Her Excellency Laila Obaid Al Suwaidi, Acting Director General of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR), affirmed that the UAE government is a pioneer in developing future experiences and models in various fields of work, and that remote work in the federal government sector was not a coincidence, but was established as a viable model since 2017. The remote work system was applied experimentally in 5 federal entities and its impact on productivity was measured.
This came during her participation in a main session entitled: "Transformation of the Government Scene: a Digital Race for the Success of Remote Work" as part of the "Remote Work" Forum organized by the Office of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications in the UAE Government, and which lasted for two days at the Museum of the Future in Dubai.
She stated that the "Covid-19" pandemic represented an opportunity to successfully and effectively implement the remote work model, as a result of several factors, the most important of which are legislative flexibility, speed in policy development, and technical readiness through the availability of advanced digital infrastructure, institutional confidence, and trust in leadership and employees.
She added that the government continued to develop and improve systems, and provided flexibility to federal entities in adopting appropriate solutions and tools to measure the productivity of employees working through the remote work system, explaining that productivity levels has improved in some areas in light of the application of the remote work system, stressing that despite the differences in entities experience with remote work, they have harnessed technological solutions and tools to enhance communication, interaction, employees engagement and the consolidation of team spirit.
The session dealt with the most prominent experiences, practices and solutions related to the remote work model adopted by the federal and local government entities in the UAE, and their implications on efficiency, productivity, performance and quality of life in the government work environment.
It shed the light on some best practices for remote work in the federal and local authorities, in which the speakers shared their opinions and experiences in enabling and developing remote work models, and its opportunities to enhance organizational culture and productivity, in an interactive dialogue aimed at presenting successful practices and experiences for the mechanisms of applying remote work in government entities and adopting successful and sustainable practices.
The session was attended by Her Excellency Laila Obaid Al Suwaidi, Acting Director General of FAHR, His Excellency Mohammed Al Ketbi, Deputy Director General of the Authority for Support Services Sector in the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and Digital Government, Dr. Ibrahim Al Khaja, Director of Human Resources Department at Abu Dhabi Customs, and Youssef Hassan Al Mutawa, Deputy Prosecutor at the Public Prosecution Office in Dubai, and it was moderated by the journalist Hamid Al-Mashaani.