Wellbeing at Work summit in Muscat focuses on employee engagement

2026-01-28 - 15:35

The second ‘Wellbeing at Work’ summit, held at the Omantel headquarters on January 21, focused not just on the crucial relation between workplace wellbeing and company performance but also on the need for employers to help their employees thrive and grow while themselves reaping the benefits of a work culture that bolsters high levels of employee engagement. Hubert Vaz does a round-up There was pin-drop silence in the Zain Hall, at the lobby level of Omantel headquarters, as a select batch of attendees of the second Wellbeing at Work summit received, with bated breath, an assertion by the summit chair – Scott Armstrong – who termed his four-year tenure at the helm of a leading publishing house in Oman as ‘a failure’. Armstrong, founder and CEO of mentl, and a key speaker at the summit, went on to assert, that in his zeal to focus on technology, content, processes and figures that define company performance, he had neglected the human element in the company – a key aspect of ‘wellbeing at work’ which he realised on hindsight. Disclosing that social media engagement figures of the publication had escalated stupendously making it the biggest English language following in the sultanate, digital revenues grew by 10,000 per cent, and it was the only title that won a global award at the World Association of Newspapers, he, however, attributed the ‘failure’ to his lack of focus or engagement with the people involved in the organisational growth. Setting the ball rolling for introspection among the participants, many of whom could be in his shoes, Armstrong stressed the need for personal and professional reflection among managers who must realise that every individual in the workforce is different and that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach doesn’t quite work. Supported by visual aids of global statistics, he also drew attention to the colossal losses globally due to disengaged employees in organisations worldwide. Mohammed Husary, founder and CEO of ViWell (a comprehensive employee wellbeing platform) the headline partner of the summit, began the day’s proceedings explaining the holistic concept of wellbeing at work which, he said, could be summarised as the six pillars of wellbeing – Mental, Physical, Social, Financial, Nutritional, and Professional. Those able to balance these 6 parameters live the healthiest life he said. Husary also touched upon the need for driving measurable impact on people and performance, pointing out that a 5% increase in employee engagement can translate to a 3-4% boost in productivity, and that companies which score high on their wellbeing programmes experience upto 41% absenteeism – a positive indicator for increased output. He also exemplified three reasons for people being unwell as ‘lack of education, motivation and support’ with regard to what is good for themselves. Following up on Husary’s assertions, with his own analysis of the aspect of wellbeing at work as implemented in Omantel, Saif al Abri, general manager, People Experiences, Omantel, pointed out that “productivity starts at the employee’s house”. Sharing a variety of strategies and policies adopted by Omantel towards employee wellbeing and welfare, Abri stressed on the importance of employers understanding their employees’ situations and devising initiatives that help in fostering greater engagement, despite all odds. The first session involved a leadership panel of experts who talked about ‘Wellbeing as the Power Behind Organisational Performance’. The session, moderated by Rebecca Olson, CEO AmCham Oman, included panelists like Dr Sola Togun-Butler, CEO and psychotherapist, Butterfly Counseling Services, Manal al Raisi, head of Human Resource, National Finance, and Dr Reem al Hashar, member, Health Committee, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI). The experts discussed the association between workplace wellbeing and company performance, the true measures of wellbeing on performance, building positive workplace cultures, the value of designing wellbeing programmes as integrated experiences, and how employers can truly help their employees thrive and grow. Dr Sola explained, “When I think about wellness, I think about being in an environment that supports my mental, emotional and physical health. That environment is the foundation for how I can thrive and be the person that I want to be. That means, in that environment, I feel psychologically safe. If I make mistakes, I am met with empathy, and I am part of the decision-making process. There’s flexibility (especially, if I am a parent or care-giver), and most importantly, I feel ‘I belong. So, when I think about wellness, I think about all these components.” Complementing Dr Sola’s assertions, Manal said she looked at wellbeing as a holistic state which goes beyond the ‘absence of illness’ – where there is balance, where people feel valued, and where they can bring the best of themselves to work to create a sustainable balance between their professional responsibilities and personal life. Dr Reem chose to focus on a structure of wellness that encompasses, mental, emotional, social and financial health. “Currently, we are moving from provision of perks to strategic thinking, we are moving into an ecosystem of the whole organisation,” she said, stressing on the need for tackling work stress and mental health which, from her own experience, is the core cause of employee illnesses. Elaborating on the challenges and opportunities for promoting psychological wellbeing in Oman, Dr Hamed al Sinawi, head of Behavioural Medicine, University Medical City, showed how economic transformation has been driving stress as employees are compelled to put in long hours and also face job insecurity. He also touched upon the cultural stigma associated with mental health which prevents employees from seeking help as well as other barriers to wellbeing at the work, all of which make employee subject to emotional turmoils. The day’s proceedings included interactive workshops wherein the participants were divided into groups to understand and suggest creative initiatives to rev up the wellbeing at work scene in Oman by 2030, as well as other topics like ‘Unlocking productivity’, ‘Bias to meaningful communication’, and “Wellbeing trends among Oman’s top employers”. The afternoon session included a talk by Scott Armstrong on ‘Why Independent Benchmarks Matter: Recognising and Raising the Standard for Workplace Wellbeing’, wherein he delved on methods for moving from good intentions to measurable impact as well as shared insights about the ‘mentl awards 2025’ as a motivating factor towards credible progress. Other expert talks included topics like ‘Leading Wellbeing through the COM-B Model’ by Dr Zoe Fortune, assistant professor in Psychology, Heriot Watt University, Dubai, and a panel discussion on ‘Leadership Panel: Wellbeing for All – Ensuring Culture is at the Heart of the People Strategy’ chaired by Ibtihal al Riyami, HR and Change Management expert, Social Protection Fund, besides other inspiring talks. Champions of wellbeing speak Most wellbeing at work progammes are elaborate and targeted at huge corporates – do you also propose cost-effective solutions for smaller organisations with less than 50 employees? It’s one of the myths of wellbeing at the workplace that it has to cost a lot, but the biggest investment any company can make is taking the time to sit with their employees and listen and ask them what they need. I have learnt from my past, about the cost of that when you don’t ask your employees about their needs. Right from the security guard at the door all the way through to the top, language matters – using ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and appreciation doesn’t cost you anything. The tone you set in your organisation can be as powerful as getting a paid speaker to come and address you. One needs to move from ‘where are you’ to ‘how are you’. Appointing just one leader focused on the wellbeing of employees is easy to do and that doesn’t cost a lot. So, likewise, there are many little things that organisations can do for their employees. Scott Armstrong, CEO, mentl Why was the need felt to hold the Wellbeing at Work summit 2.0 and what are the common mistakes that most corporates in Oman are doing with regard to wellbeing? Oman, to me personally is very important. In 2019, we organised the first summit just before Covid to amplify the idea that strategically investing in your employees’ wellbeing and mental health is very important, and if you don’t do that, you will not be able to attract and retain talent, and therefore, your organisation will become uncompetitive and unsustainable in the long run. After Covid, the world changed and people’s expectations of what workplaces should be and how employers should treat them changed dramatically. Because we had already been to Saudi Arabia and Dubai with this event for eight years prior, we felt it necessary to bring Oman, and Egypt, on board. So, we have been doing this in four important yet economically very different countries, yet the challenges facing all business leaders, c-suite leaders, HR leaders remain the same – How do we make a thriving workplace where our people can live their best lives and be productive, and that impacts our bottomline and makes us competitive? As for the big mistakes companies make, I think, with their peoples strategies implementation is that they are ticking boxes as opposed to embedding the wellbeing thinking into procedures and systems and processes, so it becomes part of their DNA, rather than providing things like a pool table, or offering services of a masseur, or introducing a yoga class. All these are important but they need to be part of a holistic programme. Mark Rix, CEO Sonas Group ***** Experts speak on wellbeing Mohammed Husary, Founder-CEO, ViWell There are three main reasons for people being unwell. First, lack of education – they want to eat healthy or exercise but they don’t know how. Secondly, lack of motivation – they want to go to the gym but are not motivated. Thirdly, lack of support – they know eating healthy or going to the gym is good but they need a trainer or support to do it well. Dr Hamed al Sinawi, head of Behavioural Medicine, University Medical City There is a direct connection between stress and performance and I am fond of describing this as the ‘Stress Curve’ wherein, at one end people who experience little stress are those who tend to remain inactive or get laid back in their roles while the high performers also experience high levels of stress and are victims fatigue/exhaustion. At the other end, performance again dips when employees reach a point of burnout.” Saif al Abri, General manager, People Experiences, Omantel “Productivity starts at the employee’s house. It is very important for employers to understanding their employees needs while devising initiatives that help in fostering greater engagement. At Omantel, we have a host of welfare measures that focus on personalised experiences, like an in-house clinic, a motherhood policy and counselling service. We have also revised the ‘work from home’ concept to ‘work from anywhere’ and a ‘hybrid work’ option. Dr Sola Togun-Butler, CEO and psychotherapist, Butterfly Counseling Services Women face unique challenges at the workplace that sometimes traditional wellness programmes have not taken to account. Working women are mothers or caregivers and are dealing with a lot of stress. One thing that corporates need to do is to ask women about their needs – that is an important part of equity that understands that everyone has different needs.