The launch ceremony came as part of NPHP’s participation in the HR Club Forum organized by the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources in the presence of HE Ohoud Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and Quality of Life Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, HE Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar Director General of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources and a number of undersecretaries, director generals and senior officials in federal and local government entities.

The “Guide to Happiness & Quality of Life in the Work Environment” reflects the philosophy of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as expressed in his book “Reflections on Happiness and Positivity”. It is aimed at raising awareness among government entities about the key factors affecting building a culture of happiness and quality of life in the workplace and the positive effects of this on employee performance and productivity.

The forum hosted the international speaker, Professor Matthew D. Lieberman, Director of the Laboratory of Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of California, who highlighted the importance of the social aspect of the work environment in achieving happiness, quality of life and productivity.

Ohoud Al-Roumi stressed that the Guide reflects the wise vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoumm quoting his words:  "Always view your team positively, give them positive energy, lift their morale and work to achieve their happiness, so they can, in turn, bring about happiness in their communities”. 

The Minister of State for Happiness and Quality of Life said that the Guide developed by NPHP is based on research and recent studies in positive psychology, neuroscience and theories of leadership and positive management.

She added that the Guide aims to provide practical and scientific tools that support the efforts of government agencies in creating a pleasant working environment for employees and motivate the authorities to achieve the vision of leadership and place the UAE Government among the best worldwide. “Many scientific studies have proven that a happy working environment that enables the employee to innovate and develop, plays an important role in enhancing productivity levels as well”, she noted.

HE Ohoud Al-Roumi expressed her thanks and appreciation to HE Dr. Ahmed bin Abdullah Humaid Al-Falousi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, Chairman of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources and HE Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Director General of the Authority for their efforts to promote happiness in the governmental work environment. She praised the Authority’s efforts in promoting the culture and concept of happiness and quality of life in government agencies.

HE Dr. Ahmed Balhous Al Falasi affirmed that the UAE accords great importance to the human element, and its role in achieving global competitiveness, leadership and sustainable development.

He said: “The UAE is playing a pioneering role in spreading the concept of happiness and positivity as a national culture and lifestyle. It ranks first in the list of happy nations and peoples, thanks to the directives of His Highness President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and their brothers, members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emirates.

"Our leadership has shown great interest in happiness through creation of Minister of State for Happiness and Quality of Life and the National Program for Happiness & Positivity. The Government has been keen on promoting the concept of happiness and wellbeing in the work environment and has changed the government customer service centres to customer happiness centres to underline the importance of happiness for the employees, the public and customers”.

Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Director General of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, stressed the importance of the forum, as “it highlights a very important issue”. He hailed the efforts of the wise leadership towards enhancing workplace happiness through adopting world-class standards of human capital management, to achieve job satisfaction among employees and boost their performance and productivity.

He pointed out that the UAE has placed the issue of human capital development as a top priority and provided all the means for success.

“Happiness in the work environment is a key factor for successful human resource management and excellence, which benefits the employee and customers alike. It significantly contributes to increasing workplace harmony and employee welfare and productivity, thus improving the quality of services provided to the customers and the public at large, he noted.

HE Dr. Al Awar added: “Launched in 2010, the HR Club is one of the Authority’s most important strategic initiatives. It is an interactive platform and an intellectual and knowledge communication channel that brings together interested people, human resources specialists and experts under one roof to share ideas, experiences and solutions that could enhance the roles assigned to human resources departments and other institutional service bodies across different sectors in the country.

"It offers its membership, which has grown to over 12 thousand, an ideal opportunity to learn about the best practices, experiences and success stories of many individuals and institutions, as well as meeting with specialists and practitioners in the field of institutional work".

The Guide to Happiness & Quality of Life in the Work Environment reviews the concept of happiness, positivity and quality of life, and the importance of focusing on and enhancing it in the work environment. It encompasses   the elements of happiness, which define the culture of happiness in the work environment as a source of job satisfaction, workplace harmony and employee wellbeing, enhanced through specific areas of focus that can be guided by developing work methodologies for individuals and leaders alike.

Happiness and quality of life framework combines scientific evidence with theoretical principles to serve as a model for government institutions to create a positive environment that enhances employee productivity. The framework includes two complementary elements: happy and positive individuals who proactively seek to achieve happiness and promote their quality of life, and the happy and positive organization that is keen to provide the tools and the environment appropriate for the happiness and quality of life for its employees and customers.

The Guide attempts to achieve happiness and quality of life by best practices, policies and programs and provides an integrated framework for reaching this goal through four main areas: sticking to basic workplace values, promoting health, strengthening employee relations

The objective of the Guide is to establish an inspiring vision in the daily life of employees through various activities and organizational behaviors, and to consolidate the core values ​​based on the national cultural heritage. The focus of this theme is to formulate a clear narrative about the institution's vision, values ​​and history. The fourth focus is to instil a culture of altruism through social responsibility initiatives, and to highlight the importance of giving back to the community and recognizing volunteers.

In the area of health promotion, the Guide covers four main areas of focus, including increasing mental alertness by encouraging employees to take short breaks during work, do some simple exercises, and implement quality-of-life programs or sessions to enhance mental alertness.

The focus of this theme is to promote a positive work environment by providing a space to encourage individuals to express their creative ideas, and to transform the workplace into a "happy environment" by paying attention to interior design.

The third area of focus within health promotion is self-control, i.e. providing tools and resources to inform employees how to control their emotions, taking into account their psychological needs, providing appropriate channels of expression, and programs that help them to control their emotions.

This theme also focuses on work- life balance through interaction with employees, understanding their needs, taking into account their views and suggestions, developing flexible programs and policies, and implementing initiatives and activities aimed at enhancing their physical and mental fitness.

The third pillar or strengthening employee relations is based on four areas of focus, including enhancing team spirit at work, by demonstrating positive cooperative behavior, exploring strengths, organizing social activities that strengthen relationships between employees outside the work environment, and facilitating communication between staff, especially when new individuals are joining.

The focus of this theme is to establish a culture of positive communication through the adoption of an open-door policy, encouraging employees to communicate with their colleagues, fostering a culture of diversity and respect in the workplace, adopting policies and practices to integrate all staff, and appointing a person or team to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion.

At the level of liberating the potential, focus is on encouraging achievement and excellence, by appreciating outstanding results, as well as supporting personal and professional development to unlock the potentials through providing appropriate tools and opportunities to ensure continuous learning and development of staff, and clear career path.

This theme is also based on supporting the concept of empowerment through transparency, effective and regular communication, listening to employees, as well as organizing discussion groups, opinion polls and open meetings to explore their views and suggestions on various issues.

The forum hosted Neuroscientist Professor Matthew D. Lieberman, Director of the Laboratory of Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of California, who highlighted the importance of the social aspect of the work environment in achieving happiness, quality of life and productivity, and the role of social neuroscience in the development of the working environment.

In his lecture entitled "Using the Social Brain to Increase Happiness and Productivity in the Work Environment", the international expert stressed that the need to communicate with others is parallel to the need for food and shelter in achieving happiness. The "comfort center" in the brain is affected by the social pleasure the same as physical sense of pleasure; physical pain and social pain stimulate the same area in the brain, and that they are the same in that they motivate us to interact and communicate with our surroundings.

Matthew Lieberman highlighted the mechanisms of investing the social brain and explained that enhancing productivity needs smarter and happier individuals, and that intelligence and happiness are linked to the social aspect.

He said: "If we want people to be smarter and happier so that they can to continuously boost the productivity of our institutions, we need to think changing employee incentive tools and redesign the work environment. We have to think about social aspects and motivate individuals to communicate and provide social rewards. We must raise awareness about the importance of employees’ role and how they contribute to improving the quality of life of others. Organizations that could do this will make their employees happier, smarter and more productive”.

He pointed out that many institutions seeking to enhance their human capital with smart minds and distinguished expertise sometimes do not realize that they are unintentionally focusing on building a specific social formula involving employees with the same IQs.

"Building a culture of gratitude, celebrating achievements and promoting social relationships in the workplace can motivate employees and makes them more productive," he said, citing a study that indicated that 40 per cent of people who liked their workplace attributed that to having a close friend there.

On the health level, the international expert pointed out that many studies suggest that smoking is the leading cause of death, but this is not necessarily accurate in light of what has been proven by neuroscience that isolation and lack of social relations are most threatening to human life

He said: "It is difficult to find a goal, without helping others and trying to make them happy. People need each other regardless of their different characters, because our brains are designed to be social in nature and because ‘giving’ stimulates the area responsible for feeling rewarded in the brain, more than ‘taking’.

"Money does not bring happiness because making it requires sacrificing the time dedicated to the family and friends. There is a direct correlation between the number of hours we spend with family and friends and the levels of happiness we enjoy,". He referred to a study in the United States that found the effect of drinking a cup coffee with a friend exceeds the impact of earning $ 100 thousand.

Matthew Lieberman has published more than 190 articles in prestigious scientific fields and won the Distinguished Scientific Award of the American Society of Psychiatry for his early professional contribution in psychology (2007) and was awarded the Masar Society for Experimental Social Life Award (2015).

He is also the author of the best seller "Why Our Brains are Wired to Connect", and founded the Precog Neuroscience Agency, which focuses on helping companies and employees to thrive through advanced neuroscience measurements.