Browsing by Author "Karunarathna, R. A. I. C."

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Behavioral and Psychological Responses towards Coronavirus Disease: A Study of the Employees in Garment Industry, Sri Lanka
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Kumara, W. O. K. S.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Employees are a valuable resource among the various resources within an organization. Moreover, it is important for their employees to maintain good health and well-being a crisis like COVID-19 pandemic. Extant research has found that factors that influence the behavioral and psychological responses to coronavirus disease include age, gender, monthly income, and level of education. However, most of these studies are based on Western countries. Therefore, we know little about the Sri Lankan situation. Thus, the aim of the study was to identify behavioral and psychological responses to corona virus infection in Sri Lankan garment workers. The study is cross-sectional in nature and researcher collected data from 750 employees in the garment industry in Sri Lanka. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and data were analyzed with the aid of the SPSS software. One-way ANOVA and independent sample t-test were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that there is a significant mean difference of age, gender, monthly income and education level when employees show the behavioral responses towards the pandemic. The results of this study provide significant contribution to health and safely literature. Moreover, these findings provide significant insights to the policy makers and decision makers, in the garment industry in Sri Lanka.
Behavioral and Psychological Responses towards Coronavirus Disease: A Study of the Employees in Garment Industry, Sri Lanka
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2024) Kumara, W. O. K. S.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Employees are a valuable resource among the various resources within an organization. Moreover, it is important for their employees to maintain good health and well-being a crisis like COVID-19 pandemic. Extant research has found that factors that influence the behavioral and psychological responses to coronavirus disease include age, gender, monthly income, and level of education. However, most of these studies are based on Western countries. Therefore, we know little about the Sri Lankan situation. Thus, the aim of the study was to identify behavioral and psychological responses to corona virus infection in Sri Lankan garment workers. The study is cross-sectional in nature and researcher collected data from 750 employees in the garment industry in Sri Lanka. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and data were analyzed with the aid of the SPSS software. One-way ANOVA and independent sample t-test were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that there is a significant mean difference of age, gender, monthly income and education level when employees show the behavioral responses towards the pandemic. The results of this study provide significant contribution to health and safely literature. Moreover, these findings provide significant insights to the policy makers and decision makers, in the garment industry in Sri Lanka.
Impact of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Rewards on Employee Retention among Generation Z: The Mediating Effect of Employee Motivation
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2024) Heshan, S.V.D.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
This research delves into the critical examination of the impact of both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards on employee retention, with a specific focus on the unique perspective of Generation Z employees. The study is conducted within the context of a one of the leading textile manufacturing companies in Biyagama Export Processing Zone in Sri Lanka, aiming to shed light on the dynamics that influence the retention of employees from this generation. According to a comprehensive examination of available evidence, the correct combination of rewards is vital to employee retention. Businesses' most precious asset is skilled and educated human capital, however with generational Z employee behaviors, employers must be conscious of the need to offer or invent new employee rewarding mechanisms in order to retain those Generational Z individuals in their organizations the research employs a comprehensive framework that considers both extrinsic rewards, such as salary, bonuses, and recognition, and intrinsic rewards, including learning opportunities and Recognition. It investigates the intricate impact of these Extrinsic and Intrinsic rewards and their collective influence on employee motivation, ultimately affecting the retention of Generation Z workforce. Supporting the hypotheses, the results showed that there is a significant positive impact of Extrinsic and Intrinsic rewards on retention among Generation Z and also mediation effect of employee motivation. The findings of this research are expected to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on employee retention, particularly among the emerging Generation Z workforce in the context of the textile manufacturing industry. The implications of the study provide important directions to the human resource practices and strategies, offering practical insights for organizations seeking to enhance employee retention and motivation in this specific demographic. The main limitation of this study the research may not account for external factors, such as economic conditions, industry trends, or changes in organizational leadership, which could impact employee retention independently of rewards and motivation.
Impact of Job Insecurity on Employee Engagement: A Study Base on Casual and Temporary Employees of Aarking Engineering (Pvt) Limited
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Kumara, S. L. D. P.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Employee job engagement is very important HR practice in all organizations. That present the level of commitment of employees to the organization. There are more factors which affecting to employee job engagement. job insecurity is prioritized factor among that. In this research researcher studied about impact of job insecurity on employee engagement in Aarking engineering (Pvt) Ltd in Tangalle. The purpose of this study was examined impact of employee job insecurity on casual and temporary employees’ work engagement of Aarking engineering (Pvt) Ltd in Sri Lanka. This study is carried out as a quantitative explanatory research work. Further, researcher used simple random sampling techniques to select the sample. Accordingly, a standard questionnaire was distributed among 100 employees to collect data. Based on the extant literature, researcher developed three hypothesis and data were analyzed using simple linear regression. The result revealed that there is a significant impact of employee job insecurity on employee engagement. Thus, the study’s result provides important implication for the managers in Aarking engineering (Pvt) Ltd company to create their strategies to increase employee engagement. As the study based on one company, the result cannot be generalized to the entire industry.
Impact of Marital Status on Women Employee Career Development: A Study based on Graduate Employees in Sri Lanka
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Kumari, T. K. T. S.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
The total number of women in administrative and managerial positions has increased over the years; however, the proportion of women moving to top leadership positions still remains low Prior research has shown that job level, age, marital status, highest education qualification, and family-related barriers have a significant relationship with women career development Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the nexus between marital status and career development and how this relationship varies across family support that women employees received, and the study is mainly focusing on graduate employees in Sri Lanka. This study is carried out as quantitative explanatory research work. Further, the sample is selected using the simple random sampling technique. This is cross-sectional, descriptive research, and a standard questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 605 executive-level graduate women employees. To test the hypothesis, the researcher used simple linear regression with the aid of SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The results of the study show that there is a significant positive impact of marital status on women employees’ career development. The results of moderation analysis showed that family support moderates the association between marital status and career development, where the relationship is stronger for the women who received high family support from their families. The main takeover of this study is this study contributes to the existing literature, in particular women career development. Moreover, research provides implications for the decision-makers of the state sector in Sri Lanka.
Impact of Positive Work-Home Interaction on Work Engagement of Female Executives
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Koswaththa, K. A. A. S.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Work engagement is very vital to the organization to be successful in the changing business environment. Positive work-home interaction is considered as a major factor which influences women’s work engagement. Even though, many studies conducted to examine the impact of positive work-home interaction on women’s work engagement using different mediators and moderators in the western context. Thus, the purpose of the study is to examine the impact of positive work-home interaction on work engagement of executive level female employees in one of a leading apparel company in Gampaha district, Sri Lanka. In this study, the researcher collected data from 113 executive level females at one point in time. Thus, the nature of the study is a cross sectional. To attain this research objective, based upon conservation of resources theory, the researchers developed three hypotheses and a standard questionnaire used to collect data. The data were analyzed with the support of SPSS encoding descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression. The results of this study showed that there is a significant impact of positive work-home interaction on work engagement. More specifically, the results showed that, there is a significant impact of work-home facilitation on work engagement, and there is a significant impact of home-work facilitation on work engagement. Overall, the findings of this study contribute to the work-family literature and the results provide implications to decision makers of apparel industry to enhance their work engagement through positive work-home interactions. The scope of the study is limited to one organization and female executive level employees.
Impact of Psychological Factor on Employee Well-being: A Study Based on Remote Workers
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Kumara, W. R. T. S.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Due to the global pandemic of Covid 19, many organizations must change their usual pattern of operations into the different modes. Work from home concept was emerged and followed by most of the organizations as it was the suitable method of doing their works under the social and health regulations imposed by government. One of the main concerns that arises under this practice can be identify as the employee wellbeing of those remote workers. Under the objective of identifying impact of psychological factors on the wellbeing of remote working employees who are employed in Ernst & Young. Researcher has taken two psychological factors into his consideration as self-esteem and autonomy. This is a quantitative research where primary data were collected from 100 employees and data collection was done through an online survey. Data analysis was done using multiple linear regression and the results of this study showed that there is a significant impact of autonomy on employee wellbeing rather the self-confidence Overall, the study’s results show the importance of psychological factors for employee well-being. Limiting to one business organization can be identify as the main limitation of the study. Thus, managers and policy makers should give priority for the psychological factors when they developing policies related to employee well-being.
Impact of Student Imposter on Self-Esteem: The Moderating Effect of Parental Support
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2024) Isurandi, M.P.G.A.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
In the present context, formal education plays an important role in one's success. However, it seems that even the most educated people do not feel successful within themselves despite their high achievements. This concept is presented as the imposter phenomenon, which was identified about 48 years ago. This imposter phenomenon is strongly associated with psychological variables and mental well-being is a necessary factor for the successful education of individuals. Therefore, this study aims to understand how the imposter phenomenon is related to self-esteem and the effect of support given by the parents on this relationship. To achieve this objective, data were collected from 373 undergraduates through a standard questionnaire. Moreover, we used stratified random sampling method to select the sample. To test the hypotheses, we used linear regression with the aid of Andrew F. Hayes Process for SPSS (v.4.3). The results of this study showed that the student imposter is negatively related to students’ self-esteem. However, as we proposed the moderating effect of parental support on the relationship between students’ imposter and self-esteem was not significant. The findings of the research study contribute to the persistence of existing theories regarding self-esteem and the imposter phenomenon. Further, it supports the university system in developing self-belief strategies among undergraduates. However, focusing only on parental support among the various types of social support is a major limitation of this study.
Impact of Supervisor Phubbing on Subordinate's Performance; the Mediation Effect of Trust in Supervisor
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2024) Heshan, K. S.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Technology plays a significant role in advancing human life in different ways. However, at the same time it imposes some challenges in human life, in particular, in keeping interaction with others. One of the biggest issues is that people are using their smartphones heavily, irrespective of their location. Thus, scholars started examining the consequences of addictions to the smart phones and in 2012, a team of prominent researchers introduced the concept of phubbing. The term phubbing can be defined as people are interacting with their phones instead of paying attention to others. Phubbing behavior leads to a feeling of rejection in the person who is being phubbed (Phubbee). This study focuses on examining impact of supervisor phubbing and trust on subordinate’s performance. The study was based upon positivism research philosophy, and it adopted a deductive, explanatory research approach. The researcher used the survey method as a research strategy and the nature of the study is cross sectional. To test the hypotheses, data were collected from 287 employees who are employed in a Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing Company. Moreover, hypotheses were tested with the aid of Andry F Heyes Process for SPSS v4.3. The result showed supervisors’ phubbing negatively associated with trust, and both phubbing and trust lead to poor employee performance. Common method biases, biased measures of performance and single source are limitations of the study.
Impact of Technostress on Individual Academic Productivity
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2024) Ilma, M.H.F.P.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Technostress has existed since ancient times, but in the early 21st century, it has become considerably more severe. Employers and educational institutions should look into the problem of technostress in-depth, especially considering how often information and communication technology is used in society. Over the past few years, technological advancements had a significant impact on the education sector. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of technostress on individual academic productivity. Although the associations between technostress and academic productivity are well established in foreign literature, very few studies have examined technostress with academic productivity in the Sri Lankan setting, especially in the state universities’ undergraduates. Thus, this study also intends to contribute to filling the literature gap by looking into the relation between technostress and academic productivity. In particular, this study aimed to examine the effect of technostress and academic productivity among undergraduates of state universities within the Sri Lankan setting. To achieve this objective the data were collected with the aid of an online questionnaire and internet-based by using a convenience probability sampling technique. Simple regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses. The results of the study showed that there is a positive impact of technostress on academic productivity. Accordingly, this study contributes to the body of knowledge already available on the subject regarding technostress. Further, studying the impact of technostress on undergraduates not only increases comprehension of this particular issue but also contributes to the more general domain of psychology, technology adoption, education, and human-computer among others. The data collection of this study was limited single source and one point in time, this should be addressed by future researchers.
Impact of the Information Communication Technology on Well-Being of Managerial Level Employees in Plastic and Rubber Manufacturing Industry, Sri Lanka
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Lakmal, K. A. K.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Employees are the most valuable resources among the other resources within an organization. Moreover, employee better health and safety are key factor of enhances optimal performance and better quality of life within the organization. In case prior researcher has found the employee wellbeing is a vital point of enhances the employee happy and healthy in organization. Further wellbeing examines the prevention of injury and build up the safe work environment and happiness work culture. Even though many researchers focus the many factors affecting of the employee wellbeing and among the information communicational technology (ICT) usages are considerable affecting established the wellbeing at workplaces. Because ICT most enormous effect of usual workplace activities and it add the more work for employees. The purpose of the study is to identify the impact of Information communication technology on wellbeing in managerial level employees’ rubber and plastics manufacturing industry. Further disused the ICT impact on job demand through employee wellbeing in above mention the industry managerial level employees. In this study researcher conducted the qualitative and cross-sectional survey among the randomly selected the managerial level employee in rubber and plastics manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka. Further, the researcher distributed the questionnaire via printed on a paper as a questionnaire survey. The collected the data analyzed within the support of SPSS. Finally, researcher proved the significant impact between ICT, wellbeing and hypothesis of mediation effect of job demand on ICT and employee wellbeing was accepted.
Impact of Transformational Leadership on Employee Engagement: A Study Based on a Leading Apparel Manufacturing Company in Sri Lanka
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2024) Jayakodi, J.D.C.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
This research investigates the impact of transformational leadership on employee engagement in the context of the Sri Lankan apparel industry. In today's competitive and globalized information culture, maintaining a competitive edge requires organizations to attract and retain talented working, inspiring them to reach their full potential. The study explores the dynamics of employee engagement in the apparel sector, emphasizing the role of transformational leadership in fostering a positive work environment. The apparel sector in Sri Lanka, a significant contributor to the country's economy, faces challenges related to employee disengagement factors, including negative perceptions of the industry poor working attitudes. Against this backdrop, the study aims to fill a crucial research gap by examining the impact of transformational leadership on employee engagement in the Sri Lankan apparel industry, specifically within ABC. Data were collected through a standard questionnaire from 249 executive-level employees working at the ABC Company in Biyagama. Simple regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses, and SPSS version 23 was employed to analyze the collected data. In conclusion, the study sheds light on the transformative leadership practices that can positively influence employee engagement in the Sri Lankan apparel industry. The findings hold practical significance for ABC and other industry stakeholders, guiding efforts to enhance employee satisfaction, productivity, and overall organizational success. Future research avenues include expanding the study to enhance employee satisfaction, productivity, and overall organizational performance.
Impact of Work-Life Balance on Employee Engagement of Dual Career Couples in the Apparel Sector of Sri Lanka
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Kumari, D. M. C.; Karunarathna, R. A. I. C.
Employees are the valuable resource among various resources within an organization. Moreover, Employee engagement concept becomes a most important to be success in the changing business environment. In today's dynamic business environment, work life balance has become one of the key issues faced by many employees. A lack of work life balance highly affects to the employee engagement. The primary objective of this study was to determine the impact of work-life balance on employee engagement of dual career couples of apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Work-life balance conceptualized as a combination of work demand, family demand, spousal support and organizational support. The study was based upon positivism philosophy and deductive in nature. The sample of this study comprised with 100 dual career employees who are working for the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Based on the extant literature researchers developed five Hypotheses and multiple liner regression method was used to analyze the data. The results of this study showed there is a significant impact of work life balance on employee engagement of the dual career couples in apparel sector in Sri Lanka. The findings of this study contribute to increase the current understanding of the association between work-life balance and work engagement dual career couples. Moreover, the results inform the decision makers of the apparel industry there is a significant impact of the work life balance on employee engagement. The main limitation of this study is data collection was limited one-point in time, which may lead to common method bias.