Last week, I went to see the widely acclaimed movie, ‘the Kings Speech’. To speak in public can be a daunting prospect whether one King George VI or a commoner, and workplace stress and panic are, unfortunately, all too usual, in these instances.
If more Emirati women are to emerge as business leaders in the future, they must develop their self-confidence and, perhaps, renegotiate their responsibilities with their families. The challenge for the UAE is to create an environment where Emirati women can pursue any career they choose in the future, and know that they will be judged on the basis of their work performance and not on their gender.
It has been announced, in Britain, that the heir to the throne, Prince William, is to marry Kate Middleton, next year.
But Carole Spiers says, ‘Marriage is a major decision for any of us to make but Kate will be joining the British royal family, and will become the wife of a future King of England. And that means that she will also be starting a new job and there will be enormous stresses to overcome, at least in the beginning.’
Bullying is unacceptable in the modern workplace and no responsible company or organisation should be seen as condoning it. The health of employees is important, and that includes both physical and mental wellbeing and relieving stress and anxiety.
Instant communication has made us more aware of what is happening, not only in our place of employment but also 24/7 around the world. But does it relieve our stress and anxiety?
Entrepreneurship is the prime factor that will bring about a quicker economic recovery in the region as a whole, and in the case of Dubai, will bring about a turnaround in commercial and industrial activity.
And so the 33 miners from San Jose mine in Copiapo, in Chile were brought to the surface after being entombed 69 days and half a mile [624 metres – 2,000 ft metres] underground, imprisoned under tons of rock.
In order to stay alive, they needed to build a community and without this peer group support that gave vital encouragement from the stronger to the weaker, when it was needed, they would never have survived the ordeal.
In our every day lives, we may assume that what we have said has been actually heard, and we take it for granted that it is the case. Unfortunately, many times it is not. Either because the other person was not concentrating – they were looking at their computer screen, their Blackberry or just distracted elsewhere. So we make the assumption, ‘I speak – you listen – you retain – you have heard me’.
Not so. I speak. You ostensibly listen but you don’t necessarily concentrate and you certainly do not retain the conversation because you didn’t really hear what I said. Think how many misunderstandings have taken place, over the years, due entirely to an unintentional disconnect between speaker and listener.
Britain’s political drama has finally ended. Two brothers, David and Ed Milliband, had fought for the role of leadership of the Labour party yet who would have thought that Ed, the younger brother, would have come from behind to gain the top job – but he did!
With Ramadan now behind us and business ‘back to normal’, it is a good time to think about using the right hand side of our brain and to start being creative. Particularly in times of a recession, we need to utilise our often latent abilities. Now more than ever before, it is of even importance to use the skills that we already have.
