A survey on employee engagement in the GCC region revealed that workers are more motivated than their counterparts in other parts of the world.
Workforce development company Kenexa gave its findings on Thursday morning in Dubai. The results show that the average employee engagement index score for GCC employees is 56 percent higher than other nations, including Germany, Spain, China, the UK and France.
Oman and Saudi Arabia scored 63 percent and 61 percent respectively, while Kuwait secured a 59 percent mark. Meanwhile, the UAE’s score was 59 percent.
Of the GCC workforce, senior managers ranked highest for employee engagement at 67 percent, while workers hit 48 percent. Elsewhere, managers, supervisors and professionals ranked above the GCC average for employee motivation in the workplace.
Dr Jack Wiley, executive director of Kenexa Research Institute, said the survey highlighted challenges that GCC governments face in boosting national worker numbers.
“The human resource challenges in the GCC countries pose unique issues mainly compounded by the presence of two workforces: national and expatriate,” he said.
“While the local governments are taking measures to engage more nationals in the workforce, most companies are dependent on a largely expatriate labourforce, which exceeds 14 million.
Dr Wiley added the results show many national and expatriate employees are comfortable in their respective workplaces.
“These survey results mitigate several prejudices regarding the outlook of expatriates and nationals to their careers,” he said. “At 58 and 54 per cent respectively, the difference in employee engagement index scores of expatriates and nationals in the GCC region, are not of practical significance.
“The drivers for engagement also do not vary significantly. Confidence in the organisation’s future and job safety as a priority are top ranked drivers for both groups.”
While the GCC nations outscored several nations, they were overshadowed by employees in India and Brazil. The countries scored 73 percent and 65 percent respectively.
In response to the GCC scores, Dr Wiley said improvements can be made to develop stronger relations between employees and bosses.
He said: “To improve both expatriate and national engagement, the data identifies two main pillars of engagement that need strengthening – leadership and management.
“Strengthening leadership with messages of inspiring and promising futures is a priority in engaging nationals. Developing the management will improve expatriate engagement as they are driven by a desire to excel in their workplace.”
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