EH Insights

The law is not in force yet, but the preparation window is now. Employers who wait until 2027 will be building under pressure. | Written by Tripti Mehta Singapore has passed its first legally binding law against workplace discrimination. The Workplace Fairness Act (WFA), enacted in two parts across 2025, converts what were previously voluntary employment guidelines into enforceable legal obligations with a grievance process, a dispute resolution pathway, and real financial pe

The grace period ends June 30. Employers who have not yet adjusted Emirati salaries face permit suspensions and loss of Emiratisation credit from July 1. | Written by Tripti Mehta The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) announced an increase in the minimum wage for Emiratis employed in the private sector to AED 6,000 per month, effective January 1, 2026, with establishments that employed Emiratis before that date given until June 30, 2026 to adjust salaries

With Phase 3 of the Kingdom's landmark labour reform weeks away, employers with indefinite-term workers must act now or risk legal exposure. | Written by Tripti Mehta Saudi Arabia's Unified Employment Contract Initiative enters its third and final phase on August 6, 2026, the date by which all indefinite or open-ended employment contracts must be migrated to the official template and documented on the Qiwa platform. The initiative, led jointly by the Ministry of Human Resourc

Inaugural Singapore & Malaysia edition draws over 200 leaders, 80+ organisations, and 25+ categories in a celebration of workplace excellence. | Written by Riya Malhotra The Employee Happiness Awards Singapore 2026, organised by Eventyst Global, made a powerful debut as the platform's inaugural edition in Singapore. Held on 10th April at the prestigious Shangri-La Singapore, the gala evening brought together more than 200 distinguished guests for an occasion that was as celeb

A last-minute deal kept 48,000 Samsung workers on the floor on 21 May. Four days later, the union is fracturing over who got what, and HR leaders across the region are watching a new lesson unfold in real time. | Written by Riya Malhotra There's a particular kind of silence that descends on a workplace when trust has finally run out. Last week, Samsung was hours away from that silence breaking, loudly, across 48,000 workers and 18 days of stopped production. It didn't break.

A new nursery mandate, expanded parental leave, and some of the Gulf's most optimistic workers signal that Saudi Arabia is serious about employee experience as a competitive priority. | Written by Tripti Mehta Saudi Arabia's Cabinet has directed both public and private sector employers to establish workplace nurseries, in a move designed to support working mothers and advance early childhood development goals under Vision 2030. Authorities have also been tasked with addressin

As organisations race to integrate agentic AI into the workplace, experts are warning that the real challenge is no longer technological, it is organisational. | Written by Riya Malhotra On International HR Day, workforce and AI transformation leaders are urging businesses to move beyond viewing AI solely as a productivity tool and instead focus on the strategic workforce decisions that will define whether the technology creates long-term value or long-term disruption. With A

LinkedIn and Walmart both made cuts in May 2026 despite strong business performance, exposing a corporate workforce pattern that HR leaders can no longer treat as isolated news. | Written by Tripti Mehta The platform built for professional networking is now asking its own people to network their way to new jobs. LinkedIn, a subsidiary of Microsoft, announced on May 13, 2026 that it is cutting approximately 5% of its global workforce, around 900 positions, as part of an organi

| Written by Riya Malhotra Singapore’s workforce is rapidly adapting to change, but hiring systems are struggling to keep pace, according to new research from Indeed. The findings highlight a growing disconnect between employee priorities and employer assumptions. While 59% of employees cite salary, stability, and work-life balance as critical when evaluating roles, employers significantly underestimate these factors, placing them below 30%. Entry-level roles are emerging as

| Written by Riya Malhotra Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming embedded in HR functions across Southeast Asia, but organisations are struggling to scale its impact, according to a new study by ETHRWorld Southeast Asia & SAP SuccessFactors. The report finds that 75% of organisations are already using AI in HR, signalling a clear shift from experimentation to mainstream adoption. At the same time, 65% expect AI budgets to increase in 2026, reflecting its growing role as

| Written by Riya Malhotra The latest World Happiness Report places Singapore at 36 th and Malaysia at 71 st globally, offering a closer look at how wellbeing is shaping workforce expectations across both markets. While Nordic countries continue to lead the rankings, the positions of Singapore and Malaysia highlight a more nuanced reality in Southeast Asia. Both markets continue to perform economically, yet the rankings suggest that broader factors influencing life satisfac

| Written by Riya Malhotra A new global study by Intellect points to the rise of “job-hugging,” a trend where employees are choosing to stay in their roles for stability, even as engagement levels lag behind improvements in productivity and wellbeing. According to the latest Workplace Wellbeing 360 Report, organisations are seeing encouraging gains. Mental wellbeing scores recorded their strongest year-on-year increase, alongside a steady rise in productivity. However, employ

Sultana Al Amri, Happiness General Manager, shares why employee happiness efforts fall short, and how HR leaders can shift from surface initiatives to system-level impact. | Written by Sultana Al Amri Employee happiness is no longer a side conversation. It shows up in executive discussions, engagement dashboards, and increasingly, in performance metrics. Organizations are investing in wellbeing platforms, leadership programs, listening tools, and culture initiatives. And yet

Dr. Salima Hamouche, expert in HR and workplace well-being, explains why managers must go beyond task leadership to actively shape psychological safety and employee mental health. | Written by Dr. Salima Hamouche Approximately 15 percent of working-age adults globally live with a mental disorder at any given time. In 2019, depression and anxiety alone accounted for an estimated 12 billion lost working days each year, costing the global economy nearly one trillion US dollars

In this piece, Preethy Suresh, Founder & CEO, Ignition Point Ventures, reflects on why fear around AI is misplaced, and why organisations must redesign work itself instead of expecting technology alone to deliver transformation. | Written by Preethy Suresh Deloitte published something earlier this year that I keep coming back to. 84% of companies deploying AI have not redesigned jobs or the nature of work itself around it. Not small companies with no budget. Not companies th

Fahad Rashad, CEO, HR Lines, reflects on how workplace happiness in Saudi Arabia is evolving beyond comfort to alignment, fairness, and purpose, as Vision 2030 reshapes leadership, systems, and workforce expectations. | Written by Fahad Rashad In two decades of leading HR transformations in Saudi Arabia, from global multinationals to sovereign backed ecosystems, I have witnessed the definition of Employee Happiness evolve dramatically. We are no longer in an era where employ

| Written by Aruna Saravanakumar Can a machine truly understand what makes us human? It’s a question many in HR across the Middle East and Southeast Asia are quietly asking as algorithms start making hiring decisions, predicting attrition, and even shaping engagement strategies. Some see this as progress. Others, as a paradox. As organizations accelerate digital transformation across regions where relationships, trust, and collective growth are deeply valued, leaders are witn

For decades, the five-day (sometimes six) grind has been considered sacred, a symbol of productivity and dedication. But somewhere between burnout reports and “Sunday scaries,” organizations began asking a daring question: What if less work time could actually mean more commitment? | Written by Riya Malhotra Welcome to the 4-day workweek revolution, where productivity doesn’t shrink, loyalty doesn’t waver, and employees are, quite literally, happier to show up. Rethinking “Fu

Anand Wong, Founder & CEO of Heron Resource Technologies, explains why HR transformation fails when treated as a technology deployment instead of an operating model and capability shift. | Written by Anand Wong Over the years, I have seen a consistent pattern when organisations talk about HR transformation. More often than not, it translates into a single initiative: implementing a new HR system and calling it transformation. The early stages are always energising. Product de

Ranked World’s #1 Executive Coach by CEO Today, Navid Nazemian draws on his work with more than 250 executives across industries and geographies to explain why the first 90 days are only the beginning and why today’s executive transitions require a far deeper, longer, and more strategic approach. | Written by Navid Nazemian The “First 90 Days” has become one of the most quoted and often misunderstood concepts in leadership transitions. I have seen it shape countless onboard