Key Decision Makers Come Together To Discuss The Future Of Workplace Health And Wellness At The Business Of Wellbeing Conference

In an effort to spur action and help shift the perceptions around the importance of health and wellness in the workplace, Oman Insurance and Bupa Global hosted The Business of Wellbeing conference today supported by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization – in collaboration with SME Advisor. The inaugural conference gathered over 200 key decision makers and employers, who are collectively responsible for determining the workplace health and wellness provisions of over 300,000 employees in the region.

At the conference, employers were asked about their perceptions of investing in their employees’ health and the benefits of corporate wellness programmes. According to the survey, 81% of respondents believe that investing in corporate health initiatives, such as corporate wellness programmes and health insurance, is a worthwhile investment and crucial to business success. Despite this, 60% do not currently have a corporate wellness programme in place for their employees.

Whilst many employers appear to recognise the benefit of providing a holistic health and wellness offering to their employees and understand the positive impact it has on business success; a gap remains wide between the aspiration of workplace wellbeing programmes and subsequent investment in them. The business case for this is often cited as budget cuts and cost containment, lack of understanding about employees’ wellbeing needs, or lack of staff members with the know-how and skills to introduce wellness programmes.

Nilanjana Ghosh, Regional Head of Marketing for Bupa Global in Africa, India and the Middle East, explained: “We firmly believe in encouraging employers to view investment in health and wellness as no different to investing in employee development and training. With 49% of people in the UAE stating work commitments as a barrier to improving health and wellbeing, employers play a vital role in ensuring they have a positive impact on the physical and mental health of their employees. This comes with the added benefit of increased employee loyalty and productivity, as well as a healthier and happier workplace culture.”

“At today’s conference, we presented best practices, successful case studies, held engaging discussions and sparked many scalable ideas that employers can easily adopt to help make substantial differences in the workplace, many of which come at a low cost” she added.

Case study – Careem 

One such example of a company getting it right is the MENA region’s leading ride-hailing app, Careem, which has an extensive employee wellness strategy in place. The business has recently introduced a new on-site doctor programme that will provide guidance on physical and mental health. Alongside providing medical advice in the workplace, Careem also offers flexible working options for working mothers, internal mobility and enhanced medical cover to promote career growth and prevent employee burnout.

Commenting on how to harness the power of corporate wellness programmes and the difference it makes to employees, Ruth Fletcher, Vice President of People, Careem said: “For us at Careem, our focus has been on providing an integrated wellness strategy which covers the mental and physical wellbeing of our colleagues, as well as catering to each individual’s unique situation. Our programmes have proven to reduce workplace stress, boost physical and mental wellbeing and drive productivity, which in turn has enabled us to increase retention rates and gives us a competitive advantage when it comes to the attraction and retention of talent.”

His Excellency Dr. Omar Al-Nuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary for Communications and International Relations for the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, added: “The good news is that many employers in the UAE have already begun to put in place innovative programs for mental and physical health, with more provisions for mothers returning from maternity leave, flexible working hours and enhanced medical cover to name a few. The benefits include reduced stress, increased productivity, improved general health and increased healthy behaviour.”

“We are dedicated to ensuring the happiness of all employees in the UAE and give our full support to platforms like The Business of Wellbeing, as they help turn today’s ideas into tomorrow’s reality.” Dr. Omar concluded.

The Business of Wellbeing is a full day conference for Human Resource professionals and decision makers, held at the H Hotel in Dubai. To find out more about your current state of wellbeing, Bupa Global and Oman Insurance have a wellness quiz that can help both employees and employers to gain a deeper understanding of their workplace wellness requirements. For further information on the Wellness Quiz, visit www.tameen.ae/bupaglobal/wellness