Happiness is at work in the UAE

Here's some inspiring news: Majority of the employees in the UAE and the rest of the region are "satisfied with how enjoyable it is to go to work every morning," according to a survey conducted by a leading Middle East job site.
In a report published by Bayt.com on Monday titled 'Workplace Satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)', "an overwhelming 86.7 per cent of MENA respondents claim they are "satisfied with how enjoyable it is to go to work every morning", with 67.6 per cent of them being "completely satisfied" and 19.1 per cent being "somewhat satisfied".
The online survey, conducted from January 30 to March 17, comprised 10,755 respondents from the UAE, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
According to Bayt.com, three quarters or 79.2 per cent of the respondents are satisfied with the recognition they receive for their accomplishments at work.
There is also a strong job and career satisfaction with 44.1 per cent of respondents saying that they are "completely satisfied" with the type of work they do, while more than a quarter (28.5 per cent) claim that they are "somewhat satisfied". Conversely, only 14.1% state they are "completely dissatisfied" with the type of work they are doing.
"It is pleasing to see that the majority of respondents to our poll are satisfied with their current jobs, providing an overall positive outlook with workplace satisfaction in the MENA region," says Suhail Masri, vice-president of employer solutions at Bayt.com.
"Employee satisfaction is an important factor in boosting the reputation and performance of an organization," he adds.
Salary satisfaction
A little over half of the respondents, 52.4 per cent, are satisfied when it comes to the salary they receive. Of those, 15.1 per cent are "completely satisfied" while 37.3 per cent are "somewhat satisfied". Results also show that 37.7 per cent of respondents are "completely satisfied" with the health insurance provided at work, while 15.5% are "completely dissatisfied".
In a separate interview with Khaleej Times, Dana Bousaleh, marketing manager of Awards International UAE, explains: "The reasons why employees are satisfied is not only about the monetary reasons, it also has to do with whether your work is being acknowledged and if there is a way to grow and learn within the company."
"A lot of employees switch jobs because they are always looking for the better in terms of pay, or security and growth," Bousaleh adds.
They can get, yes, satisfaction
When it comes to career satisfaction, more than half of MENA professionals, 52.9 per cent, "are completely satisfied" with their chances of a promotion while almost a quarter (22.6 per cent) are 'somewhat satisfied' and only 14.8 per cent say they are 'completely dissatisfied' with the chances of promotion.
On career growth: "majority of respondents (68 per cent) are also satisfied, with 41.4 per cent of them 'completely satisfied' and 26.8 per cent 'somewhat satisfied' with their career growth opportunities."
On job security: "39 per cent are satisfied with their job security and almost a third (29.8 per cent) 'somewhat satisfied'.
Work-life balance satisfaction
Just over 70 per cent of MENA respondents say they are satisfied with their work-life balance, with a third being "completely satisfied". Only nine per cent of respondents are "completely dissatisfied" with their work-life balance.
Moreover, around three quarters of the respondents (74.7 per cent) are satisfied with their working hours, while 15.8 per cent claim to be 'completely dissatisfied'.
A father of two, Y.Z., who works in Media City, resonates the same level of satisfaction at work. "To be honest, the work load can sometimes be difficult but it is manageable so I really have time to play with my five-year old daughter and one-year old son," he tells Khaleej Times.
"Our company also puts premium on employee's health and wellness. They even pay for the registration fee whenever I join a race or marathon. There's also community engagement - we do volunteering work - and that means a lot giving back to the community," he adds.
 Fun place to work
An overwhelming majority (82.5 per cent) of MENA professionals are also satisfied with their relations with co-workers, of which 52.6 per cent are 'completely satisfied' and 29.9 per cent are 'somewhat satisfied'.
British expat D.K., who works in a Dubai-based PR company, says: "I find working with different nationalities and cultures really inspiring. I also love the energy and positivity of working in Dubai and on some of the biggest stories out there - it's exhilarating. I think sometimes in the UK people can be too negative about everything, unlike here (in the UAE)."
The findings
 86.7 per cent of respondents claim that they are "satisfied with how enjoyable it is to go to work every morning
"67.6 per cent say they are "completely satisfied"19.1 per cent say they are "somewhat satisfied".
44.1 per cent "completely satisfied" with the type of work they do
28.5 per cent "somewhat satisfied"
14.1 per cent "completely dissatisfied"
angel@khaleejtimes.com