The workforce burnout gripping the UAE has become impossible to ignore. Across industries, from gleaming Dubai towers to expanding free zones, employees report mounting stress and exhaustion. Yet while most conversations circle around traditional wellness perks—meditation apps, gym memberships, flexible Fridays—one company argues the real solution lies somewhere unexpected: in how workplaces treat neurodivergent professionals.
That’s the message Mohammed Husary delivered to hundreds of senior leaders gathered in Dubai this week.
As founder and chief executive of VIWELL, a workplace wellbeing platform, Husary has spent years observing what actually moves the needle on employee burnout versus what simply looks good in corporate social responsibility reports. His conclusion? Organizations that deliberately build environments where neurodivergent staff can thrive don’t just support inclusion—they fundamentally reduce stress across their entire workforce. The logic is straightforward, even if the execution isn’t. When companies design systems flexible enough to accommodate different neurological profiles, they inadvertently create healthier structures for everyone.
“Integrating holistic wellbeing into the workplace and transforming it into a conducive environment for everyone across the neurodiversity spectrum can help mitigate stress and burnout in the UAE’s workforce,” Husary explained.
He pushed further during his keynote address at the 10th annual Wellbeing at Work Middle East Summit on 29 January, where VIWELL served as headline partner. “At VIWELL, we believe that when wellbeing is embedded into company values and aligned with business goals, it transforms workplaces into thriving, human-centric environments. This is a call to action for leaders to champion mental health, resilience, and inclusion, and VIWELL acts as an enabler in creating cultures where every individual feels valued and inspired.”
The framing matters here. Husary isn’t positioning neurodiversity as a compliance checkbox or philanthropic gesture. Instead, he’s arguing it’s a strategic lever that organizations ignore at their peril—one that directly impacts productivity, retention, and the very burnout rates keeping HR departments awake at night.
What does neuroinclusive actually look like? During his keynote, Husary outlined concrete drivers: adjustable workspaces that account for sensory sensitivities, communication protocols that don’t assume everyone processes information identically, project management approaches that recognize varied working styles. These aren’t radical overhauls. They’re deliberate design choices that, when implemented thoughtfully, reduce friction for neurodivergent staff while simultaneously lowering stress triggers across teams.
The summit itself reflected the enduring concern around workplace wellbeing in the Gulf region. Now in its tenth year, the event has evolved from a single-city gathering into a four-country tour that kicked off in Cairo on 20 January, moved through Riyadh on 22 January, stopped in Muscat on 27 January, before concluding in Dubai. That trajectory suggests corporate leaders across the Middle East recognize wellbeing as more than a passing trend—though translating recognition into meaningful action remains uneven.
Senior executives from diverse sectors attended the Dubai finale, participating in what organizers describe as an immersive exploration rather than a traditional conference. The programme dissected components of modern workplace wellbeing: leadership approaches, connection and belonging, purpose alignment, physical environment, and personalization. Husary joined a C-suite panel discussion titled ‘Wellbeing as the Power Behind Organisational Performance’, then led a practical workshop designed to help participants embed these principles into actual business operations rather than treating them as separate initiatives.
During his keynote, Husary didn’t shy from identifying the unique contributions neurodivergent professionals bring—pattern recognition that spots problems others miss, intense focus on specific challenges, perspectives that question assumed norms. For organizations willing to adjust how they operate, these aren’t accommodations. They’re competitive advantages.
The emphasis on measurement ran throughout the summit. Participants explored frameworks for tracking wellbeing’s impact on satisfaction and productivity, moving beyond anecdotal evidence toward data that finance departments and boards actually respect. That focus reflects a maturation in how workplace wellbeing is discussed in the region—less about feel-good initiatives, more about quantifiable business outcomes.
VIWELL itself has undergone its own evolution. Founded by Husary, the company initially focused on offline wellness programming before transforming into a comprehensive digital platform in 2024. The current offering spans physical, mental, social, and financial health, using data analytics to personalize programmes and measure engagement. The company now partners with organizations globally, though its roots remain firmly planted in understanding regional workplace culture across the Middle East.
Whether the neurodiversity message gains traction beyond summit attendees remains to be seen. Husary’s argument requires organizations to rethink fundamental assumptions about productivity, communication, and talent management—the kind of systemic shifts that look simple in keynote presentations but prove thorny in implementation. Resistance often emerges not from malice but from inertia, from managers uncertain how to adjust long-established practices, from concerns about perceived fairness if different employees work under different conditions.
Yet the burnout statistics suggest something has to shift. The UAE’s rapid economic growth and ambitious national strategies have created work environments that demand relentless output. Without structural changes—not just surface-level perks—that pace becomes unsustainable. Husary’s bet is that neuroinclusive design offers a path forward, one that addresses root causes rather than symptoms.
By week’s end, summit participants had dispersed back to their organizations, armed with frameworks, data, and case studies. What happens next depends on whether wellbeing remains a priority when quarterly pressures mount and competing initiatives demand attention. The tenth anniversary of the summit proves the conversation has staying power. Whether that translates into meaningful workplace transformation is the question that will define the next decade.