The Bayt.com ‘Holidays in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll, recently conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading job site, has revealed that employees in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region consider office productivity to be higher than usual at the end of the year, with27.7% stating that it’s at ‘an all time high’, when compared to the rest of the year. Employee morale is also higher than the rest of the year according to58.9% of respondents, with38.7% claiming it’s at ‘an all time high’.
With many employees taking leaves during the holiday season,93% claim that they are expected to be contactable by their management while on leave. While45.2% state this is in case of emergencies only,47.8% say that they are required to stay contactable at all times. The majority of respondents (71.7%) believe this to be truer for their colleagues in senior management, though86.5% claim they will continue working while on holiday regardless of their seniority at work.
More than half (58.2%) of respondents state that their company organizes an end-of-year party to celebrate company successes, though12.5% of these claim that it doesn’t happen every year.18.5% of respondents say that they have no end-of-year party due to a lack of money.
The best end-of-year perk to receive, as stated by49% of respondents, is a salary raise.18.9% would like a cash bonus;17% would like paid time off; and11.3% believe an office party is a good perk to end the year with. Only3.7% want to receive gift cards.
Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com, said: “The fact that employee morale is highest at the end of the year is a boon for workplaces – and clearly higher morale has an impact on employee productivity. It also seems that employees would be most appreciative of thanks in the form of monetary remuneration at the end of the year. Employers who want to build loyalty and trust among their employees should tap into this type of appreciation.”
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Holidays in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll was collected online from24 November-14 December2014, with2,773 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.