Employee wellbeing is essential to the overall mental, physical, and emotional health of an organisation’s workforce, and, at ECC, we believe that a thriving team is the foundation of our success. We also recognise that employee engagement is essential to building a motivated and high-performing team. Prioritising open communication, collaboration, and growth opportunities, we actively foster a culture where engagement is encouraged and supported. By ensuring that every employee feels connected and valued, contributes meaningfully and takes ownership of their roles, not only enhances job satisfaction but also drives our collective success. ECC’s ethos is that we care about employee wellbeing and ultimately aim to empower our workforce.
ECC has a rich history of team-building days, sports days, and volunteer community events in line with our well-being ethos. Therefore, we feel so aligned with the new UAE Federal Mental Health Law that was enacted in May 2024. This progressive legislation focuses on promoting mental health awareness and mental wellbeing, improving access to care, and protecting the rights of individuals seeking mental health support. At ECC, we are proud that we are already pioneers in this space, and hugely supportive of this incredible step forward to creating healthier workplaces across the UAE.
One of our new-launched initiatives is meditation workshops. In August, we organised two meditation workshops for our team at Nilaya House, a nearby yoga centre. The workshops offered the opportunity to relax, recharge, and learn some new stress management techniques.
Although many organisations talk about mindfulness in the workplace, we took it a step further. The core of each workshop was a guided meditation. Based on the ancient practice of Yoga Nidra, meditation was adapted and modernised to create an incredibly effective approach for reducing stress, improving relaxation, and recharging energy — especially for those of us working in the busy corporate world. Practised lying down on a comfortable mat, with eyes closed, all that is required is to listen to the verbal guidance of the meditation facilitator. The session takes us through physical relaxation techniques, letting go of the day’s activities, awareness of breathing, and focusing on how the body feels while setting a clear intention to let go of stress.
We combined guided meditation with sound therapy including the pure vibration of crystal and Himalayan singing bowls and chimes. After the session, we sampled the power of vocal toning, which simply means singing various vowel sounds at different notes out loud, as a group. Vocal toning is a little-known yet highly effective means of releasing built-up tension and promoting a sense of emotional balance.
Over the two workshop sessions, we were delighted with the turnout for this new initiative and received very positive feedback. Mr Hadi Farra, who attended one of the sessions, shared his experience: "It was my first time doing essentially a sound therapy session, it can be a very relaxing experience if you are open to it. It was a nice way to wrap up a long workday, not a typical end to the day. I would recommend a session like this to people of similar interests as it was a fun and relaxing experience, probably something new to most of us. It was also an opportunity to bump into ECC team members that we may not normally interact with."
We look forward to being able to organise more meditation workshops in the near future and work towards building a regular programme of group sessions and wellness tools. While we understand it is a new experience for some people, we have no doubt that the interest will grow as more people see and feel the benefits. Together, these practices create a holistic approach to stress relief, helping to unwind, recharge, and ultimately improve both well-being and productivity.
At ECC, we are excited to be building on our existing wellbeing programme and mental health resources. By embracing new mental health initiatives, we continue prioritising employee support programmes and wellbeing, and we openly invite and welcome all employees to participate in our wellness programs and provide valuable feedback. Your voice matters, and together, we can create a vibrant and supportive community at ECC. Let’s work together to cultivate a workplace where everyone can flourish.
