KUWAIT CITY, November 19: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) won the Gold Award for “Excellence in Health and Wellbeing” from the prestigious US-based Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) at the SHRM MENA STAR Awards 2024 held in Riyadh.

The award was received by Mr. Emad Al-Ablani, GM – Group Human Resources at National Bank of Kuwait, on the sidelines of the SHRM MENA Annual Conference and Expo. 2024, held in Saudi Arabia. The event aimed to highlight the key issues related to human capital development, especially those pertaining to attracting and retaining top talent and creating ideal future workplaces, as well as discussing the advanced WorkTech tools and exploring future workplace strategies.

The “Excellence in Health and Wellbeing” Awards highlight the achievements of organizations and recognize their remarkable success in promoting employee health and wellbeing, demonstrating an effective understanding of the relationship between employee health and work productivity, implementing innovative and comprehensive health and wellbeing programs, and creating a supportive and healthy work environment that enhances employee wellbeing and organizational performance.

Underscoring its firm belief that employees are its most valuable asset, NBK places substantial emphasis on supporting employees and improving their physical and mental health. In this context, and to foster a healthy work environment, NBK provides a fitness gym equipped with the latest exercise equipment, which is open for employees, before, after and even during working hours for their convenience under the supervision of high-class trainers, aligning with the bank’s initiatives to raise health awareness and promote a healthy lifestyle.

NBK also provides a well-equipped clinic managed by Wara Hospital, which provides medical checkups, tests, and on-site visits by specialized doctors, as well as frequent awareness sessions to educate employees on various topics related to physical and mental health.

Furthermore, NBK provides many programs and activities focusing on employee wellbeing and care, and promoting a healthy lifestyle. It also allows flexible working hours and paternity leave, during which the new father is allowed to stay at home to bond with the newborn child.

NBK stands out as one of the few organizations in Kuwait with a unique work environment, akin to international peers by continuously providing employees with exceptional career development opportunities. This includes training programs and hands-on experience, which aim to help fresh graduates to navigate their way into the labor market and develop their skills and expertise through partnerships with leading international educational institutions to enable them lead banking sector development in the future. This ultimately results in increasing employees’ loyalty and giving the bank the edge in a competitive labor market.

SHRM, the Society of Human Resource Management, creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together.  As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces.  With 325,000 HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 235 million workers and families globally.