Dubai Chamber-Led Campaign Highlights The Importance Of Leading With Empathy During Unprecedented Times The Employee Health and Happiness-themed event, held during Dubai Chamber Sustainability Week 2020, featured campaigns and activities that witnessed the participation of over 57,000 employees from 42 companies.
By Entrepreneur Middle East Staff Edited by Aby Sam Thomas
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"Let's Create a Healthy and Happy Workplace", a Dubai Chamber-led campaign to raise awareness about employee health and happiness, emphasized the need for top management to advocate for employee health and wellbeing and lead with compassion and empathy during the COVID-19 times.
Held as part of the Dubai Chamber Sustainability Week 2020, from November 8 to 12, 2020, the Employee Health and Happiness-themed event witnessed the participation of over 57,000 employees from 42 companies and nine academic institutions and non-profit organizations. It included over 400 projects, activities, and events.
During the virtually held closing ceremony, industry leaders emphasized the importance of prioritizing employee health and wellbeing within organizations, especially within the human resources agenda.
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Many experts iterated that, while there is no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with any crisis, including COVID-19, now is the right time for firms to adapt to technological innovations in the fields of health and wellbeing. Also discussed during the closing ceremony was the importance of remodelling work environments and developing systems and skills that aid and empower employees to work from home without micromanaging them.
Among the speakers and panellists present at the CEO Dialogue event, which was held under the theme "Cultivating a Culture of Employees Health and Happiness for Business Sustainability", were H.E. Majid Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chamber; Rola Abu Manneh, CEO of Standard Chartered UAE; Stuart Harrison, CEO of Emrill Services LLC; Phil Malem, CEO of Serco Middle East; and Andrew Shaw, Group CEO of Ducab.
A screenshot of the Dubai Chamber Sustainability Week 2020 closing ceremony.
Source: Dubai Chamber Of Commerce And Industry.
A roundtable discussion held during the CEO dialogue put a spotlight on the various physical, psychological and professional aspects and challenges of remote working during and post COVID-19 pandemic. The need to create hybrid and flexible work environments that combine office and remote working as a permanent feature while also providing employees the necessary tools to efficiently work from home were among the main points suggested at the event.
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In addition, a multistakeholder dialogue saw Alyaa Al Mulla, Director, National Program for Happiness and Wellbeing, Office of the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and representatives from Steppi and Cisco join the discussion on the key pros and cons of using technological solutions to enhance employee wellness strategies.
Dr. Belaid Rettab, Chief Economist and Senior Director, Economic Research and Sustainable Business Development Sector at Dubai Chamber's Centre for Responsible Business, weighed in on the event saying that the strong participation at the Dubai Chamber Sustainability Week 2020 reflects the ever-growing importance of employee health and wellbeing for companies in the UAE. He also added that that the week-long initiative and campaign achieved its objectives of raising awareness about the benefits of prioritizing employee health and happiness, and encouraging organizations to take practical actions and further their progress in this area.
