

JEL Classification: G10, G30, I10, J81, M10

Suggested Citation

Cohn, Jonathan B. and Guo, Lixiong and Wang, Zhiyan, Corporations and COVID-19 in the Workplace (July 31, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4177494 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4177494

Jonathan B. Cohn (Contact Author)

University of Texas at Austin ( email )

Red McCombs School of Business
Austin, TX 78712
United States
512-232-6827 (Phone)

Lixiong Guo

University of Mississippi ( email )

Oxford, MS 38677
United States

Zhiyan Wang

Wingate University ( email )

Wingate, NC 28174
United States

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