• Home
• /
• UAE

Dubai Police wins award for being 'happiest place to work'

Dubai - Happiness@Work Award recognises the happiest and most innovative organisations in the region.

Dubai Police is the happiest workplace in the public sector and Schneider Electric the best in the private sector.

The fourth edition of the Happiness@Work Award that takes place annually in Dubai (2020 edition) recognised and celebrated the happiest and most innovative organisations in the region that disrupted existing employee engagement and wellbeing norms to create a new normal in the workplace.

Instituted by Sustainable Mindz, a centre for strategic sustainability and corporate responsibility in the Gulf and Mena region, the award aims to promote happiness and positivity in workplaces.

In the small and medium enterprises (SME) category, the award went to Xworks Interiors LLC; while King Abdullah University of Science & Technology – Government Affairs (KAUST) picked up the honour in the not-for-profit category.

This edition picked out regional companies that stood out for creating a happy workplace, having a good work-life balance, focus on sustainability, and for a host of other positive steps making for an inclusive workplace.

There were a total of 40 nominations and based on multiple parameters, the applications were evaluated by a jury panel across seven different award categories, the Happiest Workplace being at the helm.

The first-of-its-kind initiative in the UAE and wider region, the Happiness@Work Award has completed four cycles and so far, 54 organisations have received 64 awards across 6 different categories.

“Regardless of the challenges the world faced in 2020, organisations have continued to work towards creating happiness and value for their employees. Every organisation that nominated themselves for the current edition of the Happiness@Work Award is a winner, as they have demonstrated that they take employee happiness seriously and are committed to creating a workplace culture that values employees and their wellbeing,” said Vineetha Mathew, founding partner, Sustainable Mindz.

Dr Saamdu Chetri, chair of jury, Happiness@Work Award, said: “Life’s purpose is to serve others and the environment around us. The Happiness@Award is doing this by recognising engaged and happy workplaces. Happiness is a process and not an end-goal. Happiness depends on how we perceive, sense, and understand from within to see the outside - everything we see is within and not outside of us. Thus, let us change within to see the outside we want.”

The Best Employee Engagement Programme category awards went to Dubai Police and Fujairah Natural Resource Corporation (FNRC) in the public sector; Aafaq Islamic Finance in the private sector, Paramount Computer Systems in the SME; and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology – Government Affairs (KAUST) in the not-for-profit sector.

In the ‘Best Workplace Wellness Programme’ category, L’Oréal Middle East and Schneider Electric from the private sector were declared winners, while in the SME list, Xworks Interiors LLC and Paramount Computer Systems were the winners.

In the Best Workers Welfare Programme category, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology - Government Affairs (KAUST) was the winner while Sharjah Self Defence Sports Club received the Happiness@Work Appreciation Award.

Dubai Police won awards in the Best Work-Life Balance Programme category as public sector entities, while Ras Al Khaimah Customs Department won the Happiness@Work Appreciation Award.

Sharjah City Municipality won the ‘Best Workplace Sustainability Programme’ award in the public sector, and Xworks Interiors LLC in the SME sector. The private sector winner in the Best Workplace Diversity & Inclusion Program category was Schneider Electric, while L’Oréal Middle East won Happiness@Work Appreciation award.

“It’s an honour to be a jury on such an important award platform. Happiness is the cushion that allows us to absorb the shocks of life and it’s the ladder that elevates us to serenity and content.” said Dr Mansoor Anwar Habib, jury, Happiness@Work Award.

The award jury members included Dr Saamdu Chetri, visiting faculty, Rekhi Centre of Excellence for Science of Happiness, IIT Kharagpur; Dr Yasmin Al Bulushi, project manager for Eitmad, Oman; Jane Fiona Cumming, Founder, Article 13, UK; and Dr Mansoor Habib, head of sustainability and wellbeing, du, UAE.

saman@khaleejtimes.com