Impact of workforce diversity on employee performance in the Sri Lankan information technology industry

Abstract

This research was conducted to investigate the impact of workforce diversity on employee performance in the Sri Lankan Information Technology (IT) industry. Preliminary interviews conducted with a few IT professionals confirmed that a research problem exists where the industry is currently facing an issue where employee performance is being negatively affected by workforce diversity. The study then examined and identified a few dimensions of workforce diversity. These dimensions were ‘Organizational Culture,’ ‘Prejudice,’ and ‘Stereotyping.’ A survey was then carried out to investigate the relationship between these variables and employee performance. 290 responses were then collected and upon gathering data, the study then ran a series of tests with the use of SPSS software to analyze this data. The findings of this analysis proved that Organizational Culture, Prejudice and Stereotyping, each have a significant and positive relationship with Employee Performance. The analysis further proved that of the three independent variables, Stereotyping contributed the most towards Employee Performance. The study then concluded by compiling several recommendations to the Sri Lankan IT industry on managing these dimensions of workforce diversity to prevent employee performance from being compromised further.