UAE’s employers and workforces have an immediate priority – cut down stress

Job stresses - and the insecurity this breeds - are a live concern for many residents in the UAE. Workplace expectations have been rearranged since the onset of the pandemic, and generally resulted in longer hours across the board. The expectations too have been cranked up.

Women in the workforce bear a higher state of stress, whether in the UAE or worldwide, according to the latest survey from the US health insurer Cigna. It found that 89 per cent of women respondents in the UAE admitted to feeling extreme stress levels related to work, far more than men. This has them feeling depressed, emotionally vulnerable, lose out on focus and sleep.

Not so easy on the mental health – 34 per cent of respondents in the Cigna poll say there is still insufficient support. This despite all the raised awareness about mental health issues at the workplace. There were 39 per cent who feel they need access to resilience training for mental health.

The gap in mental health support is significantly higher among women (42 per cent). And 33 per cent felt they were shown a lack of understanding by their employers. All of which added to the stress levels - stress factor within UAE’s workforce - though lower than pre-pandemic period - still ranks among the highest in the world at 88 per cent.

Job switch – If they can, many in the UAE workforce would consider changing their jobs and turning around their life situation. In the 35-59-year age bracket, 45 per cent say they would make such a switch as against 25 per cent in the same age group who thought similar worldwide.

The state of their finances will have something to do with this, with many reporting an erosion to their financial well-being. The salary cuts endured during the worst of the COVID-19 months would have dented even the best laid out plans.

Work-from-home (WFH) had its use during a certain phase, but employees are now coming back saying there are downsides to doing so as well. The Cigna survey found employees were feeling overworked. Of the polled, 25 per cent would opt for WFH full-time with access to an office when needed, while 32 per cent want to return to the office full-time.

Women prefer WFH more than men – 49 per cent vs. 37 per cent. Guess there are no surprises there, given how many a woman have balanced the competing needs of home and workplace effectively over the years.

But there were many who “feel that it often leads to overworking. Distractions at home, longer working hours, and weaker collaboration are seen as the biggest disadvantages of WFH.”

A key outcome of WFH is overwork, with half of office-based workers in the UAE noting that they worked longer hours when WFH. Peer pressure is one reason for the longer hours, but excessive workload (31 per cent) and high employer expectations (21 per cent) also come with the territory.

But UAE’s residents are thinking more and attuned to whole health. “People (are) opening up to a wider view of health inclusive of mental, physical and overall well-being across work, social and family,” says the Cigna survey. “The priority areas are family health (81 per cent), mental health and emotional wellbeing (78 per cent), physical health (77 per cent) and financial health (77 per cent). A majority of the respondents also place high importance on having access to care, such as medical advice or treatment, home environment and living conditions as they work more from home and work-life balance.”

A bit of worry on the financial health and coming to grips with the physical and mental side of one’s own health – that’s the state many in the local workforce will keep on tackling for some time. COVID-19 sure leaves some long shadows…