The Health Promotion Department, HPD, at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah (SCFA), recently held a virtual meeting to discuss the mechanism for adopting the latest international standards for analyzing the results of its “remote work” survey.

The first of its kind survey was launched by the HPD last June, as part of the executive phases of the “Wazen” program, the first health survey for Sharjah government employees.

The purpose of the study is to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of the “remote working system” and its impacts on the employees’ health and social aspects, in light of the changes to workplaces in governmental institutions due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Targeting 91 governmental and semi-governmental local organizations, the survey is conducted in cooperation with the Department of Statistics and Community Development in Sharjah.

Present at the meeting were Wolf Kristen, the Founder of Global Center for Healthy Workplaces, Stephen Bevan, Head of HR Research Development, British Institute for Employment Studies, Dr. Mansoor Habib, Consultant Family Medicine & Occupational Health, and the HPD staff.

The meeting touched on several themes, including the analysis of the final results of the “the remote work” survey, the mechanism for preparing the closing report which set to be announced in September, and the global recommendations of the survey outcomes.

During the meeting, the HPD has agreed to enhance mutual cooperation with the British Institute for Employment Studies in terms of preparing data analysis modeling and its relevant report, to align with the data of about 10,000 employees from the institutions and states engaged in this survey.

Also, an integrated report will be prepared and published in one of the health of employees’ periodicals by 2021, including the names of the participating departments and institutions.

Furthermore, a benchmarking study will be conducted to assess and compare the local survey results with other participating countries, while the outcomes will be disclosed in the Global Healthy Workplace Awards and Summit in November.

H.E. Iman Rashid Saif, HPD Director, said: “The meeting seeks to explorethe global standards for the analysis of the “remote work” survey results, in cooperation with our local and international partners.”

“This study is a global experience carried out in the U.S., Britain, India, Brazil, and Mexico to come up with scientific and meaningful outcomes that support Sharjah’s health trends and to cope with the global changes to workplaces amid Covid-19 pandemic, especially the remote working approach,”

She added: “The outcomes of this survey will help assess the efficacy and effectiveness of this system and its consequences on the employees to come up with solutions to the social and health challenges that may help them adapt to this new approach.”