When I bid my parents farewell back in February before I travelled, I didn’t know it would a while before we were reunited. I also never imagined I would lose a relative to the virus, and that I would be unable to be there for friends who fell sick from it.
If there is one thing that people would agree on this year, it is that 2020 has been a challenging year. We lost more than 1.7 million people worldwide to the virus, and almost everyone’s life has been affected one way or another by it. Many of us worked, celebrated and mourned in isolation.
And yet, amid all the craziness, it has not all been terrible. Beyond the headlines, curfews and travel embargos, new possibilities and opportunities are arising. That is not only good news for businesses but also for our environment.
Throughout the years, writers and experts encouraged businesses to embrace remote work and help their employees maintain a work-life balance. The restrictions that were imposed earlier this year hastened the process and employers are beginning to realise that not only does it work, it is also cost-efficient.
Businesses that allow employees to work from home half the time, save an average of $11,000 per employee, according to Global Workplace Analytics. On an employee level, remote workers generally save an average $4,000 per year by working from home, according to Flexjobs, a service that helps people find flexible jobs.
Remote work also brought along tremendous opportunities from tapping talent around the world to reducing time spent commuting to and from meetings to cutting out unnecessary costs.
With everything happening in the digital space and more people embracing e-commence, we could witness the rise of more innovative digital start-ups. Dubai's Startup Hub, an initiative by Dubai's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, registered an annual 236 per cent increase in memberships in the first half of 2020.
More start-ups that specialise in e-commerce, supply chain, FinTech, and education have joined the initiative.
As businesses experience the benefits of remote work, and employees of some companies such as Twitter work from home indefinitely, this news could positively impact our environment and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The health crisis temporarily cut carbon dioxide emissions in countries such as China by 25 per cent, according the Carbon Brief.
While some experts believe that this is temporary and the numbers could jump back up once people travel freely, I hope that more people would think twice and incorporate sustainable choices in their lives. If more companies embrace a permanent remote work model, less commuting will mean less traffic and more sustainable lives.
Our limited travel options this year also meant that many of us had a chance to strengthen familial ties, embrace our surroundings and explore the outdoors.
The “World’s Coolest Winter” campaign launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, encourages people to explore the UAE’s hidden gems this season, in line with ambitions to double the domestic tourism industry’s contribution of $11.2 billion to gross domestic product by 2030.
All in all, 2020 has shown us the importance of resilience – in business and in life. It showed us that despite the hardships and challenges, we find ways to pivot, to survive and thrive. The year shook our routines, our lifestyles, and our expectations. It taught us to plan for the future and shed more light on the importance of saving our money and not take anything for granted.
As painful as this year was to many of us, I am hopeful that with the skills we acquired and the experiences we have exchanged with each other, we will be in a better position to reshape our businesses, create new ventures, sustain our environment and support our colleagues in their bid to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati journalist and entrepreneur, who manages her marketing and communications company in Abu Dhabi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
