When asked about a potential career change, more than80% of Middle East professionals firmly stated they are looking to switch their career path whereas, over17% are clearly not willing to take the risk according to the latest online poll series conducted by the Middle East’s number one job site, Bayt.com.
The results of the bayt.com ‘Career Reinvention and the MENA Workplace’ poll showed that Middle East professionals would not switch to their dream career mostly because of financial considerations (23.9%) while16.8% blamed this inertia on their risk-averse personality or their fear of the unknown;16.2% believed that in today’s market companies would simply not take the risk of hiring them;14.5% said it was due to a lack of training or education opportunities required to effect this change;9.9% said the lack of access to jobs in the desired new career was the main problem; and9.4% stated that the move wasn’t likely to happen because of their lack of knowledge about job opportunities in the new career. Furthermore,3.1% of the poll participants felt a shift in their career path is unlikely to happen because of culture and social prestige considerations and6.2% said no change was necessary as they love their current jobs.
When asked what new industry they would choose if a career switch was possible,21.5% of participants said Oil & Gas,16.5% said Telecom/IT,14.6% chose tourism and hospitality,9.9% said financial services,8.2% chose management consulting;7% voted for advertising and marketing;6.6% said FMCG,3.7% stated healthcare, while1.2% chose publishing. However,7% said they would not care to join any of the above stated industries and3.7% said they were unsure as to what their new industry would be.
Respondents were also asked what they feel most passionate about in their career.21.4% expressed that they are most passionate about their current job and another21.4% said it was their current industry.15.6% felt that their existing team and environment was an intrinsic factor,8.3% said their current company was what motivated them to stay on and5.1% indicated they didn’t want to leave because they appreciated working for their current manager. Nonetheless, a staggering28.1% voted for none of the above elements.
When asked what they are most dissatisfied about in their career,20.5% indicated their current job,20.1% indicated their current company, and15.7% indicated their current manager. While9% indicated the industry itself was the main issue. Only11.3% believed that their current team and environment were not working out for them and the rest (23.3%) said none of the above bothered them.
Asked what would most motivate them to change careers,25.8% firmly said a better salary would be a great incentive;18.3% claimed an opportunity to start fresh in their dream career,12.7% said additional training and development.17.9 % look for a promise of long term stability while8.1% look for a better company;4.8% specified better management as an encouraging reason;10.2% would change to get a better workplace environment;1.5% would look for more flexible hours, while only0.7% felt that working with nicer employees was a main factor.
The poll went on to ask the region’s participants where they would like to be career-wise in10 years.27.9% said in a different career with a new job, company and industry.24.1% felt they would be in the same industry and company but with a different job, and22.6% believed having the same job in the same industry, but with a different company was something they could be doing in10 years.16.6% said they could have the same job10 years from now, but in a different company and industry and a further8.7% were not sure of what their future held for them.
Participants were also asked if they had ever changed their career in the past..42.4% of the respondents said no;30.3% stated they have only once;11% confirmed that they have already made the change twice; whereas16.3% claimed they have switched their path more than twice in the span of their career.
Respondents’ answers also varied when asked how often they changed their jobs.31.5% stated they have never changed their job till date;10.1% claimed to have switched jobs once every year or less;15.1% stated once every two years;14.3% said once every three years;15.2% said every four to five years; and9.5% claimed changing jobs every six to10 years. The rest of the respondents (4.2%) only changed every11 to15 years.
“Bayt.com is known as the number one job site in the Middle East, and we are devoted to studying and evaluating data that can help both our employees and employers,” said Lama Ataya, Chief Marketing Officer, Bayt.com, “With the Career Reinvention poll we are seeking to further gain insights into what motivates regional professionals to stay in certain careers, which careers are most popular and what factors would induce MENA professionals to change careers altogether. These results will help us at Bayt.com provide an even better platform for professionals pursuing a new and better professional career and employers seeking to source and retain top talent.”
When asked how often they intend to change jobs in the future, an amazing49.1% stated they would hopefully never do that;15.3% said they would do it once every four to five years,11.6% claimed they would do it once every three years,8.2% indicated once every two years, and8.1% indicated once every six to ten years. Only4.3% of the participants said they would change jobs once every year or less and3.5% said they would change every11 to15 years.”
“We stand firmly by our belief that worthy working conditions not only benefit employees, but also increase their productivity, which in turn significantly benefits employers as well. In general, managers are aware that in order to get the most out of their subordinates it is helpful to create the ideal working conditions for effective productivity. At the present time, we are increasingly seeing regional companies dedicating efforts to improving their staff’s working environment, which in the long-run will prove intrinsically valuable to all parties,” Ataya concluded.
Data for the ‘Career Reinvention and the MENA Workplace’ poll series was collected online between April4 and May9,2011, with a total of13,361 participants from across the Middle East. This and other Middle East research, as well as information on Bayt.com’s classifieds, are available online on www.bayt.com