That is according to the first edition of a new annual survey by Bayt.com, the region’s largest recruitment and career planning company. The2006 Bayt.com Salary and Job Satisfaction Survey reveals important insights into labour market conditions in the UAE and the Gulf.
Mona Ataya, Vice President of Marketing, Bayt.com, said: “Credible research into jobseeker and employer behaviour is a valuable resource in the Middle East, and Bayt.com is one of the few organisations with the data and reach to provide an accurate picture of how the market is evolving in the Arab World. We hope that the Bayt.com Salary and Job Satisfaction Survey will become a key industry reference, and it is more evidence of our commitment to Arab World professionals and employers.”
A total of1,641 professionals registered with Bayt.com, the majority based in the UAE and the Gulf, participated in the February survey. The prevailing mood of respondents reflects the optimism of a fast growing market, but office demands and rising living costs are also taking their toll.
Nearly75 per cent expect a promotion this year and81 per cent expect a raise, with49 per cent saying they have received healthy pay increases in the last couple of years. An impressive71 per cent also think they can successfully fill the shoes of their boss.
Mona Ataya said: “The general consensus is that companies are improving packages and that salaries are becoming more consistent to catch up with the regional economic boom, which is especially strong in real estate, tourism, hospitality and retail.”
Greater business confidence is also translating into more job market activity, according to Ataya, with labour laws starting to allow freer employee movement.
Nearly90 per cent of respondents are considering a job change to take advantage of better pay and conditions, and52 per cent of those polled are looking to move as soon as possible.
Ataya said: “Switching jobs is no longer unusual in today’s aggressive job market. There is more dynamism, and the number of companies entering the market has made it easier for people to move around.”
More than half of those surveyed said their employers were looking to hire more staff, but the Bayt.com research also shows that regional working conditions have room for improvement.
More than60 per cent admit to working more than50 hours a week, and72 per cent regularly receive work calls and emails on weekends. Only17 per cent said they never work on their days off.
A staggering74 per cent also claim to face discrimination based on nationality, and despite changing labour laws nearly a third fear they will receive an employment ban should they resign.
Ataya said: “As the region continues to develop, inevitably it will start to experience some of the problems found in international markets. The rising cost of living is encouraging more people to find jobs that increase their spending power, and47 per cent of people in our survey say they struggle to save every month.”
While the Gulf remains an attractive place to live and do business, the Bayt.com survey suggests that some of the sheen has been taken off the expatriate life. More than60 per cent of those polled saying they would return home if they could find a job with similar pay. But in many cases that is a big ‘if’, according to Ataya.
“The Bayt.com findings reflect the complexities of a multicultural workplace, and the pressures of a fast growth economy. The Gulf offers salaries and living standards that exceed many Western countries, but expectations are also high and work-related stress is a growing concern. Both employers and employees need to do more to ensure a correct work life balance to maintain job productivity.”
Bayt’s Salary and Job Satisf action Survey will become an annual exercise, and the company plans to investigate country specific research as it continues to expand. February’s survey received contributions from1,641 professional jobseekers who answered a detailed email questionnaire.
Using Bayt.com’s proprietary software respondents were profiled according to age, gender, job position, nationality and country of residence.
Around71 per cent of those surveyed are in management and mid-career job positions. Nearly47 per cent reside in the UAE, and more than90 per cent are based in the Gulf.
Professionals living and working in Saudi Arabia make up around32 per cent of the total respondents. Jobseekers from Africa, the Levant, the Asian subcontinent, and CIS countries also contributed to the research.
Founded in2000, Dubai-based Bayt.com has offices in10 Middle East cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Doha, Kuwait City, Amman, Islamabad.
With a database of more than one million users, mostly from around the GCC but also the wider Middle East, Africa, Asia, North America and Europe, Bayt.com conducts regular users and visitor polls on pressing employment issues.
Bayt.com aims to triple its workforce of150 by2007, and recently launched its own career micro-site – www.bayt.com/’careers’ - to recruit new team members.