A new survey by Bayt.com, the Middle East's leading career site, and market research agency YouGov, revealed a variety of insights about the happiness and well-being of professionals across the region and their levels of satisfaction with work and home lives.
“Developing a mindset focused on health and wellbeing can open up a whole world of possibilities and help professionals reach their potential. Our survey sheds light on how an increasing focus on health is shaping MENA jobseekers’ choices and what employers can do to promote a holistic approach to wellness at the workplace,” said Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com. “At the same time, the research tells us that job availability and career prosperity have the biggest impact on happiness and well-being. This is why, as the leading job site in the region, we continuously work on increasing the visibility of job opportunities in the region as well as empowering employers and job seekers to connect effectively.”
It is worth noting that Bayt.com currently displays more than 50,000 jobs across the region. In addition to that, companies big and small are conducting more than 200,000 searches for CVs every month using this job site.
According to the survey, the majority of respondents (according to 85%) from the region are satisfied with their mental wellbeing. Health is also positive: 77% of respondents believe that their current state of health is good or above and they do not have any particular health problems.
In regards to personal relationships, 84% of respondents are satisfied with their relationship with family while two out of three respondents are satisfied with their ability to maintain personal relationships with family and friends in their current country of residence.
In their personal lives, the majority of respondents (77%) stated that they are satisfied with the independence to take own their own decisions.
In their professional lives, 53% of respondents are satisfied with the support they receive from colleagues (while 24% are neutral); 51% are satisfied with working hours (19 are neutral); and 49% are satisfied with the recognition received at work (20% are neutral).
Zafar Shah, Research Director, Data services at YouGov MENA said: “The main aim of our research is to help both professionals and companies create a supportive environment to boost happiness and give rise to important conversations in relation to well-being. A system to facilitate key elements affecting professionals’ happiness is required for any company striving to be successful in today's marketplace. Even ahead of that, we continue to note that factors related to securing a job and career growth are vital and directly impact overall happiness and the wellbeing of individuals.”
Data for the 2019 Health and Wellbeing in the MENA survey was collected online from September 19, 2019, to October 4, 2019. Results are based on a sample of 1,643 respondents from countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Sudan among others.