The UAE's new unemployment insurance scheme could boost talent retention in the country. Reem Mohammed / The National
The UAE's new unemployment insurance scheme could boost talent retention in the country. Reem Mohammed / The National
The UAE's new unemployment insurance scheme could boost talent retention in the country. Reem Mohammed / The National
The UAE's new unemployment insurance scheme could boost talent retention in the country. Reem Mohammed / The National


UAE unemployment insurance and a better model for post-pandemic work life


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January 03, 2023

For months, employers all over the world have braced themselves for a potential reckoning: with the pandemic having caused so many workers to detach themselves from office life, expectations have changed dramatically. Even as managers continue to coax and prod, numerous companies face a difficult road ahead if they want to return to an “old normal” while remaining attractive to prospective employees.

Barring any sudden misfortune, 2023 is widely expected to be the year the pandemic recedes, and the reckoning has come. This may be no bad thing. Too much time out of office is certainly bad for productivity, not to mention esprit de corps. But hybrid arrangements, many researchers have found, can lead to greater productivity and company pride. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak, and shareholders are unlikely to quibble with a change in working culture if they can see the greater returns for themselves.

But perhaps the greatest benefit of the new normal is the focus on talent retention. Hybrid work offers a straightforward way to maintain the flexibility that technologies and workflows have afforded employees and employers during the pandemic. It is a more attractive and, in the long-run, cheaper solution than pre-pandemic strategies like outsized bonuses or the Silicon Valley cliche of ping pong tables and bean bag chairs in common areas.

The greatest benefit of the new normal is the focus on talent retention

The post-pandemic race for talent retention extends beyond companies. In some Gulf countries, where attracting and keeping the best workers is part of national development, governments are finding that lifestyle – and a sense of security – matters at least as much as pay packets. In the UAE, labour law reforms introduced during the pandemic have set a new regional standard for employees’ rights, incorporating part-time, remote and flexible working into protections for expatriate workers. The country has also introduced new visa categories to promote freelancing and remote working for foreign companies, in further recognition of changing attitudes towards working life.

This month, the Emirates has also seen a new unemployment insurance scheme come into effect. The programme, which is compulsory for all public and private sector employees outside the country’s free zones, costs between Dh5 ($1.36) and Dh10 a month, depending on an employee’s most recent basic salary level. Upon termination, employees will receive up to 60 per cent of their basic salary amount for a period of three months.

Initiatives like greater unemployment insurance benefits have another upside in post-pandemic life. Discussions about the transformation of working life are often unfairly centred on white-collar jobs, but the pandemic showed that when global crises hit, it is often those who are required to show up in person for work whose jobs are most vulnerable. Even in the richest countries, a majority of workers must be physically present in order to carry out their work. Where flexibility is not an option, the pandemic has reinforced the message that society must offer other ways of guaranteeing workers’ sense of security.

Overall, 2023 will be a year in which policymakers, employers and workers alike will demonstrate a greater understanding of the relationship between life outside the office and life within it. While there are many economic hurdles to get through before the world can be said to have recovered from what the past three years have wrought, immediate progress has been shown through structural changes to how we perceive and honour employees’ needs.

Five films to watch

Castle in the Sky (1986)

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Only Yesterday (1991)

Pom Poki (1994)

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)

Q&A with Dash Berlin

Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.

You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.

You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.

Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.

 

Updated: January 04, 2023, 12:01 PM`