������Ƶ

ALKHOBAR: At 10 p.m. in Riyadh, a marketing executive checks her inbox one last time. She has already answered over 100 emails, managed a constant stream of Teams messages, and sat through five back-to-back meetings. By 6 a.m., she will be back online.

This “infinite workday” is becoming the norm. According to Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index, nearly 30 percent of employees check email late at night, while 40 percent are online by early morning. The average Saudi worker now faces a flood of 117 emails and 153 Teams messages daily, with interruptions every two minutes — a pattern that has blurred the line between work and rest.

For Turki Badhris, president of Microsoft Arabia, this is precisely why organizations must move beyond basic digitization toward full transformation.

“AI is not a passing trend. It’s a generational shift that is redefining how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how value is created,” Badhris told Arab News. “The organizations that thrive will be those that are willing to reimagine, not just automate, how work works.”

He calls this the “Frontier Firm mindset,” where companies redesign workflows to cut through digital noise and unlock focus, rather than simply adding new technology on top of old processes.

Human resources professionals are seeing the human cost of this always-on culture firsthand.

“With digital transformation under Vision 2030 and the shift to flexible work models after the pandemic, it’s becoming harder for people to switch off,” said Aminah Alalaiwi, assistant manager HR Business Partner at Bupa Arabia.

“Over time, that takes a real toll on the employee and induces burnout, stress, and lower engagement,” she said.

To address this, Alalaiwi completed Mental Health First Aid training, an initiative her company encouraged.

“It gave me the tools to spot early signs of struggle and respond in a way that actually helps,” she added. “That’s why I believe HR has to go beyond policies. We need to actively create cultures where well-being and performance reinforce each other.”

AI adoption is already demonstrating its potential to reshape work across the Kingdom. At Obeikan Investment Group, the O3ai platform — built on Azure OpenAI and IoT — analyzes production data in real time, boosting operational efficiency by 30 percent and cutting costs by a similar margin across 20 factories.

At Ma’aden, Microsoft Copilot and Azure OpenAI are used to summarize policies, draft documents, and automate governance workflows, saving employees more than 2,200 hours every month. At Sanabil Investments, structured adoption of Copilot led to 70 percent employee uptake in just two months, cutting content creation time by 50 percent.

Badhris emphasizes that Microsoft’s role is to help companies go beyond merely deploying tools.

“We work hand-in-hand with leaders to align technology adoption with business priorities, governance frameworks, and change management strategies,” he said. “Our approach is about co-creating roadmaps for responsible innovation.”

To support this transformation, Microsoft is investing heavily in local infrastructure. Its new cloud datacenter region in ������Ƶ will provide enterprise-grade services with low-latency access and full compliance with data residency requirements, enabling organizations to scale AI securely.

But as Alalaiwi warns, even the best tools can backfire without clear boundaries.

“AI can automate repetitive tasks, prioritize communications, and support smarter scheduling, reducing stress and allowing employees to disconnect after hours,” she said. “However, without clear policies, these same tools can generate more notifications, blur boundaries, and increase the expectation of being ‘always available.’”

Skilling remains a cornerstone of this shift. Microsoft Arabia has committed to training 100,000 Saudi nationals in AI skills by 2025, in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and SDAIA Academy. Programs like the Microsoft AI Academy and the Center of Excellence for AI and Cloud Computing aim to prepare Saudi talent with globally recognized certifications and hands-on skills.

Badhris advises business leaders to act now rather than wait for a perfect plan.

“Start small but start now,” he said. “Identify where AI can cut through the noise, reduce repetitive tasks, and unlock focus. These quick wins often become the catalyst for deeper cultural change.”

As ������Ƶ accelerates toward Vision 2030, the pressure to transform digitally is rising. But Badhris believes the real competitive edge in the AI era will come not from being the busiest, but from being the smartest—and the most human.

“We can let work spill endlessly into our evenings,” he said, “or we can reclaim time for the things that matter.”

RIYADH: ������Ƶ’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Thursday, gaining 130.30 points, or 1.22 percent, to close at 10,780.69. 

Total trading turnover of the benchmark index reached SR16.4 billion ($4.3 billion), with 191 stocks advancing and 58 retreating. 

The Kingdom’s parallel market, Nomu, also climbed, adding 167.71 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 25,290.92, as 38 stocks gained while 42 declined. 

The MSCI Tadawul Index advanced 15.37 points, or 1.11 percent, to close at 1,398.79. 

The day’s top performer was MBC Group Co., whose shares surged 9.97 percent to SR32.20. Other strong gainers included Electrical Industries Co., up 9.90 percent to SR9.99, and Dar Al Majed Real Estate Co., which rose 7.62 percent to SR13.14. 

On the downside, Saudi Public Transport Co. posted the steepest decline, falling 4.46 percent to SR12.42. Musharaka REIT Fund slipped 3 percent to SR4.20, while Alandalus Property Co. dropped 2.62 percent to SR18.60. 

In corporate developments, Al Kathiri Holding Co. announced that its subsidiary, ALIAN Industry Co., signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rwanda Housing Authority to develop 10,000 affordable housing units. 

According to a Tadawul statement, this MoU aligns with Al Kathiri Holding’s strategy to grow its presence in international markets and introduce modern construction technologies globally, supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goal of promoting national exports.   

Al Kathiri Holding Co. ended the session at SR2.09, up 0.48 percent. 

Separately, ������Ƶn Oil Co., Aramco, completed a $3 billion sukuk issuance, comprising 15,000 trust certificates with a par value of $200,000 each. The issuance offers a return of 4.125 percent for five-year certificates and 4.625 percent for 10-year certificates.  

Aramco shares closed at SR24.47, up 1.54 percent. 

Meanwhile, First Avenue for Real Estate Development said the White Land Fees program will have no impact on its Riyadh City portfolio, which consists entirely of income-generating projects and developments under construction with issued building permits. The company emphasized it does not own any undeveloped or “white” land.  

Shares of First Avenue closed at SR8, up 3.71 percent.