Abstract:
This study investigates the key factors that influence personal financial management
behaviours among government employees in Sri Lanka, focusing on financial
attitude, financial knowledge, and locus of control as predictors of financial
behaviour. The research is motivated by the distinctive financial challenges faced by
government employees, such as largely fixed incomes, limited exposure to diverse
investment opportunities, and prevalent debt obligations, which may constrain
effective financial decision-making and heighten the need for targeted interventions.
Data were collected via a structured survey of government employees in the Colombo
District using simple random sampling; 250 questionnaires were distributed, and 228
valid responses were obtained. Reliability and relationships among variables were
examined using Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression
analysis. Results show that financial attitude and financial knowledge are positively
and significantly associated with personal financial management behaviour, while
locus of control exhibits a weaker but positive influence. Together the three predictors
explain approximately 80% of the variance in financial management behaviour.
Practical implications include the need for tailored financial literacy programmes,
behavioural interventions, and workplace policies to strengthen the financial well-being of government employees. Limitations of the study include its cross-sectional,
self-reported design and its focus on the Colombo District, which may limit
generalisability; future research should consider broader, longitudinal samples and
objective financial measures to validate and extend these findings.
