For the First Time in Saudi Arabia: In Order to Maintain the Health of Its Staff and Guests

Riyadh, 13, December 2008. In a first step of its kind at the local level, al-Elm Company, a company that is specialized in safe electronic business, has allocated moral and financial rewards for employees who give up smoking habits, an initiative which is receiving growing acceptance from the staff of the company.

This step comes within the Company's plan to find a work environment without smoke in order to reduce the harm caused by smoke and to contribute to maintaining the health of its non-smoking staff so as to care for their health and avoid negative smoking.

The company announced that the new campaign against smoking in work places will be a regular event, and it has allocated financial and in-kind rewards to induce employees to leave this bad habit. The rewards amount to five Thousand Riyals to be given to any employee who quits the bad habit.

Mohammad Al-Arifi, the Director of Financial and Administrative Affairs in al-Elm Company: said "at a time when many countries ban smoking in the workplace, we found that we can take a lead in transforming our beliefs into reality".

"Thanks to the successful internal campaign launched by the company against smoking, quitting the smoking habit has become an easy affair for the staff, even for the heavy smokers. Currently, our focus is on the role and contribution of smokers themselves in this important campaign through encouraging other colleagues to quit smoking "he added.

Al-Arifi explained that the team overseeing the campaign has received several requests from smokers who want to stop this bad habit, adding: "The reason of course was not the financial and in-kind rewards, but the collective initiative launched by the company to preserve the environment and the health of staff and guests of the company Which the smokers reacted to and their desire to do so."

  Al Arifi continued: " This initiative has lead many staff smokers to consider giving up smoking, adding:" We are very pleased with the record results achieved so far and we seek to be a good example for other companies, noting that the campaign received significant praise from staff and managers because everyone believes that quitting smoking habit is a positive phenomenon, because it gives people the opportunity to engage in life without cigarettes. "The campaign has covered a variety of activities including an exhibition which lasted for four days at the company's Headquarters in cooperation with the Anti-Smoking Society. It included also awareness lectures by a number of specialized consultants in addition to a number of advertising posters for awareness and an initiative was launched to stop smoking.

It should be noted that al-Elm Company is one of these companies which has an advanced system to run its human resources department and adopts transparency in it transactions and dealings with its staff, offering many support programs to its staff, which helped the Company to earn the best working environment award.

Al-Elm Company is a joint stock company owned by Saudi Public Investment Fund, it is specialized in providing safe electronic services to private and public sectors alike.

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© Press Release 2008