More than eight in ten people worldwide are reporting higher levels of anxiety and depression at work this year, but many are willing to turn to technology to help, according to a new study.
Some 86 per cent of UAE respondents to a survey by software firm Oracle and consultancy Workplace Intelligence were reporting higher levels of stress and anxiety as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 41 per cent citing higher stress levels, 39 per cent reporting deteriorating work-life balance, 29 per cent experiencing burnout, 33 per cent claiming depression from a lack of social interaction and 19 per cent also expressing loneliness.
Remote working was cited as a challenge by 94 per cent of respondents, with the biggest factors being no distinction between personal and professional lives (cited by 39 per cent) and dealing with increased mental health challenges like stress and anxiety (34 per cent).
“With new remote work expectations and blurred lines between personal and professional lives, the toll of Covid-19 on our mental health is significant – and it’s something that workers across every industry and country are dealing with,” said Dan Schawbel, managing partner of Workplace Intelligence.
The majority of respondents also expressed a preference to use technology to deal with mental health issues, with 77 per cent of UAE respondents stating they would prefer to talk to a robot over their manager about stress at work, higher than the 68 per cent global average. Respondents cited a belief that robots provide a judgment-free zone (35 per cent) and an unbiased outlet to divulge problems (35 per cent).
The technologies they would like to see include self-service access to health resources, on-demand counselling services, proactive health monitoring tools and access to wellness apps and chatbots.
More than 12,000 responses globally were gathered to the survey, of which 929 were in the UAE. The survey took place between July and August.
The pandemic has elevated mental health not only as a broad societal issue, but a top workplace challenge, according to Emily He, a senior vice president at Oracle.
“There is a lot that can be done to support the mental health of the workforce and there are so many ways that technology like AI can help,” she added.
Organisations need to add mental health to their agenda, Ms He said.
“If we can get these conversations started, both at an HR and an executive level, we can begin to make some change … and the time is now.”
The UAE, a hub for start-ups and venture capital in the Arab world, is projected to benefit the most in the region from AI adoption. The technology is expected to contribute up to 14 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product – equivalent to Dh352.5 billion – by 2030, according to a report by consultancy PwC.
In the survey, six in 10 UAE professionals said that AI has helped them to shorten their work week and allowed them to take longer vacations, against a global average of 51 per cent. Nearly 60 per cent of local respondents said AI has improved job satisfaction and overall well-being, compared to 54 per cent globally.
Almost 86 per cent of UAE respondents said artificial intelligence had also improved their mental health at work, against a global average of 75 per cent, the survey said. Respondents cited AI's ability to offer the right information (39 per cent), to automate tasks (35 per cent) and to reduce stress by prioritising tasks (37 per cent).
Workers in India and China (both 91 per cent) lead the world in terms of trusting robots over their managers, followed by the UAE (77 per cent), Korea (74 per cent) and the US (67 per cent).
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Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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Uefa Champions League last 16 draw
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
WISH
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Day 4, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Not much was expected – on Sunday or ever – of Hasan Ali as a batsman. And yet he lit up the late overs of the Pakistan innings with a happy cameo of 29 from 25 balls. The highlight was when he launched a six right on top of the netting above the Pakistan players’ viewing area. He was out next ball.
Stat of the day – 1,358 There were 1,358 days between Haris Sohail’s previous first-class match and his Test debut for Pakistan. The lack of practice in the multi-day format did not show, though, as the left-hander made an assured half-century to guide his side through a potentially damaging collapse.
The verdict As is the fashion of Test matches in this country, the draw feels like a dead-cert, before a clatter of wickets on the fourth afternoon puts either side on red alert. With Yasir Shah finding prodigious turn now, Pakistan will be confident of bowling Sri Lanka out. Whether they have enough time to do so and chase the runs required remains to be seen.
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Company%20profile
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
