A recent report by Cisco found that 90 per cent of UAE employees want to work either in a hybrid or fully remote working model in the future. Let that sink in.
It’s no surprise really. We’ve heard countless testimonials of the benefits of global hiring, whether it is from business leaders who have noted that remote work helps increase employee productivity or from employees who have found a much better work-life balance with these new ways of working.
This should incentivise companies to embrace a long-term, remote-first approach. However, building a great distributed workforce culture isn’t easy, given the lack of face-to-face communication and perks of in-office bonding. But it’s more than possible.
Whether the company is fully distributed or hybrid, the distributed team deserves investment in a remote work culture.
According to a FlexJobs study, toxic workplace culture has been the leading cause of employees quitting their jobs, especially during the Great Resignation. At the same time, companies that nurture a culture of learning and improvement have been able to retain employees for almost twice as long as the average retention span of 2.9 years.
It highlighted that when leaders nurture interpersonal relationships, foster belonging and celebrate accomplishments in the workplace, employees are about 400 per cent more likely to feel engaged in their role.
Engagement correlates to increased employee satisfaction and retention, which can even positively impact company profitability.
Moreover, leveraging technology can strengthen a company culture.
Encourage employee resource groups
Employee resource groups are employee-led groups where workers gather in a safe space to discuss and support common goals and experiences. These groups encourage employees to build trust with their peers, facilitate friendships and bring their full selves to work each day.
The groups can help distributed workers bond as they don’t have a physical office space to spend time together like office employees.
When implemented correctly, on a company-wide level, they can help identify issues before they escalate and reduce the possibility of the environment becoming toxic.
Groups related to mental health are particularly helpful in companies embracing global hiring since the time difference can affect communication and lack of water cooler face-to-face chats can cause isolation in a remote set up.
Talk about career development with employees
Once employees become more tenured in their role, encourage them to be transparent with their manager on growth areas and see if they can leverage their experience to reach a higher level of contribution.
That could be organising team meetings for collaboration, creating a training session where they excel or connecting one-on-one with a team member each week to check in on them and act as a leader.
Have a shared goal to boost collaboration
Shared visions and common goals develop a bond between leaders and employees, allowing them to enjoy success and face failure as a team.
Although we are unique individuals with different aspirations, once employees join a team within a particular organisation, it is not all about professional growth; it is also about the company's growth.
That’s the reason senior leaders should focus on creating a shared goal and encouraging employees to work together to achieve it.
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This is where sharing the results also makes an impact — when the team knows about the difference they’re making, they’ll feel motivated to do even more.
Create and foster intentional connections and mentoring
Leaders should make themselves available to build one-on-one connections with employees at all levels as well as encourage other senior leaders to do the same for less experienced colleagues.
Senior leaders can give more junior employees unique insight into company priorities and share stories and tips from their own career development. Providing employees with a meeting template or guidelines ahead of the call will allow them to be prepared to make the most of the time.
Mentor relationships can enhance the bond between employees. More than 70 per cent of Fortune 500 companies implement mentoring programmes, and many of them have seen positive effects on different aspects of company culture, such as diversity and better employee experience.
Finally, I will say that whether the employees work from the office or opt for remote work, leaders need to establish a team culture to keep everything and everyone together.
As business leaders, it is worth keeping front of mind that hiring a top-notch workforce depends on the values the company promotes.
Tarek Salam is head of Mena expansion at Deel
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
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Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
