Stability Matters: Leading Your Team Through Uncertain Times

The Middle East has become a hub for talented professionals from all over the world, thanks to its economic incentives and wide array of career opportunities. The region offers many exciting experiences, but occasional geopolitical and economic unrest can leave employees, particularly expatriates feeling stressed out and anxious. Daily commutes, job insecurity, and the pressure of managing business –as usual during uncertain times can take a toll on employees.

In such situations, organisations can create a work culture that offers stability, human connection, and reassurance. Employees often look to their leaders for clarity, empathy, and a sense of direction. The way an organisation supports its teams during these periods has a lasting impact on employee well-being and performance, as well as organisational trust.

We’ve rounded up a few simple steps designed to help leaders support their teams and foster resilience when it matters most.

Maintain open lines of communication

A lack of communication can heighten anxiety. Regular and timely communication helps ensure teams feel reassured and allows them to focus on the tasks at hand. Consider checking in with your team to find out how they’re doing, and to make sure they’re in a safe place with access to essentials. Small steps like these can help create a safe space where employees can share their concerns without fear or judgment.

Check-in calls can also be a helpful way to share information about the company’s policies and procedures during periods of uncertainty. If your company offers any useful resources or if there are specific guidelines in place for such moments, let your team know right away. Timely updates help provide employees with a sense of direction and foster trust and focus among them.

Flexibility in practice

Unpredictable situations can disrupt employees' daily routine and personal lives, thereby impacting business. Employee pain points may include an inability to communicate with family across time zones, difficulty keeping up with rapidly evolving situations, and managing unexpected personal responsibilities, such as health emergencies.

Flexible working hours, hybrid or remote work arrangements, as well as willingness to accommodate these changes over the short or long term, allow employees to better manage work.

Autonomy can help employees stay more engaged and focused on their work, even under extraordinary circumstances. It also helps build a culture of mutual respect and accountability, and helps people feel supported, safe, and secure as professionals and as individuals.

Access to support for mental and physical health

According to the World Health Organisation, globally, as many as 12 billion¹ working days are lost every year owing to clinical depression and anxiety. This amounts to a cost of approximately US$1 trillion per year in lost productivity. Regional tensions, not just in the Middle East, but globally, can have an adverse effect on employees' mental and physical health. Access to physical and normalises seeking support can be extremely valuable for employees during periods of economic or geopolitical uncertainty.

This may include internal well-being initiatives, access to a network of medical professionals, and other broader health-related benefits. Health and life insurance coverage provided by employers can play a role in enabling seamless access to care.

Organisations can work towards creating a culture that normalises seeking support. Conversations around mental health and certain physical health issues may still carry stigma, which makes individuals apprehensive about reaching out. Clear communication regarding the available resources, as well as how to access them, helps break down these barriers.

Organisations who partner with Cigna Healthcare can support employees through wellness benefits such as Employee Assistance Program. This program helps employees care for their physical and mental well-being by providing online and in-person counselling on subjects like physical, mental, and financial health. It is designed to encourage productivity while helping improve employee retention rates.

Eligible employees can use the Cigna Envoy® app for virtual services. The app enables users to find and consult health care providers near them, and offers resources to manage stress, nutrition, and sleep. Employees can also get Telehealth consultations with doctors free of cost and submit claims directly through their smartphones.

Create a sense of continuity

A sense of stability and continuity amid constantly evolving external conditions can be especially helpful. When the broader environment feels increasingly unpredictable, consistency in the workplace can help teams feel grounded.

Reaffirming the organisation's priorities by maintaining familiar routines, such as regular meetings and workflows, can help employees stay focused and grounded. Communication about business as usual, coupled with timely updates on necessary changes to workflows, helps reduce speculation. Offering clarity on task priorities, in both the short and long term, helps them maintain productivity, even in dynamic situations.

Organisations may have no control over the external uncertainty caused by natural disasters, political or economic issues. However, they can play a decisive role in shaping how employees perceive and respond to them. Companies that invest in their people are better positioned to support sustained performance, strengthen loyalty, and build a workplace that remains steady, even when the world around them is not.

 

1. Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work