Sri Lanka's Invisible Workforce: The Global HRM Challenge Nobody Is Talking About
Introduction
Thousands of Sri Lankan construction workers board planes to the Middle East, Southeast Asia and beyond every year. They work on foundations, concrete structures and skyscrapers in foreign lands, sending money home, supporting families and contributing billions to Sri Lanka's economy through remittances. But when they return — after years of hardship — Sri Lanka's construction sector continues to treat them as though they never left.
This is the Global HRM crisis that nobody in Sri Lanka's construction industry is talking about. And it begins long before a worker boards that plane.
What Is Global HRM?
Dowling et al. (2013) define Global HRM as the process of managing people across national boundaries — balancing global consistency with the demands of local adaptation. It is not simply performing HR tasks in multiple countries. It means understanding how national culture, local law and economic and political conditions shape employment relationships — and managing all of these simultaneously.
Perlmutter (1969) identified four approaches to international workforce management through the EPRG model. An Ethnocentric organisation applies home country practices everywhere. A Polycentric organisation adapts fully to each host country. A Regiocentric organisation manages by regional groupings. A Geocentric organisation develops a truly global approach regardless of nationality. Most international construction companies operating in Sri Lanka take an ethnocentric approach — importing management practices from their home country without adequate adaptation to local context.
Figure 1 — Perlmutter's EPRG Model (1969) Applied to Construction Companies in Sri Lanka
| Approach | What It Means | Construction Example | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnocentric | Home country practices applied everywhere | Chinese or Korean contractors applying their own management style in Sri Lanka | Ignores local culture and law — creates conflict |
| Polycentric | Full adaptation to each host country | International contractor fully adopting Sri Lankan labour law and culture | May lose global consistency and standards |
| Regiocentric | Regional grouping approach | South Asia treated as one region with shared HR policies | Still misses country-specific differences |
| Geocentric | Truly global approach regardless of nationality | Best talent used anywhere — local and international practices balanced | Difficult and expensive to implement |
Source: Adapted from Perlmutter (1969)
Video 1 — Global HRM and International Workforce Management Explained
Source: YouTube
The Sri Lankan Worker Abroad
The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE, 2023) reports that construction and related trades consistently rank among the top categories of Sri Lankan migrant workers. These workers contribute enormously to the national economy through remittances — yet the HR frameworks governing their employment abroad are frequently inadequate.
Sri Lankan workers abroad often face contracts written in languages they cannot read, working conditions that differ from what was promised during recruitment and limited access to grievance mechanisms when things go wrong. Armstrong (2020) argues that ethical people management requires transparency, fairness and voice regardless of national borders. For many Sri Lankan construction workers abroad, none of these three conditions are consistently met.
The Return Problem
The Global HRM challenge does not end when a worker returns home. A Sri Lankan mason who spent five years working on high-rise projects in Qatar returns with significantly advanced skills — precision concrete work, complex formwork and international safety standards. Yet Sri Lanka's construction industry has no formal mechanism to recognise, certify or reward that experience.
Brewster (1995) argued that HRM cannot function in isolation — it is shaped by the broader social, legal and institutional context in which it operates. The same applies in Sri Lanka. Without government policy that recognises and values the skills of returning migrant construction workers, that wealth of experience is simply lost to the industry.
The Sri Lanka Context
Sri Lanka needs a structured Global HRM framework for its construction workforce covering three stages. First, pre-departure — proper contracts in accessible language and clear briefings on rights. Second, during employment — monitoring of working conditions and accessible grievance channels. Third, on return — formal skills recognition, reintegration support and career development pathways.
The ILO (2023) has consistently highlighted that developing economies lose significant human capital when returning migrant workers are not reintegrated into formal labour markets with recognition of their overseas experience. Sri Lanka's construction sector is a clear example of this ongoing failure.
A Fair Criticism
Managing a global workforce is genuinely complex — particularly for a small developing economy like Sri Lanka. Government resources are limited and enforcing employment standards in foreign jurisdictions is practically difficult.
But complexity is not an excuse for inaction. Armstrong (2020) argues that strategic HRM must consider the broader social responsibility of managing people whose livelihoods depend on decisions made far from home.
Conclusion
Sri Lanka's construction workers are building the world. It is time Sri Lanka's HRM framework started building them.
A genuine Global HRM strategy — one that protects workers before they leave, supports them while they are away and recognises what they bring back — would transform Sri Lanka's construction sector. The skills are already there. What is missing is the system to value them.
References
Armstrong, M. (2020) Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 15th edn. London: Kogan Page.
Brewster, C. (1995) 'Towards a European model of human resource management', Journal of International Business Studies, 26(1), pp. 1–21.
Dowling, P.J., Festing, M. and Engle, A.D. (2013) International Human Resource Management. 6th edn. London: Cengage Learning.
ILO (2023) World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023. Geneva: International Labour Organization.
Perlmutter, H.V. (1969) 'The tortuous evolution of the multinational corporation', Columbia Journal of World Business, 4(1), pp. 9–18.
SLBFE (2023) Annual Statistical Report 2023. Colombo: Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.
Insightful perspective! It highlights how much the global economy relies on this often unseen workforce. Do you think better policies and protections could help bring more visibility and fairness to these workers?
ReplyDeleteThank you Ashan! Absolutely — better policy frameworks would make a significant difference. The three-stage approach of pre-departure protection, in-country support and return reintegration is not an impossible ask — it simply requires political will and industry commitment working together. The skills and sacrifices of these workers are very real. The system that should protect them is not
DeleteThis is a very thought-provoking topic and highlights an often overlooked reality. Sri Lanka’s “invisible workforce” plays a crucial role in supporting both local and global economies, yet their contributions frequently go unrecognized in formal HRM strategies.
ReplyDeleteThank you Janith! You have identified exactly the core paradox — workers who are invisible in policy terms yet absolutely essential in economic terms. The remittances they send home are measurable and celebrated, but the human cost behind those numbers rarely appears in any official calculation. Until Sri Lanka builds a formal system that recognises, values and reintegrates returning workers, that wealth of experience will continue to be lost to the industry that needs it most.
DeleteVery insightful perspective, this brings attention to a critical issue that is often overlooked in Sri Lanka’s workforce development. Returning migrant workers carry valuable global experience and skills that should be recognized and utilized effectively. A stronger HR approach in this area could create major benefits for both employees and the national economy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. The three-stage framework — pre-departure, in-country and return — is precisely what is missing. Most policy attention focuses only on the departure stage, leaving workers without support during employment and without any reintegration pathway when they return. Until all three stages are treated as connected responsibilities rather than separate issues, the same gaps will persist regardless of how many workers go abroad.
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