An Interplay Between Sri Lankan Employees and South Korean Employers: Conflicting Priorities, Attitudes, and Cross-Cultural Perceptions in a 3-D Workplace

Abstract

This ethnographic study examined the lived experiences of Sri Lankan 3D workers in South Korea. The purpose was to explore the interplay between unskilled Sri Lankan employees and Korean employers to gain a deeper understanding of critical factors that enhance or hinder optimal performance and to propose HRD interventions to engross expatriate labor meaningfully into host country workplace effectively. The research addressed three research questions. First, what is the type of work relationship prevailed between Korean employers and Sri Lankan workers who engage in 3-D work? Second, what cultural elements are more prominent in their interactions between Korean employers and Sri Lankan workers? And third, what other factors influence the performance of Sri Lankan employees who engage in 3-D work? This paper discovered the hidden realities, factors that obstruct the optimal performance, life experience, and the nature of relationships between Korean employers and Sri Lankan employees in Korean industries. Twenty-one participants who had more than three years of working experience in Korean industries provided rich information that reveals the workplace hidden realities. Emerging themes are presented as five constituents: “attitudes towards Korean bosses and their self,” “frustration,” “discrimination at workplaces,” and “performance barriers.” While highlighting critical factors that hinder performance in a 3D workplace, the authors discuss research implications and practice while proposing remedial policy and HRD measures that the Korean and Sri Lankan governments, Korean employers and Sri Lankan 3D workers in Korea would be able to benefit from.