Workplaces in the UAE remain the most highly engaged in the Middle East and North Africa but mirror global trends when it comes to “quiet quitting”, a survey has found.
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 survey, released this week, found 27 per cent of employees in the UAE were engaged and thriving.
This is a two-point increase over last year's report, and compares with only 15 per cent regionally and 23 per cent globally, the study showed.
It also showed daily stress in UAE workplaces to be among the lowest in the region, with 33 per cent of employees stating they experience it.
Every organisation is starting to have strategies to combat work-related stress. This is what we see on the ground
Abdullah Bader,
executive principal, Gallup polling
This is a decline of two points on last year and compares with 45 per cent regionally and 44 per cent globally. Turkey topped the regional list for stress at 68 per cent.
However, the UAE mirrored global trends when it comes to what’s known as “quiet quitting”, or essentially doing the bare minimum.
At least 61 per cent were quiet quitting – not engaged – and 12 per cent were loud quitting, or actively disengaged, figures released separately to The National showed.
Globally the survey found at least 59 per cent of workers were quiet quitting and 18 per cent loud quitting. Regionally the numbers stood at 62 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.
At least 21 per cent of UAE employees report experiencing daily anger, a decline of two points. This is less than half of the regional average of 45 per cent and matches the global figure of 21 per cent.
Gallup has estimated low engagement at work costs the global economy $8.8 trillion and accounts for 9 per cent of global gross domestic product but said quiet quitters could be easily motivated again through better management.
Workplace plans in place
Experts said the UAE is bucking the regional trend because of government well-being initiatives such as the National Strategy for Well-being 2031, and an increasing focus placed by companies on the mental health of their employees.
It also comes after authorities have undertaken several reforms in recent years to attract more skilled workers and bolster its business environment. The country’s golden visa programme has also encourages talented workers to move and put down roots here.
“The UAE is going above and beyond in engagement,” Abdullah Bader, executive principal at Gallup, told The National.
“We have seen initiatives for addressing work-related stress and monitoring work life balance. And national well-being strategies. A third reason is open communication channels between companies and employees.
“Every organisation in the UAE is starting to have strategies to combat work-related stress. This is what we see on the ground.”
Mr Bader said focusing on quiet quitters made sense for employers, as most workers could be easily motivated again.
“This is low-hanging fruit for organisations in UAE,” said Mr Bader. “Making small changes can really engage employees.”
Positive outlook
The study also showed workers in the UAE had a more favourable view of the country’s job market. At least 59 per cent say that now is a good time to find a job, a healthy increase of six points on 2022 and only beaten by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
“UAE companies are making steady progress on workplace engagement and reducing negative emotions among their employees,” Tanvi Ahluwalia, market leader for Gallup in the UAE, said in a press release.
“In light of the UAE’s projected economic growth and increasingly favourable job market conditions, leaders must continue investing in the development of their people in order to retain their top talent.”
The picture was more clouded regionally. Gallup surveyed Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE and Yemen – and found workers reported the second-lowest regional percentage of engaged employees; the second-highest regional percentage of daily anger; and the lowest regional percentage of employees who say now is a good time to find a job.
The report found that 23 per cent of the world’s employees were engaged at work in 2022, the highest level since Gallup began measuring global engagement in 2009. Although engagement declined in 2020, it has returned to its historically positive trend.
Much of this gain was due to a 7-percentage-point rebound in engagement in South Asia, which includes India – estimated to become the world’s largest country by population this year. South Asia now leads the world in employee engagement at 33 per cent.
Gallup typically surveys 1,000 people in each country or area using a standard set of core questions translated into the respective country’s major languages. In some countries, Gallup collects oversamples in major cities or areas of special interest.
The biog
Fast facts on Neil Armstrong’s personal life:
- Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio
- He earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16 – he could fly before he could drive
- There was tragedy in his married life: Neil and Janet Armstrong’s daughter Karen died at the age of two in 1962 after suffering a brain tumour. She was the couple’s only daughter. Their two sons, Rick and Mark, consulted on the film
- After Armstrong departed Nasa, he bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, Ohio, in 1971 – its airstrip allowed him to tap back into his love of flying
- In 1994, Janet divorced Neil after 38 years of marriage. Two years earlier, Neil met Carol Knight, who became his second wife in 1994
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')
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