HYBRID WORK CONCEPT - REMOTE OR OFFICE

Remote or Return-to-Office – The Hybrid Work Dilemma in Sri Lankan Corporates

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has moved the world working trend radically, and hybrid work is the new normal. Nevertheless, Sri Lankan corporates are still stuck in the dilemma of adhering to organizational culture and flexibility of employees versus productivity. According to a survey of Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) conducted in 2024, the share of local companies that formally had a hybrid work policy was only 38 percent, even though on the global scale, the trends were oriented towards flexible arrangements (PIM, 2024). This gap highlights the necessity of strategic HR leadership in the creation of the hybrid models that will fit the workplace culture specific to Sri Lanka.

Discussion

The success of hybrid work relies on three pillars, which are: technology, culture and performance measurement. Lack of proper digital infrastructure and access disparity to devices in Sri Lanka have slowed down the process of remote collaboration (Wijesinghe and Senanayake, 2023). Virtual performance tracking tools are not available in many companies, and this leads to mistrust to remote employees by managers. This has seen some employers revert to strict office attendance, which has destroyed the satisfaction of employees.

Besides, cultural attitudes are critical. Face-to-face supervision is commonly associated with productivity in Sri Lankan work places, which is more of a classic approach in leadership (Jayawardena, 2022). The HR departments need to train managers to judge employees on the basis of results and not on the basis of their presence. It has been found that in case HR departments use trust-oriented leadership frameworks, hybrid workers become more engaged and less likely to exit the company (Dessler, 2023).

The other challenge is policy inconsistency. A lot of companies are in an in-between state of full-remote and mandatory office policies, which is confusing and stressful. A successful HRM involves clear regulations that do not places too much control on the organization but rather on the individual. Sustainability in hybrid models can be guaranteed by promoting employee feedback and routinely conducted engagement surveys and mental health support (Wijesinghe and Senanayake, 2023).

 

https://youtu.be/eCRVoXbkHnw?si=0CgH_GTxuoU3Spdk

Conclusion

The hybrid work dilemma of the Sri Lankan corporates is an indication of the midst of HRM evolution. In order to succeed, HR leaders have to shift away the control of attendance to the control of performance based on trust. Investing in technology, evolving digital competencies, and inclusive cultures will help organizations to view hybrid work as an innovation driver and a contributor to the well-being of employees instead of a trade-off.

References

Dessler, G. (2023) Human Resource Management. 17th edn. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Jayawardena, S. (2022) ‘Leadership and Cultural Barriers to Hybrid Work in Sri Lanka,’ Asian Management Review, 15(3), pp. 74–86.
PIM (2024) Sri Lanka Hybrid Work and Digital Readiness Report. Colombo: Postgraduate Institute of Management.
Wijesinghe, D. and Senanayake, P. (2023) ‘Digital Infrastructure and Remote Work Productivity: A Study of Sri Lankan Corporates,’ International Journal of Business and Technology, 11(2), pp. 121–136.

STUDENT ID- EUK00310229

HR ROLE IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Public Sector Restructuring Under IMF Pressure – HR’s Role in Change Management

Introduction

The public sector in Sri Lanka is currently subject to scrutiny due to the economic crisis and recovery plan by the IMF (20232025). Thousands of workers in postal, railway and energy departments are undergoing reorganization, salary stagnation and even privatization. The postal workers strike of 2025 is symbolic of this increased restlessness, with the workers complaining about the security of their jobs and the transparency of the reforms (World Socialist Web Site, 2025). With such pressures, the HR departments are caught between budgetary constraints and employee well being, and change management is the competency that is needed by HR.

Discussion

Sri Lanka is a country where public sector reform seeks to cut on costs and enhance efficiency. Nevertheless, these transitions may pose the risk of alienating the staff and bringing about resistance without proper HR intervention. According to Kotter (2012), change management theory focuses on communication, empowerment, and short-term wins to keep the reform momentum. However, there are numerous state institutions in Sri Lanka, which follow a top-down strategy and, in this way, employees are not informed and motivated.

HR executives need to become agents of change by expressing themselves directly on the goals of the reform, retraining, and handling the emotional aspect of change. It has been found that trust and adaptability increases greatly when employees are involved in decision-making (Jayawardana and Opatha, 2023). Regrettably, the problem with data-driven decision-making in the Sri Lankan public entities is the bureaucratic inertia and the lack of HR analytics.

The other aspect in which the HR role has been crucial is in relation to talent redeployment and succession planning wherein restructuring would not drain the institutional memory. With workforce analytics, HR is able to detect skills gaps and develop focused retraining programs based on the national development objectives (Dessler, 2023). Open communication and participation of employees are still central in negotiations between reform necessity and human dignity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IN_JVL7QE4

Conclusion

The public sector restructuring of Sri Lanka with the involvement of IMF underlines an important fact: it is not possible to have sustainable changes without strategic HR leadership. HR professionals should exceed the administrative functions and be agents of trust and change so that reforms become equitable, inclusive, and sustainable. HR can help transform resistance to resilience and crisis to opportunity by integrating empathy, communication, and on-going learning into restructuring processes.

References
Dessler, G. (2023) Human Resource Management. 17th edn. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Jayawardana, A.K.L. and Opatha, H.H.D.N.P. (2023) ‘Human Resource Management Practices and Employee Commitment in Sri Lanka’s Public Sector,’ Sri Lanka Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(1), pp. 55–68.
Kotter, J.P. (2012) Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
World Socialist Web Site (2025) Sri Lankan Postal Workers Launch Indefinite Strike. [Online] Available at: https://www.wsws.org/ [Accessed 29 Oct 2025].

STUDENT ID - EUK00310229

SKILL MIGRATION- TECH TALLENT DRAIN

Tech Talent Drain – What Happens When Sri Lanka Loses Its Skilled Workforce?

Introduction

The recovery of the Sri Lankan economy post crisis poses a critical issue of an enormous brain drain, especially in the technology sector, finance and engineering. According to reports by Apex HRM (2024), there is a danger of a hollowed middle, where the middle-level managers and IT specialists go to foreign countries and leave a gap in leadership and innovation ability. This drain of talents has far reaching repercussions on the productivity, the succession planning, and national competitiveness to the HR leaders.

Discussion

Migration of talents is not a new phenomenon but the recent one is a structural HRM crisis. Employee commitment has been undermined by the continuous economic instability within the country, lack of career advancement, and poor pay. The Job Embeddedness Theory holds that employees are also loyal when they feel that they are linked to their job, organization, and their community (Mitchell et al., 2001). Nevertheless, burnout, inadequate rewarding, and absence of remote working flexibility are the reasons mentioned by numerous Sri Lankan tech experts to pursue international opportunities (Apex HRM, 2024).

In the private sector, HR professionals have a hard time combating this using scarce budgets and out-of-date retention tools. Hybrid work models, international upskilling partnership and career development pathways may be considered strategic solutions which will slow down the exodus. According to research by Hashim and Fernando (2023), companies with continuous learning and flexible work structures recorded lower turnover of IT employees by 30 percent than conventional companies.

The introduction of digital transformation by the government and the allocation of grants and HR tech funding provide certain respite, but unless it goes into the long-term engagement strategies, Sri Lanka will lose the most innovative minds. According to Dessler (2023), talent retention is achieved through both monetary rewards and a psychological contract of trust, development and membership.

https://youtu.be/s3ka704n6Mk?si=VWlSE49tp8viLvRT

Conclusion

The massive brain drain that has been happening is not simply a financial problem, it is a crisis of HR strategy. To continue on the digital economy path, the Sri Lankan organizations should change their HR ways to emphasize on engagement, recognition and global career paths. A national HR strategy that encourages brain gain by ways of engagement of diasporas and flexible working opportunities can reverse the trend and restore a resilient workforce, one that is future ready.

   

References
Apex HRM (2024) Sri Lanka Workforce Outlook: The Hollow Middle Crisis. [Online] Available at: https://www.apexhrm.com/ [Accessed 29 Oct 2025].
Dessler, G. (2023) Human Resource Management. 17th edn. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Hashim, M. and Fernando, P. (2023) ‘Flexible Work Practices and Retention among IT Professionals in Sri Lanka,’ Asian Journal of Human Resource Studies, 9(2), pp. 41–58.
Mitchell, T.R. et al. (2001) ‘Why People Stay: Using Job Embeddedness to Predict Voluntary Turnover,’ Academy of Management Journal, 44(6), pp. 1102–1121.

HR'S ROLE IN ORGANISATIOANL CULTURE AND CHANGE

 Postal Workers on the Picket Line – HR’s Role in Organizational Culture and Change

Introduction

In August 2025, Sri Lanka saw an indefinite strike by more than 17,000 postal workers who were demanding better remunerations, employment conditions, and restructuring transparency (World Socialist Web Site, 2025). The strike brought down national mail services and revealed years of cultural and communication differences between the management and workers in the government sector. As an HR professional, this incident poses some of the most basic questions regarding the employee voice, organizational culture, and change management in state-run organizations.

https://youtu.be/VgMVlwwxWRw?si=WwluB9PIhHWbR7PY

Discussion

The failure to relate the ideals of serving the people to the actual experience of workers became a feature of the strike. According to HRM scholars, employee engagement is based on a healthy organizational culture that is founded on trust, fairness and open communication (Schein and Schein, 2017). Nonetheless, in the Sri Lankan governmental organizations, the HR department tends to work in very strict bureaucratic frameworks that do not encourage employee feedback or creativity.

The constant restructuring of the postal industry, due to the reforms that have been supported by IMF, made the workers anxious and mistrustful. The fact that the HR did not convey the meaning and the mechanism of these changes led to rumors, misinformation, and emotional resistance. Kotter (2012) considers that vision, involvement of stakeholders and continuity of communication are essential success factors in change management, which were very weak in this instance.

Also, lack of contemporary HR practices like employee surveys, team briefing and participation in decision making weakened the credibility of the organization. Studies of the public service reforms in Sri Lanka reveal that in the case of dialogue and empathy facilitated by HR leaders, the organizational resistance decreases, and the productivity increases (Jayawardana and Opatha, 2023).

Conclusion

The postal strike of 2025 demonstrates that change initiatives may go awry with the help of cultural inertia and poor HR communication. In order to be effective in modernizing the Sri Lankan public sector, HR in this case should be a strategic change partner rather than a compliance administrator. It will be necessary to embed open communication, equitable negotiation and engagement of employees in the decision-making process to build back trust and resiliency in the various institutions in society.

References

Jayawardana, A.K.L. and Opatha, H.H.D.N.P. (2023) ‘Human Resource Management Practices and Employee Commitment in Sri Lanka’s Public Sector,’ Sri Lanka Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(1), pp. 55–68.
Kotter, J.P. (2012) Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
World Socialist Web Site (2025) Sri Lankan Postal Workers Launch Indefinite Strike. [Online] Available at: https://www.wsws.org/ [Accessed 29 Oct 2025].
Schein, E.H. and Schein, P.A. (2017) Organizational Culture and Leadership. 5th edn. Hoboken: Wiley.

STUDENT ID - EUK00310229

SAFETY BECOMES HR CHALLENGE

Strike in Sri Lanka’s Health Sector:

When Employees’ Safety Becomes HR’s Challenge

Introduction

In March 2025, the countrywide doctors strike prompted by the rape of one of the female doctors at a state hospital highlighted a significant vulnerability in the health sector in Sri Lanka and that is the security of employees (Arab News, 2025). The event not only revealed the shortcomings of physical security but also, the underlying issues about organizational culture, gender sensitivity and the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in ensuring trust. When health workers took to the streets all over the country, the episode turned into a case study on how the inability of HR to predict and handle safety issues may turn into organizational and national catastrophes.                

                                                   

Discussion

The safety of employees is a core HR issue, and it is directly associated with motivation, productivity, and psychological comfort (Dessler, 2023). But the public hospitals in Sri Lanka usually consider HR as a clerical task and urgent matters such as sexual harassment response or safety training are not provided with enough resources. Although the Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Regulations (2021) mandate institutions to provide safe environments, compliance mechanisms are poor (Department of Labour Sri Lanka, 2021).

The HR culture has been reactive because of the lack of specific safety committees, non-anonymous reporting mechanisms and the lack of employee counselling. Here, HR teams were responding to the outcry and negative publicity instead of averting harm. Research shows that workplace violence in health sectors can be greatly minimized by proactive HRM policies, including risk audits, gender-sensitive leadership development, gender-sensitive awareness training, etc. (Dessler, 2023).

Also, gender-based violence in the workplace not only affects victims but also performance in the organization. It demoralizes, raises absenteeism and tarnishes the image of the employer eventually touching on service delivery. In order to restore confidence, HR has to work with medical trade unions, law enforcement, and ministries to make accountability and transparency institutional.

                                                         

 

Conclusion

The 2025 strike in the health sector shows that the safety of its employees cannot be divided out of effective HRM. In the future, the hospitals of Sri Lanka need to integrate the notion of safety, equality, and psychological well-being into the HR strategy. It is at that point that the HR can be a guardian of the employee trust and dignity rather than being just a crisis responder.

References
Arab News (2025) Sri Lankan doctors strike over safety concerns after colleague’s rape. [Online] Available at: https://www.arabnews.com/ [Accessed 29 Oct 2025].
Department of Labour Sri Lanka (2021) Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Regulations. Colombo: Government Press.
Dessler, G. (2023) Human Resource Management. 17th edn. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Student ID- EUK00310229

THE ROLE OF ARTIFCAIL INTELLIGENCE IN GLOBAL TALENT MANAGEMENT

Student ID - EUK00310229

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way organizations used to run their people in the contemporary and fast globalizing economy. Since the recruitment up to the performance management, AI-based systems are transforming the decision-making process and offer multinational corporations (MNCs) with new opportunities. Nonetheless, AI has both benefits of efficiency and predictive power, yet there are also the issues of equity, morality, and cultural awareness (Stone et al., 2015). This blog will discuss the role of AI in shaping the talent management in the world today, and how HR leaders should think in order to use its gains responsibly.

Artificial Intelligence in Hiring and Recruitment.

Recruitment tools based on AI can process vast amounts of applications in the shortest possible time, eliminating bias and efficiency (Meijerink et al., 2021). As an example, natural language processing (NLP) systems can compare CVs to competency frameworks, whereas chatbots respond to initial queries of the candidate. The technologies are especially useful among MNCs dealing with different labour markets and having a standardised process. Nonetheless, as research indicates, algorithms can reproduce any existing biases unless audited properly (Raghavan et al., 2020), which questions the HR role of ensuring fairness and inclusion.

AI and Employee Engagement

The sentiment of the employees is also being analyzed using AI by surveying, extracting emails, and collaboration tools which will allow organizations to detect problems of engagement real time (CharteredInstituteofPersonnelandDevelopment [CIPD], 2023). Predictive analytics would be able to identify employees who are likely to leave the company and have the HR take proactive measures to retain them. However, the use of constant surveillance creates ethical concerns of privacy and trust, especially in collectivist cultures where surveillance can be viewed as an intrusion (Hofstede, 2011).

HR Strategic Implications.

In the case of HR leaders, the adoption of AI must not be operational efficiency only but must be correlated to the strategic objectives. The AI may facilitate workforce management, skills planning, and leadership enhancement, as such making the HR one of the core forces driving the organizational competitiveness (Stahl et al., 2012). Notably, the human factor will be at the centre stage: the organizations that will strike the right balance between technology and empathy as well as ethics will be more able to create sustainable people strategies.

Conclusion

It cannot be denied that AI is transforming the concept of talent management in MNCs by providing never-before opportunities to enhance the process of recruitment, engagement, or workforce planning. Nonetheless, these technologies could strengthen inequalities and undermine the trust of the employees without critical supervision. It is thus the responsibility of the HR professionals to be innovative and guardians so that AI can be used responsibly, culturally sensitive, and strategically to bring valid value to organizations and their individuals.

References

CIPD. (2023). AI and the Future of Work: Ethical Considerations in HR.

Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context.

Meijerink, J., Bondarouk, T., & Lepak, D. (2021). New ways of working through AI. HRM Review, 31(2).

Raghavan, M., Barocas, S., Kleinberg, J., & Levy, K. (2020). Mitigating bias in algorithmic hiring.

Stone, D. L., Deadrick, D. L., Lukaszewski, K. M., & Johnson, R. (2015). The influence of technology on HRM. HRM Review, 25(2).

Stahl, G. K., Björkman, I., & Morris, S. (2012). Handbook of Research in International HRM.