The UAE has been leading from the front — and not just in the region, but in the world — with workplace best practices.

Sometime back, there was news that a few companies in the UAE were giving their employees the option of “unlimited leave”. In an interview to Khaleej Times, Careem’s director of Rewards and Benefits spoke about how his company provides his “colleagues with the flexibility they need to accommodate personal circumstances while meeting the exceptionally demanding requirements of their jobs”.

Institutionalising an inclusive and gender-sensitive office environment is another practice most companies are following diligently — while trying to up the game with out-of-the-box thinking. Bonuses and hikes are being factored meticulously in an attempt to retain talent. With Ramadan coming up, all companies will be going the extra mile to ensure that employees who are observing the Holy Month are well taken care of. The list goes on.

These best practices straddle each and every sector (with the government sector consistently raising the bar), and social media has proved to be an effective platform for the word to out in the public domain that employees’ interests are at the heart of UAE’s work culture —irrespective of designation. Providing more incentives to organisations around the world to be part of a movement that will get corporate culture on board with values-based practices, Great Place to Work® — a global research, training and consultancy firm that recognises best workplaces in over 60 countries worldwide — has come out with its list of ‘Best Workplaces UAE™ for the year 2023’.

Ibrahim Mougharbel, the managing director for the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, Great Place to Work® Middle East, summed it up perfectly when he remarked that despite the challenges faced during the pandemic, “we are proud to witness even more continuous advocation for work-life balance among leaders in the UAE and we are here to celebrate them. We are therefore not celebrating companies; we are celebrating heroes.” Recognitions like these give that extra fillip to all workplaces, and certainly augurs well for the UAE’s vision to always keep improving in ways that work well for all invested parties.

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