Browsing by Author "Gunathilake, S"

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Open Access
Red Flags at Work: A Qualitative Study on Gen Z’s Workplace Turn-Offs
(School of Psychology. Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Gunathilake, S; Ganeshan, A
As Generation Z enters the workforce, their expectations regarding authenticity, equality and psychological safety are shaping new benchmarks for organisational culture. While global literature has begun to explore these shifts, there are limited empirical evidence on what constitutes workplace "red flags" for Gen Z in South Asia, particularly Sri Lanka. This study investigated the organisational behaviours and environments perceived as red flags by Sri Lankan Gen Z employees. An inductive qualitative approach was adopted, analysing approximately 69 anonymised responses from three Reddit threads posted in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Thematic analysis revealed six core themes: performative culture and corporate hypocrisy; lack of psychological safety and respect; exploitation and burnout norms; unfair HR practices and compensation systems; favouritism, discrimination, and lack of inclusion and organisational dishonesty. Differences were observed across sectors, with IT professionals emphasising overwork, rigid processes, and stagnant roles, while non-IT participants raised concerns about ethical breaches, gender-based microaggressions and superficial wellness initiatives. These themes were consistently evident across all three posts suggesting deeply held generational expectations. The study concludes that for Gen Z in Sri Lanka, alignment between stated organisational values and actual practices is essential.
Open Access
The Workplace Challenges Encountered by Female Academics in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2023-11-01) Gunathilake, S
Gender equality in academia is a challenge endured globally with the under-representation of females in leadership and decision-making positions. Despite the numerous and diverse efforts taken by the universities to encourage gender equality, women in academia struggle to overcome the challenge of inequality. Around the world, the gendered academic organizational climate as well as the day-to-day interactions cause a major impact not only on female participation within academia but also on how they perceive their future in academic institutions. This research presents the results of a survey conducted with 48 female academics in Sri Lanka attempting to study female academics’ experience with gendered challenges in academia. The research concluded that female academics are challenged in building networks and in reaching their desired career goals. It also revealed that there is a difference in the level of challenges faced by female academics in Sri Lanka depending on their marital status and childcare responsibilities. To prevent the withdrawal of female academics from the field and improve their satisfaction, it is crucial for academic institutions and the relevant authorities to understand the sources of these challenges in academia and implement effective solutions to create a better working environment for women academics in the country.