The launch of EWGF was official announced during a ceremony held recently in Dubai, in the presence of HE Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Director General of the Authority, HE Aisha Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of Human Resources Policies Sector, executive heads of Happiness and Positivity in the Federal Government, a number of government communication and HR directors and media representatives.

In this regard, HE Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Awar stressed the importance of creating harmony and employee happiness in different working environments at the state level, especially in the Federal Government institutions, and devising new methods and tools in this regard to meet the needs of different generations of employees, and realize the aspirations and vision of the wise leadership of His Highness President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

 He said: "The EWGF in the Federal Government is in line with the principles of the National Happiness and Positivity Charter adopted by the UAE Council of Ministers in early 2016, which affirms the Government's commitment to create an environment conducive to the happiness of the individual, family and community. It aims to ensure job satisfaction among employees and achieve institutional excellence across government sectors."

He added that the employee wellness programs contribute to the creation of a positive corporate culture, which leads to happier employees who can provide exceptional services to customers and the community at large. “This is the goal of the UAE Government, which always strives to establish a culture of happiness and positive lifestyle for all citizens and residents”, he said.

Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Awar shed light on a number of initiatives launched by  the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources in relation to employee wellness and workplace harmony at the level of the Federal Government. The most important of these initiatives included Imtyazat program for employee discount introduced in a new form recently; the two initiatives for training and assessment partners "Maasar" and "Qudradat"; “Maqassert” e-Card, Performance Management Systems, Training & Development System; Rewards & Incentives System, Occupational Health and Safety Manual, and many more.

Aisha Al-Suwaidi: EWGF provides a reference for ministries and federal entries

HE Aisha Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of Human Resources Policies Sector, highlighted the main features of EWGF introduced in the Federal Government, pointing out that it provides a reference for all ministries and federal bodies in their efforts to create a positive work environment for employees and launch incentive initiatives to enhance their role and increase their productivity.

“The concept of is defined as a set of programs, initiatives and services aimed at enhancing and improving the mental and physical health of employees. It is essential in the development of their behavioural competence, performance and productivity, as well as improving their motivation to work, reflecting positively on workplace happiness, and institutional loyalty”, she noted.

Al Suwaidi explained that employee wellness programs have a profound and direct impact on enhancing the positive feelings of employees, as well as their performance, human relations and their professional and personal development in the work environment. She stressed its importance in reducing absenteeism and employee turnover, and increasing talent attraction, retention and institutional loyalty.

She said: "Studies conducted by international organizations specialized in human resources have found that happy employees are likely to improve their performance by 31%, creativity by 300%, effectiveness by 37% and reduce sick leave incidents by 66%".

She indicated that corporate happiness and positivity model is divided into three levels: happy and positive employee who is fully engaged in the work environment; happy and positive workplace based on strong corporate culture, policies and best practices; and finally, happy and positive customer / community, representing the engine of national policies at different levels.

The Executive Director of the Human Resources Policy defined corporate culture standards and a positive work environment in the following points: clarity of purpose and objective, communication, harmony, career empowerment, continuous learning and CSR.

“The success of career development initiatives and programs in organizations depends on several factors, including: understanding and analysing the needs of staff, periodical review of employees’ perceptions, ensuring support and involvement of the top leadership of the organization in various wellness initiatives, measuring effectiveness of programs, and involving staff in various employee wellness initiatives”, she noted.

According to Al Suwaidi, response to the needs of different workforce generations is a key factor for the success of employee wellness initiatives and programs and "One-size-fits-all" cannot be applied in this case. Each generation has its own perspectives on values, beliefs, life concepts, expectations and motivations, skills and competencies.

She reviewed the PERMA model of happiness and wellbeing, which is based on 5 core elements: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships Meaning and Accomplishments, emphasizing that EWGF in the Federal Government focuses on three basic aspects: health care of employees by  attending to their physical and mental and psychological health; social relations, and workplace and surrounding environment including  office environment, occupational health and safety, recognition, motivation, training and development, easy access to the workplace, job security, and comfortable accommodation.

She pointed out that the results of EWGF initiatives implementation will be positively reflected on several aspects which can be measured by: percentage of improvement in employee welfare and happiness based on the study to measure “the happier working environment», carried out by the Office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers periodically, as well as improvement rate in customers’ happiness, absenteeism rates, and active employee participation.

Roles and Responsibilities

HE Aisha Al Suwaidi explained that Happiness Councils in the ministries and federal bodies will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of EWGF requirements, ensuring alignment with the National Happiness and Positivity Charter as well as associated wellness initiatives and activities and regular review for the purpose of improvement. She noted that the happiness & positivity CEO in each federal body will be responsible for coordination with the Office of HE the Minister of State for Happiness for the implementation of the initiatives of the National Happiness & Positivity Program in his entity, in addition to management and development of new wellness initiatives and projects with the relevant departments within the entity, and follow up on the effectiveness of the wellness program using indicators as per the results of study on “A Happier Working Environment”.

Aisha Al-Suwaidi spoke about the role of HR departments in the Federal Government in implementing EWGF as the responsible body for supporting the happiness & positivity CEO, identifying possible areas of focus in the design of programs and initiatives, and ensuring that all employees at all levels have adequate resources and programs to lead the cultural change in the work environment. HR departments are also responsible for supporting leadership in reviewing employee wellness programs, while line managers will be required to activate various initiatives, and lead change in their day-to-day dealings with employees.

With regard to employees of ministries and federal bodies, they will play a crucial role in the success of welfare initiatives and projects in their workplace, through peroactive participation in related activities, positive attitude in the work environment, and by proposing new ideas and initiatives to create a happy working environment.

Finally, she presented a set of guidelines and recommendations for the development of employee wellness initiatives, including: defining the scope and possible areas of focus, reviewing best practices, conducting benchmarking, defining objectives of wellness initiatives and success factors, cooperating with relevant partners, identifying a timeline for implementation of EWGF.

She also recommended to develop a plan to raise awareness about the initiatives, identify the budget for implementation of initiatives, support the person in charge of leading change, promote advantages of wellness  programs, follow-up employee participation, prepare a report on the operational indicators of the initiatives, and re-evaluate return on investment in wellness initiatives.