Responding to crisis and emergencies – Linking employee characteristics to levels of satisfaction with governance, procedures & mechanisms

Abstract

Government strategies and response mechanisms adopted during the global crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic are now under ever increasing scrutiny to understand what did or did not contribute to successful response outcomes. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is by many measures ranked as a world leading model for the application of their crisis and emergency management procedures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A case study (including 6000+ survey respondents) to explore the relationship between the characteristics (age, qualification, length of service, position, business sector) of employees in the Emirate's local authorities and their level of satisfaction with the preparedness, and application of the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) response mechanisms was conducted post-Covid-19. The findings indicate in respect of the highest levels of satisfaction recorded within demographic groupings, the youngest (18–23 years) age group at 94.4%, the more experienced working group at 89.6%, and those from the health sector at 88% with the application of the NCEMA mechanisms. The range of difference at 7.66% was identified for the participants' academic demographic and levels of satisfaction with the NCEMA mechanism applications. Respondents in the education and social development sectors indicated less familiarity, knowledge and understanding of crisis and emergency management. The study offers insight into the governance of internal and external working relationships, employee familiarity and operational knowledge of crisis and emergency management that result in achieving successful levels of preparedness and response outcomes for the safety and security of the community.