Description
I need help for answering the questions and summarize the case study, also need to provide the strengths and weaknesses for the candidate (Wendy Sun and Jack Ma). the questions of the case are: 1-if you were Jamas /Han’s position, who would you assign to be the
next country manger in Saudi Arabia ? why? 2- what were the key personal characteristics and leadership styles of Sun and
Ma that made them outstanding in the roles of expatriate managers ? How did
these factors contribute to solving the problems and fulfilling the business strategy in different scenarios? 3- Apart from Job experience, should gender to be taken into accounts when
selecting expatriate managers ? why ? Did Sun face any challenge as a female
expatriate manager in the culture context she worked in ? 4- in your point of view, what requirements should CHINT look for appoint a
Country manager?
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Work-Life Balance and Employee Well-being at Saudi Aramco
Student’s Name
Institution
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
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Work-Life Balance and Employee Well-being at Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco has a large market positioning and facilitates the development of
economies as well as enhancing living standards throughout the globe. This indicates that this
company has certainly been successful through the unarguable feats it has made in terms of its
exceptional operational capabilities and financial accomplishments. Nevertheless, in the midst of
these accomplishments lies a significant challenge: it ensures that its loyal employees maintain a
reasonable balance between their private and work lives. Normally, this balance breaks down
because of the high level of stress among the working population in the oil and gas sector, where
workdays are usually long, and there is often shift work. This consequently makes the staff tired,
hence compromising their health and safety. The current situation has exposed Saudi Aramco’s
ability to keep up with the normal level of production, retain its key workforce, and maintain the
general profits of the organization to severe danger.
One of the major problems for the corporation is that it needs to figure out how to
combine working and personal time. Below this beautiful face, however, lays the most
challenging hurdle which the company calls success. Due to the high demand for oil and gas, this
balance may become disturbed, resulting in job burnout or general harm to employees’ health as
well as their overall well-being. This scenario poses many questions about Saudi Aramco’s longterm productivity, including its capacity to retain a high-caliber workforce and sustain
organizational stability.
Identifying the Dilemma
The cause of this tension is the difficulty in balancing between achieving effective performance
by the company’s employees and improving their welfare. Therefore, the required results can be
brought about only if this equality is attained. The success of the business entirely depends on
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having highly committed workers. This is necessary so as to maintain the very demanding
processes of the company but also supply increasing amounts of power across the world. This
objective, however, would rather be at odds with possible consequences that are diametrically
opposite to the probable outcome of such a complex issue ignored with regard to its health.
The issue has not been solved successfully, resulting in some impact on the whole organization,
covering several areas. These workers find it difficult to strike a work-home balance and end up
experiencing burnout from presenteeism and absenteeism, which causes them stress. When they
do, it is what we call absenteeism and can be caused by excesses in daily or mental pressures.
Employers can have serious problems like absenteeism. The other, a more subtle threat called
“presenteeism,” arises during this process. When people are actually at work but mentally
detached, it is called presenteeism. Moreover, this disengagement is harmful to the workers’
productivity as well as their output quality.
Work-life imbalance results in the erosion of the foundation of worker engagement and
productivity due to a cascade effect. Today, it is unequivocally evident that a long-term
disequilibrium results in reduced levels of motivation, diminished creativity, and poor
performance. It is an assumption that most individuals would agree with. The essence of loyalty
lies in the fact that a person’s personal and professional lives do not interfere with each other.
And when there is still so much unsolved potential of the employee in the enterprise, this leads to
a decrease in the faithfulness of a personality. In addition, this state also creates a worrying spiral
of high-speed growth in the number of cases of staff resignations. If the work environment is not
in balance, this will lead to emotions of sadness and finally stress out or force a competent
employee to look for something else. This, therefore, may lead to the company losing vital
competencies and information critical for its smooth operation.
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Apart from affecting the public perception of Saudi Aramco, this issue also impacts the corporate
internal environment. Negative employee experiences can be damaging by tarnishing the
company’s image as an attractive employer. This act may discourage other people from coming
into the company, thus creating a challenge of recruiting fresh candidates who might be required
for the job. The situation facing Saudi Aramco today makes a good case for the complication in
the nexus between the necessities of operations and employee welfare. A mechanism should be
adopted that is both thoughtful and circumspect if one has to reconcile two goals that are at a
crossroads with each other.
Understanding the Root Causes
Saudi Aramco’s work-life balance policies are highly significant to the quality of the lives
of their employees and stem from a combination of different factors. The reason for this disparity
is one of the innate demands that are applied to the industry itself. Working very long hours,
switching around in shifts, and operating under continuous pressure because the crude oil and
energy industry has to maintain a rapid pace and rigid standards. All of these elements make up
the goodwill of the industry. This rigid environment makes it challenging for one to separate
private life from work, leading to an easier combination of the two aspects of life.
The requirement for more flexible working times is one of the most crucial factors that
make the mismatch worse. These options include more flexitime schedules, reduced work weeks,
and telecommuting, and all of that would hamper employees’ capacity to strike some balance
between domestic needs and workplace requirements. Job rigidity makes it difficult for people to
do their jobs effectively because it creates an imbalance between work obligations on the one
hand and individual aspirations and family duties on the other hand. Furthermore, no easy-toaccess support leads to more stress being put on the employees as well. They face challenges due
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to the absence of wide-ranging workers’ help and scarce options for children’s support and
psychological services. Some of these workers are haunted by anxiety as they cannot depend on
the organization to provide adequate help for them because they do not get enough support from
the company.
The role of culture in determining how Saudi Aramco has responded to the work-life
balance issue must be considered. These employees tend to work with a higher degree of
presenteeism and overexertion than is appropriate, which means that they would not be likely to
set limits for themselves or take much-needed breaks. This culture, through its inadvertent acts,
sustains a vicious circle of burnout and limits comprehension of self-care and regeneration.
This shows the complexity in the process of addressing the work-life gap from Saudi
Aramco, as mentioned above, the existing problems also include this aspect. Hence, it
emphasizes the importance of the comprehensive approach involving the change in policies and
cultural revolution, as well as a better support system aimed at achieving a better balance
between work and life and, thus, its healthy state.
Specific Work-Life Challenges by Group
Several complex issues that involve some groups of employees have been identified by
an extensive study linking work-life balance to employee well-being in Saudi Arabia. Physically,
emotionally, and sleep-deprived are some of the effects long hours and shift work have on a
group of individuals referred to as field laborers.
Organizational Structure and Leadership
The organizational structure and executive management practices at Saudi Aramco have
a significant bearing on work-life balance for employees and their overall well-being. Several
well-oriented organizations, similar to others, possess specific disadvantages arising from their
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structured hierarchy. The type of this organizational structure restrains communications between
the levels with respect to information inputs, which, in turn, results in a system of
communications blocking the efficient informing channels. Consequently, there is an increase in
barriers that make it difficult for one to be successful when implementing such flexible work
arrangements, such as poor work-life balance experienced in the workplace. Moreover, the
informal hierarchical system also promotes an overreliance on the employee’s presence for
workplace success, fostering a presenteeism culture.
Another contributor is the prevalent command-and-control leadership style at Aramco.
This kind of leadership approach is stressful and uncomfortable for employees because all
decisions are made centrally, and employees’ autonomy and initiative are very little. The
workplace responsibilities outweigh the physical fitness of the employees in an office setting
characterized by an overwhelming concern for success rather than health.
Given the command-and-control leadership styles adopted by Saudi Aramco along with
its hierarchical organizational structure, it becomes difficult for workers to interact efficiently,
enjoy flexibility at work, or pursue a comprehensive health approach. The workforce and
organization may greatly benefit by resolving issues regarding structure and leadership because it
may increase overall employee job satisfaction and work-life balance for the organization.
Cultural Expectations and Gender Roles
Employee well-being and work-life balance at Sawellbeingo are affected by cultural
norms and gender roles. Work ethics and individual ambitions are placed above individual
aspirations. Such a system of values forms an environment where the request for flexible work
time and a break are heavily discouraged. It has become common knowledge owing to increased
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pressure on one to give up their health and family for work because of the idea that the
workplace is always first.
Additionally, the existing stereotypical belief systems concerning gender and roles have
enormous implications for the work-life balance as well. Norms demand that women be the
primary care providers; this is in addition to balancing their roles as professionals and carers.
These two work pressures create a female work-life conflict. At the same time, such traditional
expectations tend to curtail women’s full participation in career development and opportunities
for growth due to some imposed societal guidelines.
The cohesion of gender roles and cultural values greatly inhibits Saudi Aramco`s
achievement of a balance between a healthy life and work. In order to achieve this, it is
necessary to tackle issues that go back to cultural customs and beliefs about women’s abilities in
a working environment. Flexibility and diversification of working practices would lead to a
better, more equitable culture at the workplace favorable for employees’ welfare. In sum, such
complexity in the issues calls for an approach holistically by each employee group that focuses
on particular needs and the introduction of individualized programs to encourage balance as well
as welfare at work.
Consequences and impact
One of the most important issues on which emphasis is placed concerning the health of
staff employed at Saudi Aramco is ensuring the fine line which one has to keep between private
and public matters in the context of work. It is much wider than one person’s experience but
rather affects all the layers in the organization, leading to an endless negative impact that is
experienced throughout the whole system.
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This problem gives the first apparent outcome, which comes as a reduction in employee
efficiency and productivity rates at an aggregate level. Employees facing chronic pressure and
exhaustion can hardly work at their maximum potential. The psychological and emotional
implications of having an unstable relationship between professional and personal life reduce
their capacity to pay attention, be creative, and work well. Poor productivity lowers individual
output and affects the entire organization, which hinders Saudi Aramco’s development in terms
of its performance.
In addition, this mismatch results in more than a lack of efficiency within the firm and
leads to a higher possibility for safety problems involving the operations of the organization.
Excessive work hours or too much work causes weariness and low attention which may end up
with dangerous accidents for safety. Such incidences endanger both the safety and health of the
employees at the risk of paralyzing the functioning of the organization. If a stressed-out
workforce violates the safety procedures of the company’s operations, this leads to great losses
and disturbances in the company`s operations line postulation of the research.
As a huge transnational institution like Saudi Aramco does not take into consideration the
importance of providing for the welfare of its employees, it negatively influences its marketing
policy and the reputation of being socially accountable. Corporate Social Responsibility: One of
the most significant indicators in deciding whether the company is responsible for social
obligations is the concern that the company has about its own staff’s health. If Saudia Aramaco
does not conform to its working policy for its staff and their health, this may affect Saudi
Aramoco’s position as one of the top employers. This also makes the people believe that the firm
truly cares for their well-being and joy. The positive impact that this may have on the company’s
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reputation as a socially responsible organization can cause the departure of stakeholders and
reduce the identification of the brand in the marketplace.
Many aspects of the company’s processes arise from Saudi Aramco’s need for a good
combination between its work and private life. The reduction of output operational efficiency
and the rise of multiple safety issues, such as those that affect employee and corporate life, will
occur significantly. The ramifications are extensive. This further emphasizes that there should be
an effort to recognize and solve the paradox if, indeed, there is depreciation in the brand image
of the company and its CSR. To offset such implications against Saudi Aramco, the company
should strategically construct a workplace attitude that honors the health of its workers.
Therefore, it will enhance the organizational collective resilience and boost the employees’
experience.
Quantification of Consequences and Impact
Considering the healthy conditions, work-life balance, and how it affects people within
the context of Saudi Aramco reveals significant implications. Taking into account the effects and
outcomes contributes to the complete evaluation of these criteria. In essence, the quantifying of
lost productivity becomes an essential matter. Studies have shown that by at least 10-20%,
employee productivity decreases due to increased workloads. Saudi Aramco will bear a
considerable financial burden expected as a result of this reduction, which can go up to billions
of dollars annually. Reduced output is felt immediately by the delivery team and poses a risk for
later organizational effectiveness.
This condition worsened as a result of absenteeism. Work-family imbalance leads to
increased rates of sick leave and presenteeism, both of which contribute significantly to creating
a setting that promotes low productivity among employees, irrespective of their physical
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presence at work. Absenteeism creates cost-related effects of decreased output and, eventually,
additional burdens to the company.
Employee turnover rates need to be assessed as well. Employee turnover is very
expensive as it entails recruiting, training, and losing the acquired skills in firms. Even a mere
increment of 10% on top of turnover at Saudi Aramco can incur bills worth thousands of dollars.
Skilled workers’ exit not only affects the short-term financial losses and the continued
aggregation and spectrum of organizational competence but may also be viewed as a long-term
threat to the sustainability of the company.
National and Physical Health Consequences.
Work-life unbalanced stress negatively affected Saudi Aramco workers’ health. Some
individuals have a hard time juggling between house chores and work responsibilities, which
consequently become an issue of concern, annoyance, and sadness for them. Normally, this
psychological weight lessens energy and motivation to work; performance and joy of work are
diminished because of it. It also involves the aspect of physical torture. The consequences of
work-life imbalance include drug and alcohol abuse, sleeplessness, and heart disease among
workers. Long-term stress and work-life imbalance harm the body.
Prolonged stress has the potential to lead to cardiovascular diseases and the incapacity of
a body to handle tension. Such actions may lead to higher sleep disorders as the nervous system
seeks calmness amid all these disbalances to fall asleep. One of these approaches to tackle this
central issue in professional life that makes it harder is drug misuse. There should be thorough
intervention in Saudi Arabia because work-life balance may lead to the destruction of emotional
and physical health. Supporting policies, flexible work arrangements, and a culture that promotes
overall wellness can minimize these negative effects.
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Impact on Global well-being and Reputation
Work-life balance as a way of improving employee well-being in Saudi Aramco
improves its standing globally. One of the other significant problems is workplace-life balance,
which may result in employee loss for companies. However, people who think that they are
discriminated against could decide not to work for Saudi Aramco or even leave their positions
there. Well-known individuals might discourage job seekers and push current employees to find
new jobs in other places. Such actions can lead to diminished worker’s production power,
creativity, and career promotion.
Additionally, the company’s reputation is influenced by public perception of Saudia
Arabia’s employees’ health. A higher degree of trustworthiness might be needed for strategic
customer relationships or customer loyalty. These days, people are much more attentive to
socially responsible companies so that healthy-care companies will sell better. Effective worklife management will be critical in ensuring that the company’s reputation, loyal clients, and
customers’ trust are preserved. This has implications for the firms’ market positioning as well as
earnings—alliance in a modern world of global business. The terrible image of Saudi Aramco is
attributed to different reasons, including the not-so-good record on employee welfare that can
discourage possible partners and, thus, diminish the chance for growth, fusion, etc.
Addressing the Dilemma: A Multifaceted Approach
The balance between a responsive job and personal lifestyle concerns has been a major
issue in the contemporary working environment. Because Saudi Aramco is the largest
organization, it should cater to its workforce and still maintain operations. This complex question
requires a comprehensive solution focused on the workplace and employees with an emphasis on
mental and physical health rather than company profitability and output.
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One important way to strike a balance is through flexible employment arrangements.
Some of the strategies that Saudi Aramco could adopt to improve employees’ conditions include
flexible work schedules, shortened work weeks, and telecommuting opportunities. Employees
should be given extra tools to be able to manage their time more effectively and this, in turn,
carries significant implications for them. It also acknowledges that individuals could have
alternative and non-professional demands or duties beyond those prescribed by official roles.
The management style helps in motivating the workforce because it gives the labor a sense of
power when working. It helps one understand that they are special people, making their unique
mark within a harmonious environment of co-existence with colleagues and home caretakers.
Finally, the second part of this comprehensive approach involves funds programs that
promote healthy working conditions.it is necessary to provide them with tools such as employee
assistance programs, stress management training programs, and mental health tools. This offers
an encouraging atmosphere for the wellness of the company’s personnel as well as occupational
healthcare in general.
A favorable short-term work/life scheme is promoted when building a proactive
organizational culture and enhancing employees’ satisfaction with health by providing a
supportive and awareness-creating environment for work-life balance. People need to learn how
to enforce their boundaries better in order to achieve better well-being. An office that does not
reward overtime and encourages a more flexible schedule that makes room for explanation of
bad leadership.
Technical elements are other important components that contribute to this complex
strategy. Technology can help enhance staffing by employers for repetitiveness and nonrepetitive tasks, which also boosts the level of productivity at the organization’s disposal. This
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method aims to give the institution’s workforce more room for creative, critical, and innovative
thinking.
Firstly, every company needs a leader who will direct the organization’s conduct and
principles. It is possible for senior management to emphasize the importance of health to workers
by doing things like taking time off, having flexible working hours, and encouraging employees
to maintain a good work-life balance. This behavior is instrumental in upholding the standards
that the organization adheres to as well as encouraging employees to put upfront their health
even without concerning themselves with the results.
In summary, Saudi Aramco needs to employ a holistic approach that covers both
operational effectiveness and employee welfare. The organization deals with this complex
situation by promoting wellness, allocating resources to wellness programs, creating a
welcoming culture, using technology, and demonstrating leadership commitment deftly.
Existing Solutions and Best Practices
The company’s key measures have been aimed at enhancing work-life equilibrium and
prioritizing employees’ welfare, which includes some of the major undertakings carried out by
Saudi Aramco, as well as studying from other entities within the industry. All of these great
practices include giving flexibility in scheduling, which involves taking charge, control, and
autonomy on the schedule from part of Chevron employees. Moreover, a lot of working parents
are concerned about their children being left at home as they are unable to balance work and
daycare responsibilities; however, this issue is addressed by providing on-site childcare facilities.
Additionally, Chevron’s focus on programs related to mental healthcare acknowledges the
importance of comprehensive balance in order to create a supportive environment that offers
necessary support to employees’ psychological and emotional states of being.
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Additionally, BP’s Health program and promotion of a healthy workplace offer important
lessons. The shortening of work weeks leads to a push for more flexible scheduling, fewer
commuting hours, and enhanced workplace efficiency. Remote work options bring one of their
major pluses — employees have the chance to blend their professional duties with personal lives
and obligations. In this regard, it is also worth mentioning that BP’s emphasis on employee
assistance emphasizes the need for comprehensive support networks to give workers enough
mechanisms to overcome numerous challenges on the job.
It is rather problematic to develop work-life balance and employee health promotion
programs in the workplace. With such rules in place, Saudi Aramco will be able to manufacture
unique blueprints that pay respect to both their workers as well as organizational culture. To
achieve this end, a number of strategies that the Saudia Aramco Company might adopt include
flexible shift plans, a facility for childcare, psychosocial campaigns, reducing the length of a
typical working week, the opportunity to work remotely, and so forth.
Theoretical Frameworks
Socio-political frameworks define the work-life balance of Saudi Aramco employees.
Work-life balance concepts like role theory, spillover theory, and boundary theory try to deal
with more complex employee-employer relationships. Boundary theory looks at the way that
being healthy and living are affected by work and home. Role theory argues that a mother’s role
at home affects her employment, whereas the other way around also applies. Spillover Theory
discusses the effects the transfer of emotions and experience between domains has on wellness
and life satisfaction.
Organizational theory is the largest among them. Job design theory illustrates the
relationship between work organization, content, and worker happiness. There are correlations
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between the type of politics in the office, the leadership philosophy, and its influence on the
employee’s welfare and motivation. The organizational system further examines the set of norms
and ethics that guide employees’ actions and culture, creating a conducive environment for better
welfare.
In developing such strategic plans, there should be an emphasis on creating a supportive
environment where Saudis can find proper work-life balance and good health. Organizations can
use these theories to develop policies and take actions that enhance employee welfare.
Evaluation of Existing Programs
The first stage will be to study the efficiency of flexible working choices. As examples of
work freedom, these options, including flexible working hours and remote labor, provide
workers with improved work-life stability. A look reveals that this is related to increased worker
happiness, especially in cases involving the person’s travel time and responsibility to take care of
others. While there remains a requirement for improvement in how workers should be made
aware of these selections equally in different organizational sections, these alternatives must be
equitably provided to employees.
Additionally, fresh system training should be done to ensure efficiency. Employee
assistance programs provide support to the employee in personal matters as well as the problems
encountered at the workplace. The use ratio is positive, but the data analysis shows that help can
be provided in a larger area. Targeting certain population groups and specific issues can make
EAPs more useful than general programs.
In order to make these programs successful, wellness initiatives need to be kept in
consideration while accepting them. These engagement numbers seem encouraging, yet their
wellness must center on physical activity, nutrition, and mental health. Wellness programs
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should be based on employees’ feedback and be adjusted for each person. Identifying the
operational problems may be helped by focusing more on aligning such programs closer to their
needs and broadening their reach. Research reveals that the case of Saudi Aramco is an ongoing
need not only to check but also to adapt as a leader in occupational health.
Multimodal approach to problem-solving solution by Arwellbeing. Workplace flexibility
is essential. Workers are allowed to choose a part-time job, fewer than full working weeks,
flexible employment arrangements, or teleworking in order to fit their work into their own lives.
Adaptability leads to individual satisfaction because it provides an opportunity to set up and keep
goals in one’s schedule and maintain good health and stability. Employed parents are assisted in
this way since they have a nursery on the premises. It provides financial wellness programs,
stress management seminars, and mental health services for general wellness promotion.
It also entails instigating the changes in the culture. By creating such a corporate culture,
the company ensures a better work-life balance. Such a corporate culture involves the company
prioritizing workers’ private lives; allowing them intervals of relaxation at regular intervals, and
delineation of boundaries between work and home life. This transition requires concerted efforts
toward recognition of the importance of personal time as part of increasing employee job
satisfaction and efficiency at work.
The growth and enhancement of leadership abilities should go together with it. Work-life
balance should be trained managers regarding the best ways to enable it, as well as providing
them with needed materials for creating supportive working conditions. Developing a work-life
balance culture where leaders are provided with the necessary tools for identifying the needs and
wishes of their team members will be a step towards improving employees’ well-being in the
workplace and, ultimately, contributing to better productivity at a company.
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Strengthening Research and Evidence
A research and evidence-collection method based on a Comprehensive Workplace Wellbeing approach is used to develop the foundation of knowledge about work-life balance and
employee well-being. Employee needs and experiences are explored at the grassroots level in a
holistic manner by utilizing surveys and interviews conducted with a view to unraveling a
complex interweaving of threads. These observations are more holistic because they draw from
the experience of laborers. Through their eyes, they highlight many obstacles and stimuli
workers face in their pursuits for the right mixture of private life in coexistence with work.
Quantitative data is also used to analyze rates of absenteeism, attrition, and engagement
levels, which present a different perspective on the topic at hand. This way leads to a
specification of the concrete effect that organizational work conflicts have on organization
activities. It is important to measure these indicators because doing so will help managers
understand fully the total effect of work-life imbalance on employee retention, productivity, and
general satisfaction. This will help to make sense of the issue.
Two more ways of improving this technique include benchmarking against known best
practices in the business and matching with research findings proven to be effective. Through
connecting to winning designs and also making reference to tested research information, Saudi
Aramco deploys strategies that are tried and altered to suit the operating context. Combined use
of external information within the context of its inward evaluation results in a more legitimate
and productive overall methodology towards a comprehensive program targeting the attainment
of a work-life balance as well as supporting the health of employees in the establishment.
Considerations
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Work-life balance and employee well-being can only be attained when several factors
make the work environment healthy. Integration technology plays an important role; it helps
automatically organize processes, makes communication more direct, and provides remote
working conditions. Employees are provided with independence to handle their responsibilities,
whereas the operational effectiveness of the organization is enhanced through technological
application. Additionally, the requirement to incorporate different work schedules and telework
teams should not be understated in an era of globalization. These differences should be addressed
in different areas with robust policy provisions. It involves establishing a culturally and time
zone-friendly environment in the workplace, promoting collaboration regardless of the location
difference.
It is also necessary to predict how the sector of the oil and gas production will develop.
Saudi Aramco has to continuously review its work-life balance tactics and adapt these strategies
to the new trends in the industry. A forward-thinking stance prepares the workplace for dynamic
times and fosters flexibility as well as longevity among employees. Saudi Aramco improves its
sustainability and considers a holistic approach to well-being imbalance for its employees.
Happy and healthy employees are automatically more productive, meaning their employer is
likely to do well in the market. Considering these points, Saudi Aramco is viewed as a
benchmark in the oil and gas industry and a role model for ethical hiring processes.
Conclusion
For the future development of Saudi Aramco, a healthy work-life balance should be
achieved, and it’s more than just something for people. By implementing employee well-being
and
