Vindhya Weeratunga
Biographic Data
| ID | 6469371 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Vindhya Weeratunga |
| GIVEN NAMES | Vindhya |
| FAMILY NAME | Weeratunga |
| SIGNATURE | WEERATUNGA V |
| AFFILIATIONS | School of Business UNSW Canberra Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5198-1537 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Looking at quality through a systems lens—Applying systems thinking to the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme
It is widely recognised that many policy systems are complex, requiring collaboration across different organisations and sectors to address socioeconomic outcomes and inequalities. Yet, the public policy literature is dominated by rational–technical frameworks that struggle to understand complex systems. This paper applies ideas from the field of applied systems to demonstrate their utility in a public administration context. We do so by applying…
Well-Being in the Public Service
This study extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory in the public sector through a multi-level, qualitative examination of psychological well-being. Focusing on the Australian Public Service, we demonstrate that job demands and resources impacting employee well-being vary and interact at individual, team and organizational levels. Qualitative examinations of the JD-R theory are scarce, offering limited insight into these interactions. We p…
The unintended consequences of the blended workforce in the Australian Public Service
The adoption of a blended workforce model, comprising both ongoing and non‐ongoing employees, has become increasingly common in public sector organisations. Despite known challenges, including high turnover and knowledge gaps, its impact on middle managers’ well‐being remains understudied. The study addresses this by exploring how the blended workforce model affects middle manager well‐being within the Australian Public Service (APS). Using quali…
Leveraging system flows for complex change
The Australian Public Service addresses increasingly complex policy problems. There is interest in applying systems theory to such challenges to enable more effective strategies and outcomes. This paper uses examples to offer practical guidance on applying a specific aspect of system thinking: Meadows’ leverage points to shift the system. In doing so, it recommends a revision to the original conceptualisation of leverage points. We argue that fee…
Different Approaches to Managerial Support for Flexible Working
Improving well-being is an important human resource management issue within public sector organizations as it is linked with improved employee and organizational outcomes. A key antecedent to employee well-being is work–life balance, which can be supported or impeded by flexible working. The extent to which flexible working supports work–life balance and, ultimately, well-being depends on how flexible working is implemented, where managers play a…
Working from home during Covid‐19
The ideal worker norm is associated with specific ways of working. The ideal worker is a man who works long hours, is constantly available, and highly productive. Emerging research suggests that the shock of COVID‐19, which forced millions of employees to work from home, may have been powerful enough to disrupt the ideal worker norm. We therefore ask: how did working from home during the pandemic impact the ideal worker norm? We apply Acker's ide…
Opportunities and challenges of using workforce big data
This Practice and Policy paper presents reflections on the opportunities and challenges of using a novel big data set, Microsoft 365 digital activity records, in a mixed method study of flexible working. Our experience identified methodological and ethical considerations for practitioners and researchers in public sector workforce analytics. The benefits include data captured in situ and over time for all employees. The limitations reflect the in…
The future of working from home in the public sector
The COVID‐19 pandemic created a working from home experiment for the public sector. This paper examines what might happen next as countries move towards a COVID‐normal environment. Since the academic literature on public sector agencies and working from home since the onset of the pandemic is scant, we focus on the non‐peer‐reviewed literature as our evidence base. This paper identifies the main issues public sector agencies need to consider as n…
Working from home during Covid‐19
The ideal worker norm is associated with specific ways of working. The ideal worker is a man who works long hours, is constantly available, and highly productive. Emerging research suggests that the shock of COVID‐19, which forced millions of employees to work from home, may have been powerful enough to disrupt the ideal worker norm. We therefore ask: how did working from home during the pandemic impact the ideal worker norm? We apply Acker's ide…
The future of working from home in the public sector
The COVID‐19 pandemic created a working from home experiment for the public sector. This paper examines what might happen next as countries move towards a COVID‐normal environment. Since the academic literature on public sector agencies and working from home since the onset of the pandemic is scant, we focus on the non‐peer‐reviewed literature as our evidence base. This paper identifies the main issues public sector agencies need to consider as n…
The future of working from home in the public sector
The COVID‐19 pandemic created a working from home experiment for the public sector. This paper examines what might happen next as countries move towards a COVID‐normal environment. Since the academic literature on public sector agencies and working from home since the onset of the pandemic is scant, we focus on the non‐peer‐reviewed literature as our evidence base. This paper identifies the main issues public sector agencies need to consider as n…
Working from home during Covid‐19
The ideal worker norm is associated with specific ways of working. The ideal worker is a man who works long hours, is constantly available, and highly productive. Emerging research suggests that the shock of COVID‐19, which forced millions of employees to work from home, may have been powerful enough to disrupt the ideal worker norm. We therefore ask: how did working from home during the pandemic impact the ideal worker norm? We apply Acker's ide…
Opportunities and challenges of using workforce big data
This Practice and Policy paper presents reflections on the opportunities and challenges of using a novel big data set, Microsoft 365 digital activity records, in a mixed method study of flexible working. Our experience identified methodological and ethical considerations for practitioners and researchers in public sector workforce analytics. The benefits include data captured in situ and over time for all employees. The limitations reflect the in…
Different Approaches to Managerial Support for Flexible Working
Improving well-being is an important human resource management issue within public sector organizations as it is linked with improved employee and organizational outcomes. A key antecedent to employee well-being is work–life balance, which can be supported or impeded by flexible working. The extent to which flexible working supports work–life balance and, ultimately, well-being depends on how flexible working is implemented, where managers play a…
Well-Being in the Public Service
This study extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory in the public sector through a multi-level, qualitative examination of psychological well-being. Focusing on the Australian Public Service, we demonstrate that job demands and resources impacting employee well-being vary and interact at individual, team and organizational levels. Qualitative examinations of the JD-R theory are scarce, offering limited insight into these interactions. We p…
The unintended consequences of the blended workforce in the Australian Public Service
The adoption of a blended workforce model, comprising both ongoing and non‐ongoing employees, has become increasingly common in public sector organisations. Despite known challenges, including high turnover and knowledge gaps, its impact on middle managers’ well‐being remains understudied. The study addresses this by exploring how the blended workforce model affects middle manager well‐being within the Australian Public Service (APS). Using quali…
Leveraging system flows for complex change
The Australian Public Service addresses increasingly complex policy problems. There is interest in applying systems theory to such challenges to enable more effective strategies and outcomes. This paper uses examples to offer practical guidance on applying a specific aspect of system thinking: Meadows’ leverage points to shift the system. In doing so, it recommends a revision to the original conceptualisation of leverage points. We argue that fee…
Looking at quality through a systems lens—Applying systems thinking to the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme
It is widely recognised that many policy systems are complex, requiring collaboration across different organisations and sectors to address socioeconomic outcomes and inequalities. Yet, the public policy literature is dominated by rational–technical frameworks that struggle to understand complex systems. This paper applies ideas from the field of applied systems to demonstrate their utility in a public administration context. We do so by applying…
Political science (5 works) · Public relations (4 works) · Public sector (4 works) · Work-Family Balance Challenges (4 works) · Business (3 works) · Economics (3 works) · Employment and Welfare Studies (3 works) · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior (3 works) · AI and HR Technologies (2 works) · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 (2 works)