A vast majority of UAE employees (89 percent) said that they would switch jobs for the same salary if the benefits were better, according to the YouGov survey commissioned by Zurich International Life Middle East.
The talent landscape in the UAE is increasingly competitive resulting in the need for employers to consider more than just salary to retain skilled workers. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of employees have changed jobs in the past year or are considering changing in the next 12 months, with those aged between 25-34 most likely to change, according to the survey.
The main drivers for the changing organisations were noted as better salary package, better employee benefits and professional development and skills growth.
More than half of the employers said that they believe they are facing a talent shortage with sales, marketing and data science facing the biggest shortfall, findings lead to the fact that employers must readdress their benefits to attract and retain talent.
The survey revealed that cost and extra administrative workload were the biggest factors that were holding employers back from upgrading employee packages.
Over 53 percent cited that unhappiness with growth opportunities was a reason to change jobs followed by lack of professional development and salary dissatisfaction.
“The government of the UAE has in recent years enacted a broad range of measures to make the nation more attractive for global talent as it seeks to enhance its diversification towards a knowledge-based economy. The environment is now fertile for employers to capitalize and act in order to make the UAE a net importer of talent and net exporter of knowledge work,” said Sajeev Nair, Senior Executive Officer at Zurich Workplace Solutions.
“As companies seek to attract and, importantly, retain talent in the UAE, they must accept that this is a mature job market where talent holds many of the cards. Providing better benefits is a clear-cut way for companies to position themselves as employers of choice; yet our survey reveals that there is a mismatch in an employer’s definition of a benefit and what employees understand to be a tangible benefit,” he added.
The survey was conducted based on a sample size of 2,021 respondents made up of 1,015 employees and 1,006 employers.
Follow us on
