DUBAI RULER: JOB SATISFACTION IN GOVERNMENT ‘MUST IMPROVE’

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid tells managers to lift morale within six months to better serve members of the public

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid has said the results of an employee satisfaction survey of government workers are unacceptably low, and he gave managers six months to improve morale.

In his latest push to improve efficiency in the public sector, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai expressed disappointment at a study that showed employees in five government offices had relatively low job satisfaction.

Sheikh Mohammed said that, while some showed satisfaction was as high as 93 per cent, only 60 per cent of employees at five offices said they were satisfied at their workplace.

“These percentages are unacceptable,” he said on Twitter. “Employee satisfaction is key to customer satisfaction. We are giving the managers of these bodies six months to change the working environment. The government’s most valuable capital is its employees.”

This month, the Dubai government issued new workplace regulations that include wider benefits for employees including more leave, promotion opportunities and a “work from afar” option.

Annual leave was increased from 22 days to 25 for Grade 8 employees, with Grade 7 workers having theirs increased from 15 days to 18.

A week ago, Sheikh Mohammed led a delegation in a surprise visit to Dubai International Airport to assess their services. During his visit, he urged staff to “raise the bar” for customer service.

It was not the first time he made an unannounced visit to a government agency. In 2016, Sheikh Mohammed visited the Land Department and Department of Economic Development for a spot check at the start of the working day – only to find that no one had turned up for work.

The next day, in response, he ordered nine senior officials at Dubai Municipality to retire.

“He certainly wanted to send a message,” Mona Al Marri, director general of the Dubai Media Office, said at the time.

“Timeliness starts at the top and we won’t go after the employees when their bosses aren’t there.”

Human resources professionals in Dubai said yesterday that employee dissatisfaction in government offices could be triggered by several factors.

“There are many ways to increase engagement, and high salaries and pay increases are not necessarily a motivation for employees to give their absolute

best,” said Amena Baig, managing director at Ultimate HR Solutions.

“Management first needs to be trained on how to empower their employees to improvement engagement.”

Ms Baig said six months was a suitable amount of time for management to bring in changes.

“I totally agree with Sheikh Mohammed’s thought process,” she said. “If your employees are happy at work, they will take care of your customers. For employees to be happy they have to feel engaged.”

Ms Baig said research had shown that highly engaged teams were 21 per cent more productive, 22 per cent more profitable and showed much lower employee turnover.

Having the wrong manager is another major issue when it comes to staff satisfaction, said Vijay Gandhi, regional director of the Korn Ferry Hay Group.

“If you do not have the right manager in place, then you are going to struggle to meet the needs of the employee,” Mr Gandhi said. “It is not just about money and holidays. ”

He said working hours and a work to life balance were at the top of any employee’s list in terms of satisfaction in the workplace.

“A lot of firms do not offer the right development programmes either,” Mr Gandhi said. He said it was common for companies in the West to offer rotation programmes that allowed employees and employer to find the right fit for them.

Many of these issues would be resolved by the government adopting rotation programmes to match workers with roles.