Dr Dananja Wanninayake
Lecturer

Dr Dananja Wanninayake

    About
    Research
    Lecturing & Tutoring

    BIO

    Dr. Dananja Wanninayake is a lecturer and researcher with over 10 years of experience in higher education across diverse academic contexts, including Sri Lanka and Australia. In addition to her academic roles, she has held key administrative positions, such as Coordinator of Master’s Programmes at the university level. Dr. Wanninayake has also served as a counsellor and mentor for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, supporting their academic and personal development.

    She has co-chaired international conferences in Management and Finance and has been an active member of organizing committees for various international research conferences and symposia. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, Dr. Wanninayake received the Certificate of Teaching Excellence from Western Sydney University in 2024. For her research achievements, she was awarded the Senate Award for Excellence in Research (Early Career Category – academics below 40 years) in 2022 and the Senate Commendation for High Impact Research Publications in 2021 from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

    Dr. Wanninayake’s academic career reflects a strong commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and academic leadership, with a continued focus on contributing to knowledge creation and student success in the field of management and higher education.

    Current Research
    • Experiences of Early and Mid-Career Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Careers in the Middle East
    • Work-life Balance and Wellbeing of Working Single Parents: A Comparison between Australia and Sri Lanka 
    Previous Research
    • Influence of Sharing Patterns of Unpaid Work Among Heterosexual Dual Earner Couples on their Wellbeing
    • Responses of Public Health Inspectors and Nurses to Job Demand-Resource Interplay in Sri Lanka 
    Research Outputs

    Book Chapters

    • Wanninayake, S.D.K., Thennakoon, D. & Kailasapathy, P. (2025). Honey Are You OK? Gender, Coping, and Well-being among Dual Earner Couples in Sri Lanka during the COVD-19 Pandemic. In T.K. Sundari Ravindran, M. Sivakami, A. Bhushan, S. F. Rashid, & K. S. Khan (Eds.) Handbook on Sex, Gender, and Health (pg. 1-29). Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 
    • Kailasapathy, P., Thennakoon, D., & Wanninayake, S. D. K. (2024). Honey, shhh! I am Working: Work from Home and Work-life Balance during COVID-19. Research Handbook on Work Life Balance and Employee Health. Edward Elgar Publishing. 

    Journal Articles 

    • Wanninayake, S.D.K. & Razik, R. (2023). The interplay of job demands-resources: Experiences of Public Health Inspectors of Sri Lanka during the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic. South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/23220937231196985
    • Thennakoon, D., Wanninayake, S.D.K. & Kailasapathy, P. (2022). Honey, how can I help?: Gender and distribution of unpaid labour during COVID-19. Sustainability, 14(22), 14972. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214972
    • Wanninayake, S.D., O’Donnell, M. & Williamson, S. (2022). COVID-19 and job demands and resources experienced by nurses in Sri Lanka. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 33(1), 100-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/10353046221077509
    • Wanninayake, S.D.K. (2022). The ‘smile’ that delivers the brand: Organisational dehumanisation among frontline staff in the hotel sector – evidence from Sri Lanka. South Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, 2(2), 20-52. http://doi.org/10.4038/sajth.v2i2.50
    • Wanninayake, S.D.K., O’Donnell, M.E. & Williamson, S. (2021). Caring with a forced smile: Emotional labour among private hospital nurses in Sri Lanka. South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, 8(2), 219-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/23220937211037221
    • Wanninayake, S.D.K. & O’Donnell, M.E. (2021). Emotional labour of ‘angels’: The performances and experiences of male and female nurses in Sri Lanka. Colombo Business Journal, 12(1), 87-113. http://doi.org/10.4038/cbj.v12i1.72

    Conference Papers

    • Ahinsa, M., Thennakoon, D. & Wanninayake S.D.K. (2025, December 1-4). Work Life Balance of Working Single Parents: A Border Theory Perspective, accepted for presenting at 38th Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
    • Wanninayake, S.D.K. & Adikaram, A. S. (2021, July 30). An Effort to Bridge University-Industry Gap among Human Resource Management (under)Graduates: Students’ Perception, presented at 17th SLAIHEE Higher Education Conference, Sri Lanka.
    • Wanninayake, S.D.K. & Razik, R. (2021, April 29-30). Response of Sri Lanka’s Public Health Inspectors to Job Demand-Resource Interplay during COVID-19 Pandemic, presented at 6th International Conference on Contemporary Management (ICCM), Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
    • Wanninayake, S.D.K., O’Donnell, M.E. & Williamson, S. (2021, February 3-5). Nurses’ Job Demands and Resources in Sri Lanka and the COVID-19 Pandemic, presented at Association of Industrial Relations Academics in Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) Conference (virtual).
    • Wanninayake, S.D.K. (2018, December 4-8). Nursing Nurses’ Emotions: The Coping Strategies of Sri Lankan Nurses, presented at 32nd Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
    • Wanninayake, S.D.K. & Williamson, S. (2018, July 23-27). Managing the Hearts and Minds of Frontline Service Employees in Sri Lankan Hotels, presented at 18th International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) World Congress, Seoul, South Korea.
    Lecturing & Tutoring
    • Currently working as the principal supervisor for students reading for Master of Business Research at Canterbury Institute of Management
    • Co-supervising students reading for Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at the Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka