Jobs most suited for work from home in Bahrain’s public sector education, client service and IT

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Some specific jobs in Bahrain’s public sector may have to shift to remote work during the coronavirus crisis. The jobs that are more suited to this scenario are education, client service and IT. This was the recommendation made by a joint national report prepared by the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bahrain, and Bahrain Institute of Public Administration (BIPA).

The report found several benefits for working from home, among which were reducing time lost in commuting, morning anxiety, unnecessary meetings and socialising. Gains were made in general mental wellbeing and productivity, improved and more flexible time management, and adoption of technological solutions that increased staff productivity in some professions.

They also report said the employees could specify their remote workdays in agreement with their employers, without compulsory permanent options for in-office or remote workdays.

It called for devising comprehensive regulations that account for the interests of employees and employers, limiting drawbacks such as assigning work outside official hours. The report was prepared by Ghada Abdulla, Associate Researcher, Derasat and Dr Omar Al Ubaydli, Director of Studies & Research also at Derasat.

“The pandemic largely accelerated the shift to remote work, and Bahrain was largely prepared due to the availability of an advanced ICT infrastructure, based on early and pre-emptive preparation by broad official sectors and individuals in society,” Dr Al Ubaydli said.

“The pandemic forcibly contributed to the discovery of the advantages and impediments of this transformation; adopting the former and addressing the latter for the future.”

Ghada Abdulla said that a large segment of staff preferring remote work when the nature of their jobs did not require office presence, on the condition that a system is formed to measure results-oriented productivity.

The paper also monitored the accelerated digitisation process of government services; the classification of staff as high, low or as hindering productivity; the reduction of organisational operating costs; and identifying transitional period difficulties.

The latter included the lack of devices required to continue work from home; and the initial lack of know-how on the use of remote work software and applications. Some staff had higher in-office productivity, while others saw work-from-home as time off.

Administrations had higher expectations during the remote work phase, assigning many tasks outside official work hours.

“This study reflects our shared aspirations for management, by creating a network of organisational efforts that result in a scientific study based on solid research foundations,” Dr Mohammed Amin, Director of BIPA’s Master’s Program in Public Administration, said. “This scales up the government sector in Bahrain,” he added.

Dr Amin pointed to BIPA’s role in providing a suitable research environment, in the form of a sample of Master’s students from the Public Administration Program, who comprise civil servants from different areas of the public sector.

The report also addressed the psychological impact of reduced office work.

Social interaction in the office is an essential and positive aspect of the social nature of human beings which, when replaced by on-screen communication, can lead to a sense of professional and social alienation from colleagues.

Nevertheless, the report predicts that remote work will continue to be adopted by organisations in the long run, particularly in jobs most suited to it, even after recovery from COVID-19 pandemic. This calls for the development of regulations to monitor this type of work.

The joint paper is one of the outcomes of a Derasat-UNDP partnership project to assess national-level socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain.