With new COVID-19 cases on the rise in the UAE, a number of companies are shifting to work from home measures with the aim of keeping the employees safe amid Omicron risks. Over the past few days, new COVID-19 cases in the UAE has increased from less than 50 to over 600. UAE authorities have also affirmed that despite an increase in new cases in the country, the hospitalisation rate has remained as low as three percent.

Waleed Anwar, managing director of Upfront HR, underlined that work-from-home is here to stay.

"The majority of candidates and clients we speak to who are working from home at the moment feel that they have proved they can be trusted to be productive working from home, reducing or eliminating the need for them to be back in the office altogether,” he added.

Employers have also expressed confidence in shifting to the work-from-home protocol to help the authorities in containing the spread of the virus.

Anwar pointed out that a number of firms in the UAE are able to navigate through the crisis in a calm and strategic way. Companies have experienced dealing with the pandemic over the past few months.

Anjali Samuel, managing partner, Mindfield Resources, stated that a number of multinationals have scaled back to 50 percent office capacity, while encouraging more people to work from home as a precautionary measure in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases.

"This (work-from-home) practice seems to be the new normal and something that people have adapted to very well now. So, we don’t see organisations getting flustered with the changes. This is here to stay until the pandemic is over,” she added. 

She also underlined that employees now are less angst about workplace modifications and are able to better focus on work that has helped in increasing their productivity and overall output.

Mayank Patel, country head of Adecco Middle East, said a majority of companies are also moving towards hybrid work modules, including remote and flexible working. Furthermore, firms that are not able to provide work-from-home options gave tightened their health and safety protocols, particularly social distancing measures, to ensure the safety of all employees from the health crisis.

“With a slight increase in COVID-19 cases, some companies could continue their work-from-home arrangement, while others plan to move their backend and support function to a permanent work from home protocol," he added.

Patel has recommended companies to set up an efficient and sustainable work model until the pandemic is completely under control.

For salaries, he added that employers are expected to offer up to 10 percent pay rise in the year 2022. Such incentives will attract and retain talent especially for job roles in backend support, technology, administration among others. Companies are also seeking to transition to hybrid working arrangements in 2022 to enhance flexibility, reduce mental stress and burn among employees and improve the overall work and social-life balance.

Virtual reality conferencing is also going to become the preferred mode of communication in the business world as it helps in optimising resources and saving costs on business travel, office space and infrastructure among benefits.