COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions have changed the work culture in the UAE and around the world.

The risk of burnout among employees is more than ever. Working from a remote location is the new normal. The lockdown has added to stress and frustration, which made the employees more prone to burnout in the UAE.

You need to proactively take measures to counter the burnout risks in your company. You need to actively monitor the situation of employees and look for programs that can tackle the problem of burnout.

In most Dubai businesses, the leadership is getting inventive in finding ways to engage remote employees. Companies are incorporating everything from virtual team-building activities to mental health and wellness perks.

Let’s have a look at some ways you can get inventive with your virtual wellness program:

Health and Wellness Corner

Provide easy access to health and wellness resources to your remote employees. You can easily share the resources through Google Drive or Dropbox. 

A few ways you can build your library of resources on health and wellness:

Gather information– Ask your employees to share their favorite resources on fitness, health, and healthy recipes. Categorize the content shared as per the social media website such as Instagram & Facebook, YouTube channel, Pinterest boards, and websites. This will make it easy for employees to choose content based on their social media platform of choice.

Subscriptions – Get iFit subscriptions for your team, to make it easier to maintain health and fitness at home. iFit is a great option for remote employees or those who travel a lot for work.

Build an online cookbook – Ask your employees to write the recipes they are using at home then categorize the recipes as breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner.

Mood uplifter – Create a fun and stress-free forum for your employees to share light-hearted photos or content that they can browse when they need a quick break. 

Virtual Lunch and Learn

A lunch and learn is a laid-back training session offered to the employee. Format and style may vary, but normally it covers a topic during a lunch hour. You can discuss any topic such as stress management techniques, wellness routines, and personal financial wellness.

Here are some tips to keep in mind while hosting a lunch and learn:

Zoom room – Create a Zoom call for internal lunch and learn where the remote employees can also be part of office camaraderie.

Make it fun – Ask them to bring lunch, so it’s like a fun party. Plan small activities can act as an icebreaker to engage everyone.

Involve remote employees – If you have a remote employee who can host a Learn and lunch session, encourage them to share their expertise in terms of wellness and fitness with in-house or other remote employees. I bet you’ve got a yoga expert in your organization!

“If your entire team is working from home, you may contact and ask a local fitness trainer or psychologist to host the lunch and learn event for your company. And teach ways that can help employees to stay healthy physically and mentally” stated Tim Garrett, fitness expert from Corporate wellness Dubai.

Create Fun Fitness Challenges and Classes

Streaming lives & on-demand fitness workout classes are easy things to do.

Here’s how you can create engaging fitness challenges-

Reporting – Make it super simple for yourself and employees to report online and join any team challenges.

Togetherness – Inspire and encourage employees to go on a walk or work out together virtually. Walking meetings are a great way to get your recommended daily steps while being productive.

Celebrate – You can announce results over a Zoom call and so that everyone can celebrate together.

E-invite– If you are hosting a yoga or meditation class, ask the instructor if you can virtually stream the session for remote employees too.

You can get creative with virtual wellness program ideas and create plenty of virtual team-building activities. Remember, try to create your wellness programs so they are full of fun. 

The more fun, the more your employees will be engaged in the Wellness program.

Enjoy!