A 36-year-old software engineer from Dubai, Alisa Marianne has not reported sick in three years and worked as many as 10 hours a day only because she feared her wages would be slashed if she did not work. She recently self-identified as being burnt out yet keeps getting scared of taking time off because her family relies on her wage earnings.
Dubai has launched a Dh105 million mental health framework to prioritize the well-being of employees, with the aim to provide early detection and intervention for mental health issues, a recurring issue in the world nowadays, due to work-stress and other factors. According to experts, this will give companies the much-needed push to prioritize the mental well-being of their employees.
The framework was launched under the directives of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE.
“I have noticed that a shift in culture, especially with mental health, comes only when it is top-down,” said Aakanksha Tangri, CEO of Re: SET – An employee well-being program.
“The fact that this directive has come from Sheikh Hamdan is enough to drive many companies to allocate it at the top of their activity list.”
Indeed, Nina Patel, HR Manager at Sovereignty GO Partner Group nodded at this. “The management of this new initiative would probably be aimed at enhancing the welfare of employees, thus mirroring the overall strategy,” she stated.
Relative to this new initiative introduced in Dubai, it is possible to predict that more companies will turn to the work on the programs aimed at the effective employees’ welfare.
The following is why a mental health expert said it was important. A substantial percentage of all these ailments manifest themselves before the age of twenty–five; meaning, the importance of timely diagnosis cannot be overemphasized, noted Dr Raveen Ranga, Clinical Psychologist at Sanity Clinics.
“This will go a long way in creating awareness and eradicating new narratives- any time a member of the public can hear of one person within the community seeking help for a mental health ailment the more would feel able to seek one.
Causes of stress
As stated by Aakanksha, several factors make several workers in the UAE stressed out. The first one is, ‘They are separated from their families,’ she stated.
“There is also financial stress because of the high cost of living. Moreover, this is a very competitive market. There is always the fear of being replaced. With all these factors combined, the stress levels are very high among expat populations.”
A recent study by Cigna Healthcare revealed that 90% of UAE respondents feel stressed, with almost all experiencing at least one burnout symptom. Aakanksha, who has worked with frontline and domestic workers, emphasized the importance of providing them with the necessary resources to cope with stress.
She aims to equip them with tools to help during times of high stress, promoting a proactive approach to mental health issues and gradually shifting the company’s mindset towards these concerns. According to some, this move will remove some of the stigma. “Mental health disorders continue to face stigma in the MENA region,” said Harjit Bahia, co-founder and medical director at ZOI-ME, an upcoming longevity clinic in Dubai.
“This initiative is significant – not only for the financial backing it brings but also for the state-wide attention and scientific scrutiny it will herald to a field that has often been misunderstood or surrounded by cultural misconceptions.”
Financial benefits
Aakanksha also noted that this probably goes unnoticed by many but actually, taking a positively concerning investment in the mental health of the employees can translate to less expenditures for the companies in the long run.
“Coherent estimates reveal that in most organizations, the cost of recruiting a new employee stands at 60 percent of that candidate’s wage,” she said.
“If 10 percent of your employees leave, and I am not talking about key employees here, just picture how much that would cost a company in the UAE; with this investment, companies secure good talent.”
Nina proceeded to describe how this can be achieved. “Informal one-on-one meetings to talk about the employee and their position in the company can be immeasurable and self-esteem boosting for the employee,” she said.
“Employees submitting their services with flexible work-from-home situations have been on the rise from the period influenced by the pandemic. “
Working flexibility has been found to improve well-being since employees are allowed to work under their desired conditions.
A crucial psychological element impacting the prestige of the company and the state of well-being of its employees can be managed through the promotion of exercising their rights to annual leave.
Smaller-scale interventions, for instance, using the suggestion box, satisfaction ratings, or group outings are also rather simple and effective to use in terms of following the situation in the company and obtaining genuine feedback from the employees, stated Jones.