Seventy percent of UAE respondents agreed that it has become increasingly harder to separate work and personal life due to technology. The feeling was strongest among those earning between AED20,000-AED40,000 a month. Men also felt the issue more strongly than women, according to a YouGov survey.
Since 2020, UAE employees have adopted work-from-home and hybrid models of work. Technology was discovered to be the main disruptor of work-life balance. The availability of technology at any given hour enables contact between co-workers or clients, creating a work-life overlap.
UAE nationals and residents want mobile-free time
“People in the UAE are finding it very difficult to balance how they use technology, whether that is at work, at home or out and about with friends and family. We are prioritising using our phones ahead of people sitting right in front of us. This data shows we need to develop better ways to control our use of technology and perhaps learn to enjoy face-to-face interactions more,” said Jonathan Ivan-Duke, Co-founder and Partner at duke+mir.
Eight out of ten people in the UAE wish that their family and friends would spend less time on their phone when they are with them, the figure demonstrates a problem in regards to phones interfering with human interactions and relationships.
Parents are most likely than singles or married couples without children to desire less phone time from friends and family, according to the survey.
Devices that were originally designed to provide stronger connections with individuals located in different locations has become powerful enough to prioritise responding to virtual reactions than to physically. UAE nationals and expatriate residents want mobile-free time to enjoy each other’s company.
40 percent of the UAE population think they have a problem with using their phone too much and intend to cut back, a further 23 percent recognised that they sped too long on their phones but do not think that it’s an issue.
Emiratis and Arab expats were more likely to express a desire to cut back on their phone usage (48 percent) than Westerners (38 percent) or Asian expats (36 percent).
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