Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, has recently conducted a new survey with YouGov, global online market research company, to uncover the career and personal aspirations of UAE professionals, and to tackle their general perceptions and attitudes towards their jobs and overall work environment.
Interestingly, the survey entitled ‘Career Aspirations in the MENA’ has revealed that8 in10 professionals (80%) in the UAE have a positive outlook for the upcoming year. Additionally, the UAE emerged as the most preferred country (15%) for relocation purposes.
No Limits for Career Ambitions
In the UAE,71% reported setting future professional goals for themselves, which included finding a new job (59%), learning new skills (50%) and getting a higher salary (47%).
With career development in mind, around6 in10 respondents (57%) believe they deserve to work in a higher-level position, and almost half the respondents (45%) are willing to move to another department or area of expertise to develop their skillsets and further their professional careers.
In addition,47% of UAE respondents state they are willing to move into a different industry altogether to broaden their professional expertise.
What Drives the Ideal Job
The top three factors that were seen as important in an ideal job for UAE professionals were salary and benefits (78%), opportunities for career growth (62%) and job security (37%).
Interestingly, respondents are much more likely to prefer being an employee (45%) rather than owning a business (29%).
The reported reasons for seeking employment in the UAE are marked by the desire to consistently learn and gain experience, as indicated by66% of respondents. This was followed by being financially independent (54%), making money (53%), and feeling useful to society (37%).
Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com says: “It is exciting to observe that the majority of respondents to the Career Aspirations survey are optimistic about the coming year. This encouraging outlook will reflect positively on the region’s hiring activity and the individual career progression. Bayt.com works with employers across the UAE who rely on our technologies and data to master their talent management practices – and knowledge of employee aspirations and satisfaction will help enhance the hiring and job seeking processes even more.”
Motivation Levels at Work
When it came to motivation levels in the workplace, around6 in10 respondents (57%) reported feeling motivated at work. Only18% reported not being motivated, while the remainder were neutral.
Possibly connected to motivation at work, the prevalence of mentors and role models featured highly in the findings, with almost half the respondents (49%) reporting that they have either a mentor or role model in their careers.
Though respondents revealed a positive indication of their motivation in the workplace,56% reported that higher salaries and perks/benefits would increase motivation at work, this is followed by better work-life balance (50%) and an opportunity to express creativity/ showcase skills (41%).
Future Personal Ambitions
Overwhelmingly, the top personal goal for next year was reported to be saving more money, according to over7 in10 respondents (71%). Other prominent goals included buying property (43%), spending more time with family (36%) and exercising more (23%).
Furthermore,37% of respondents preferred to retire after the age of60 and23% chose retirement before50, indicating that more professionals desire to stay in the workforce for a longer period of time.
“The Career Aspirations survey aims to better understand the challenges and aspirations of MENA professionals. It covers aspects such as perceptions and attitudes towards current job, career aspirations, barriers to career growth, in addition to overall work environment and personal aspirations and concerns,” said Zafar Shah, Research Director, Data Services at YouGov.
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Career Aspirations in the MENA’ survey was collected online from May31 to June10,2021. The results are based on a sample of1,549 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and others.