There are just a few months left to the official opening of an event that has been eight years in the making – Expo 2020. These eight years have seen Dubai gear up to host millions of people. A new mini-city, one that is an architectural wonder, is ready to welcome exhibitors. We have taken to heart the overarching themes of sustainability, mobility, and opportunity, and unlocked limitless potential in business prospects. We are proving to the world that a little bit of foresight and determination can play a massive role, in the world embracing a sustainable future.
These eight years have also witnessed the most significant challenge humanity has recently faced – Covid-19. But even in the face of insurmountable odds, the leaders of the country, and the coordinators of Expo 2020, have ensured that we are ready to deliver a world-class platform.
So, I was delighted to come across reports that Expo 2020 continued to ensure the welfare of their workforce, during the pandemic hit turbulent times we experienced recently.
The importance of labour welfare
Work is an essential pillar of everyone’s life, and takes up a big part of our lifespan. No matter the type of job we are involved in, one thing always stands out – our professional lives eventually get intertwined with our personal lives.
That’s why organizations and companies need to make the effort to maintain high levels of wellbeing among workers, in order to ensure that they have a good quality of life. Research has clearly proven that happy workers are, on average, 12% more productive and collaborative, and have a lower incidence of illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and stress.
This is where Expo 2020’s worker welfare initiatives have been ground-breaking.
Worker wellness takes priority at Expo 2020
During the pandemic, life as we know it came to a standstill. While all of us have had time to gradually return to a shadow of normalcy, workers for Expo 2020 have had to roll up their sleeves and get to work as quickly as possible. For this reason, the planning and effort invested by the coordinators, into caring for the collective health of the Expo 2020 workforce, was extremely heartening.
From an onsite mini-hospital, to harnessing technology to track its workers sleeping patterns and cardiovascular health, the organizers have successfully implemented a holistic on-ground welfare strategy. The use of pioneering tech to communally monitor worker wellbeing, while helping emergency centers carry out innumerable preventive screenings, has been truly revolutionary.
Mental health helplines, daily access to nutritionally balanced food, recreational facilities – including cricket pitches – have all set new standards for best practices, in worker welfare. Moreover, the recent announcement, which offers Covid-19 vaccines to representatives of participating countries, has underscored the UAE leadership’s commitment to ensuring that event can be held, with the utmost emphasis on safety.
By ensuring the highest standard of work environment, which focuses on mental and physical wellbeing 24-7, Dubai has set an exemplary example of social responsibility and appropriately lived up to the theme of the Expo 2020 – Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. It has helped unite the strengths of its diverse workforce, to create a benchmark for all countries.
The Expo 2020’s Worker Wellness Programme genuinely embodies this global event’s purpose – finding innovative ways to enhance lives using the latest technology, leveraging ideas from around the globe, and encouraging a change for the better.
