Abstract
Tea industry plays a prominent and strategic role in Sri Lanka due to its significant impact on national output, employment and socio-economic status. Therefore, the overall worker productivity in tea industry plays an integral role in terms of national income and foreign exchange earnings. Today, the tea industry in Sri Lanka has been facing the burning issue of declining worker productivity which is the lowest among the tea producing countries in the world. In order to increase the level of worker productivity, simply applying conventional Human Resource Management (HRM) practices is not adequate and a sustainable HRM model is a vital requirement as a strategy for dealing with this crisis and sustains the tea industry in the competitive global marketplace. This research was aimed at proposing human care practices (HCPs) and knowledge management practices (KMPs) as sustainable Human Resource Management Practices (SHRMPs) for enhancing the worker productivity through quality of work-life (QWLs) and quality of life (QLs). The study is specifically focusing on the tea industry, since tea is the key contributor for overall performances of the plantation industry. Un-structured and one-on-one interviews were used as the qualitative research technique for this study. 100 randomly selected tea harvesters who are working in well performing tea estates in Sri Lanka reported a list of HCPs and KMPs that enhance QWL and QL, which in return enhance the worker productivity. The responses of tea harvesters were grouped into pre-defined structure according to comparative importance and then were validated with the findings of previous research studies. The findings were well supported by the premises of psychological contract and social exchange theories. The study also provides some implications for policy decisions and future research directions on identified HCPs and KMPs as sustainable HR practices, which has a direct relationship on the worker productivity.
Highlights
Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world apart from water and the demand for consumption of tea will remain unchanged for the near future as well (Tea Review - Forbes and Walker, 2019)
Referring to the previous research findings, sustainable human resources (HR) practices such as best human care and knowledge management practices have a direct impact on the worker productivity, which is clearly elaborated in studies related to psychological contact and social exchange theories
Once the workers are experiencing the benefits they gained from these best HR practices, their level of quality of life (QL) and quality of work-life (QWL) will improve
Summary
Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world apart from water and the demand for consumption of tea will remain unchanged for the near future as well (Tea Review - Forbes and Walker, 2019). Sri Lanka’s best opportunity in sustaining the tea sector is strengthening the unique brand of ‘Pure Ceylon Tea’ in order to be competitive in the global market. The global competitiveness in tea will increase with the quality of product and the profitability of suppliers, which is applicable to Sri Lanka as well. The country can raise earnings from tea by integrating deeper into the global value chain. This can be achieved by increasing the share of value added tea production and exports. In order to achieve the competitive edge from the global competitiveness in the industry, cost of production is a critical limiting factor. Labor pricing, combined with lower productivity, is putting Sri Lankan growers at a disadvantage in the global market (Oxford Business Group, 2016)
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