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Special Issue on HRM in Bangladesh: Past, Present, and Future: Please see the CFP at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ocm6HNILtePjKJRPcqM0qjH5lW03s_vb/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103232719813498277400&rtpof=true&sd=true

Table of Contents Volume 8 Issue 2

Editorial 

Pavithra Kailasapathy 

This year, SAJHRM is completing its eighth year of publication. At this juncture, it gives me pleasure to write my first editorial. Associate Professor Mohan Thite founded SAJHRM with a vision of being a quality publication outlet for research on HRM in South Asia. SAJHRM is now well-positioned as a scholarly source for research on managing people in an organisational, regional, societal setting in South Asia and, to some extent, in a comparative context. Thus far, we have received and published research on quite diverse topics in HRM in South Asia and using different methodologies. SAJHRM is all about the theory and practice of human resource management, and in each issue, we have papers on research and practice. 

 

Labour Regulations, Growth and Employment: A South Asian Perspective 

Iyanatul Islam 

Drawing on the experience of four South Asian economies (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), this article argues that properly designed labour market institutions and regulations play a pivotal role in engendering desirable economic and social dividends. The alternative is a Hobbesian world of an unregulated labour market, which is likely to produce poor wages and working conditions. Policymakers in the region should acknowledge common challenges pertaining to low utilisation of the skills and talents of young people, entrenched gender disparities, high, and in many cases rising, informality, significant incidence of working poverty and vulnerability. They should focus on designing complementary interventions to tackle such shared challenges rather than being fixated on the narrowly conceived notion of deregulating labour markets. 

 

Navigating the Crises of COVID-19: Human Resource Professionals Battle Against the Pandemic 

Arosha S. Adikaram, H. P. R. Priyankara, N. P. G. S. I. Naotunna 

 This article aims to examine the experiences of human resource professionals (HRPs) in managing crises posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing qualitative research methodology, in-depth interviews with 24 HRPs of different industries were carried out. The findings indicate how the HRPs have navigated through five phases of the crisis as (a) anticipatory; (b) crisis; (c) adjustment; (d) rebounding; (e) continuance or reverting to old ways, struggling with many decisions and actions. The periods that companies took to navigate these different stages and the success of how they faced the crises posed by the pandemic mainly depend on factors such as the level of preparedness, nature of the industry, availability of resources, and role of the HRPs. The learning from the experiences of the HRPs and the phases they have navigated through will help to successfully manage similar crises in the future. 

 

Caring with a Forced Smile: Emotional Labour Among Private Hospital Nurses in Sri Lanka 

S. D. K. Wanninayake, M. E. O’Donnell, S. Williamson 

 Emotional labour among nurses is researched extensively. However, whether nurses in market-oriented, for-profit and customer-focused healthcare contexts performed emotional labour similarly to other nurses is severely underexplored. The minimal research available on this phenomenon have focused on Western for-profit healthcare contexts. Therefore, this article explores how nurses from for-profit healthcare sector performed emotional labour in a non-Western context—Sri Lanka. Using 30 interviews with private hospital nurses, this qualitative study found that scripted and closely managed behaviour routines, being subordinate to patients and their relatives, constant exposure to service recipients’ aggression and minimal organisational support led to a significant sense of powerlessness, loss of face, emotional exhaustion and tit-for-tat exchange of emotions with patients among nurses. 

 

Mediating Role of Psychological Contract Fulfilment on the Relationship between Strength of HR Signal and Organisational Commitment: Evidence from the Indian Manufacturing Sector 

Chiradip Bandyopadhyay, Kailash B. L. Srivastava 

This study examined the relationship between human resource (HR) signals’ strength and affective organisational commitment (AOC) through the mediating role of psychological contract fulfilment (PCF). Survey data were collected from 460 manufacturing sector respondents. Structural equation modelling confirmed that HR signals’ strength and PCF positively influenced AOC. PCF also mediated the relationship between the HR signal and AOC’s strength. Results have theoretical implications, as well as practical implications for the management to consider fulfilling its obligations to meet employee needs and expectations through appropriate HR strategies for enhancing employees’ AOC. 

 

Predicting Service Recovery Performance through Job Crafting Perception and Behaviour: Does Proactivity Make a Difference? 

Adil Zahoor 

The central aim of this study is to investigate whether the proactive personality (PP) of frontline service employees moderates the impact of perceived opportunity to craft (POC) on actual job crafting (JC) behaviour. We also examine the consequent effect of JC on employee work engagement (WE) and perceived service recovery performance (SRP). Primary data collected from 624 dyads of Indian frontline banking employees and their immediate colleagues (peers) formed the basis of empirical analysis. Data on JC perception, WE and JC behaviour was self-reported by the employees. On the other hand, peer-rating was invited for frontline employees’ PP and recovery performance. Empirical results indicated that the likelihood of POC resulting in actual JC is significantly higher for proactive employees in comparison to their reactive counterparts. The results also suggest that JC nurtures WE which, in turn, enhances SRP. 

 

Internal GIG Ecosystem in IT/ITeS Organisations for Non-linear Growth 

Debolina Dutta, Prem Mirchandani, K. P. Anasha 

The Indian IT/ITeS industry is a significant contributor to India’s GDP and has had an impressive growth trajectory. However, it continues to be plagued with talent shortages, managing employee satisfaction, growth aspirations and reducing attrition. 

COVID-19 has presented an unprecedented opportunity for IT service organisations to transform the established paradigm of working. The industry has been exploring non-linear growth models that address the talent demand-supply gap. With skilled talent shortage continuing to limit the industry growth, non-linear initiatives of growth are urgently required. We propose a model of ‘Internal Gig’ worker (I-GIG) for the IT services industry. The new I-GIG workforce would be providing non-linear outcomes without increasing costs significantly. We also argue that this model would be motivational for employees who opt for it, with commensurate reward motivations to engage them. Additionally, this model would enable the workanywhere, anytime and leverage talent availability on a global scale. 

 

Non-Violence at Workplace: The Way to Happiness and Well-Being: Interview with Dr Saamdu Chetri, as the Former Head of GNH Centre 

Ayatakshee Sarkar 

 

Book Review: Vishal Gupta, First Among Equals: ‘T-R-E-A-T’ Leadership for ‘L-E-A-P’ in a Knowledge-Based World 

Mir Mohammed Nurul Absar