Employee Stories from Ethara

About Ethara

Ethara, with its head office at Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, looks to create unique, world-class experiences, whether at Yas Marina Circuit or beyond. While the Formula 1® Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a major event in its portfolio, Ethara plans and delivers more than 400 events a year across motorsports, health and fitness and major corporate conferences. Ethara is focused on helping make Yas Island an iconic destination and is integral to the development of Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates.

Why is Ethara committed to being a parent-friendly workplace?

Every organization is looking to attract and retain the best talent in today’s competitive marketplace, and to do that we must put more focus on employee satisfaction. It’s an essential element in terms of staff wellbeing, which is why we offer benefits to help all working parents effortlessly blend their work and life outside the office. Introducing family-friendly policies allows us to give added value to prospective employees, and allows them to balance their professional requirements with their family responsibilities, helping them meet both their work and personal commitments.

We actively seek honest feedback from our staff through various engagement surveys, as well as open, two-way communication platforms such as town halls and emails, and we encourage them to share new ideas and reflect on the current policies and initiatives we have in place to find the optimum work-life balance.

Share a parent-friendly workplace initiative that Ethara excels with and the impact it is having on the workplace culture.

In 2021, we introduced our ‘Summer Working Arrangements’ initiative. We wanted to offer all of our staff members the ability and flexibility to work from home for an unlimited number of days during the summer period, from July to August. Giving employees an opportunity to spend more time with their children during the school summer break, they now have the option of working from home – anywhere in the world.

The feedback from a survey we conducted after introducing the initiative confirmed that it was very successful, and enjoyed by many employees in the company.

“This is a great initiative and I’m very thankful it was implemented. I believe it is an absolute win-win for both Ethara and its staff, enabling it to increase overall productivity and hopefully save some costs from not having to run 100% of office space” – Ethara employee

Investing in such policies promotes an environment that respects, understands, and facilitates solutions that address our employees’ personal needs outside of the office. Introducing more flexible arrangements makes parents feel more included, meaning they can devote more of their energy to their professional goals.

What are some of the business benefits you see from being a parent-friendly workplace?

Family-friendly work practices have helped us to become recognized as an employer of choice, which can be very advantageous. Not only do the most sought-after employers benefit from a happier and more engaged workforce, but the best talent in the market will seek them out first when looking for a new role.

Investments in family-friendly benefits such as flexible and remote working options, parental leave, and more, can aid retention, recruitment, diversity, inclusion and brand culture.

Such policies and processes also help to reduce absenteeism, improve productivity, and create a more invested, motivated and loyal workforce.

Employee Stories

Joanna Bates, Special Events & Partner Relations Director

My children are aged 7 and 10, and as they get older it is harder to keep them occupied during the summer break when it’s too hot to be outside – and as all parents know, they naturally gravitate toward their iPads.

This year, we are taking them home to Australia – due to COVID-19 and Australia’s strict quarantine rules, we’ve not seen our extended family for three years. So while my husband and I are working, they’ll be kept busy playing outdoors with their cousins and off doing activities with their grandparents.

My husband already works remotely and so the flexibility to be able to work from home is really a game changer for me, I’m incredibly appreciative that we can travel abroad as a family and split our time between work and annual leave.

Ahmed Lari – Executive Director of Finance

As a parent blessed with four children including infant twins, it is always a challenge to keep a work-life balance. During summer break, my other two children (10 years old and 6 years old) spend most of their time at home as all the other kids do. Like a caring parent, the target is always to keep them away from their video games and iPads to encourage them to perform more physical activities.

Also, as my 6-year old has been diagnosed mid-end on the Autistic spectrum, he requires more time and attention especially during summer break as we need to keep him practicing the skills that he learned in the school so he doesn’t fall behind. With all these obligations toward family, the “Remote Working Policy” that Ethara adapted and made it available to employees was a “lifeline” that allowed me to fulfil my duties as a father. I manage to spend more time with my kids to monitor their day-to-day life routine during their summer break and also able to fulfil my work duties.