Emirates Gears for Growth, Unveils Career and Employee Lounge

As one of the largest employers in Dubai, the Emirates Group plays a vital role in shaping the city’s growth, development, and people wellbeing.

Reflecting Dubai’s drive to attract, retain, and cultivate the best talent from around the world, the Group has unveiled a futuristic lounge at its iconic headquarters to serve global candidates, new joiners, employees, their families, and retirees.

Wejhaty, meaning ‘my destination’ in Arabic, was officially opened by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group, in the presence of executive leaders and employees.

Spread across a sprawling 22,770 sq.ft. space, Wejhaty is no ordinary employee lounge or one-stop shop. The space can serve 500 people at any point in time, 1,200 a day, and it aims to create an inspiring and welcoming space that reflects the Group’s people ethos. The focus is on elevating employee experience with streamlined solutions, advanced technology, and seamless, highly responsive services.

A personal touch is central to customer-focused organisations like the Emirates Group, which is why visitors to Wejhaty will be greeted, served and guided by friendly, supportive concierge service attendants.

Employee journey

In the bright, airy and spacious centre, employees and their families have access to the complete range of services – including biometrics, Dubai Health’s medical fitness tests and medical x-ray – plus HR, IT, payroll and cashier services. Wejhaty also houses third-party international visa services to cater to employees’ wanderlust and minimise pre-travel stress.

While parents are being served, their tiny tots can have a whale of a time, supervised by a nanny, in an imaginatively designed space packed with toys, merchandise and entertainment.

Teams within the Group have access to an amphitheatre-style, modular auditorium that can hold around 100 people – ideal for team-building activities, projects and training sessions. The auditorium houses high-tech audio-visual solutions, directional sound waves, online environmental data capture, and scalable technical capabilities.

Candidate journey

Candidates, both internal and external, can enjoy an integrated and stress-free experience as they meet the Group’s recruiters in state-of the-art spaces, including 19 discussion rooms that can accommodate 116 people at a time. Two assessment spaces that can host 46 people are where pilots, cadets and other specialist roles have dedicated facilities and advanced technology for simulation- and computer-based assessments.

Senior executives, cherry-picked for roles in the Group, will be welcomed in a tastefully appointed executive lounge, and in high-end meeting rooms offering the latest presentation tech.

New joiners’ journey

Highly specialised and fully immersive spaces will engage new joiners in the rich culture, powerful values, lifestyle and the future vision of Dubai and the Emirates Group.

Art installations and social spaces, including Emirates’ renowned Business Class seats fully kitted out with recycled materials from the airline’s retrofit programme, add touches of glamour and drive home the Group’s ethos on sustainability. Cool and modular seating dotted throughout the lounge, a pantry, lockers, and fashionable dressing rooms for uniformed employees, complete Wejhaty.

Wejhaty can host 400 candidates for interviews and assessments, 100 new joiners for corporate induction, and serve 700 employees and their family members every single day.

Every year, on average, the Group processes 46,000 employee ID cards, 30,000 medical fitness tests, 8,200 UAE biometric registrations, and 3,400 X-rays for new joiners. Thousands of aspiring candidates are assessed at the Emirates Group headquarters annually.