Combating coronavirus: Dubai firms welcome prospects of gradual office reopening

Dubai - 'We are also deploying all necessary safety measures, such as thermal monitors and other hygiene items'

Companies across the UAE have welcomed the measure to partially reopen offices. With Dubai Economy prescribing a set of safety guidelines for the same, a map has already been charted out.

Preparing for a partial reopening, Al Habtoor Group's Chief Communications Officer Noura Badawi says that besides sterilisation measures carried out at all group properties and interests to ensure safety of staff, the group also got its employees tested for Covid-19 at their key hospitality concerns, AHG head office and Al Habtoor Real Estate.
"We have been working closely with the Dubai Health Authority on this. We also bore the expenses for the same and will continue testing processes for staff of the remaining group divisions," Badawi told Khaleej Times, adding that the group has already sterilised office premises twice and has done so recently for a third time prior to the reopening. While distancing measures had already been put in place in offices across the UAE, the safety measures for employees continue to be a priority for all stakeholders.
"We will all be working differently in the future. We will work to control safety of space within our offices, with measures - such as deep cleaning, social distancing and in-office/home working schedules. I am glad to see authorities giving us an early guidance, which is helpful," said Ray Eglington, group managing director of Four Communications Group.

The crisis was unforeseen and has impacted everyone alike - from the corporates to private business owners.  Parvez Rupani, managing director of Skylines Group of Companies that has more than 500 employees, says the immediate strategy will be to get the 30 per cent staff on board following the mandated guidelines.

"We are also deploying all necessary safety measures, such as thermal monitors and other personal hygiene items and total sanitation and disinfection of all our offices to provide a safe working environment."

Remote working strategies, however, will be developed further. Michael Kortbawi, partner at the law firm BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLC, iterates: "Despite Dubai Economy introducing new guidelines, the firm will continue to use resources and methods of remote working to ensure social distancing. We are currently carrying out extensive sanitisation of our offices ahead of any partial reopening.

"In future, however, we expect that there will be an increase in employment and litigation work as well as corporate restructuring whilst it may take some time before the previous level of demand for areas such as general corporate and commercial works is back to normal.  There will be a period of adaptation required as the world ventures further into unchartered territory."

• Dubai