As unemployment rages in the Middle East, this UAE hotel is hiring cats to help staff unwind

Lifestyle

Published: 2017-06-06 15:02

Last Updated: 2024-04-23 21:52


Cats are supposed to make employees relaxed and happy.
Cats are supposed to make employees relaxed and happy.

If you’re a cat lover, you’re going to want to check into this hotel on your next trip to the UAE.

One Abu Dhabi resort is relying on creature comforts to combat stress and increase the productivity of its employees. While many regional residents are struggling to find jobs at home and abroad, the thriving UAE is employing cats in the workplace.

Jannah Hotels and Resorts “hired” eight career-ladder climbing cats on Sunday to help their employees unwind. The luxury hotel’s CEO and founder Nehme Imad Darwiche believes that “nurturing pets in an office environment increases office communication and lowers the stress of its professionals significantly. We identify as a team that harbors a deep love of felines and consider our pets as a vital part of the Jannah family.”

The cat lover also said that “in an industry like tourism and hospitality where long hours are common, having pets around helps everyone maintain a positive and motivated attitude. Whether our cats are dozing on our laps, lounging on a desk, or peeking at us from around our computers, their presence is accompanied with a healing effect.”

In fact, this feline-friendly workplace initiative has been a long time coming. Darwiche initiated the “Office Cat” policy in 2015.