Saudi and UAE workforce have shown signs of confidence as they show resilience to the persisting global economic uncertainty, new research from LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, has revealed.

 

Despite hiring levels slowing down across Europe and the Middle East in 2022 compared to 2021, LinkedIn’s survey has shown that 68% of the Saudi workforce feel confident in securing a new job, with just 11% lacking this confidence. In the UAE, 74% of professionals are confident of securing a new role, with just 10% saying that they lack this confidence.

 

In regard to their existing jobs, around 73% of Saudi professionals are showing higher levels of confidence in pushing for promotions and new opportunities with their current employer, while only 7% feeling less of it, and over 7 in 10 feeling confident about pushing for a pay raise (73%).

 

Switching jobs

Despite the increase in confidence to grow in their current role, 73% of professionals are considering changing their job in 2023. The top three reasons for considering the switch are higher pay (36%), better work-life balance (28%), and respondents feeling confident in their abilities to land better roles (28%).

 

In the UAE, despite the increase in confidence to grow in their current role, 77% of professionals are considering changing their job in 2023. The top three reasons for considering the switch are higher pay (37%), better work-life balance (34%), and the respondents feeling confident in their abilities to land better roles (31%).

 

Flexibility is a key driver

The survey reveals that while many workers feel more confident in their career prospects, concerns about job security and a preference for remote work options remain prevalent.

Over 6 in 10 (64%) of workers surveyed said that if offered a new job or promotion that requires them to be in the office full time, they would decline the opportunity in favour of a hybrid or remote work policy.

 

Millennials actively looking for new roles

The growing appetite for switching jobs is highest among millennials, who show almost 15% more confidence in job searching, interviewing and in their abilities to secure new and better jobs in 2023 than their younger colleagues.

 

This can be attributed to the fact that 81% of the millennial age group feel that their employer is not invested in them, which is almost 25% greater than similar concerns expressed by Gen Z. Additionally, millennials feel 46% more undervalued at work with a significant number of them not feeling motivated enough (65%), and that their wages do not require them to show higher levels of commitment (71%).

 

Gen Z holds back on seeking new opportunities

Gen Z employees are concerned (7%4 more than millennials) that their employers have not dealt with the current economic uncertainty very well, leading to greater worry about job security. This distress could be a leading factor in them feeling 6% less committed to their current jobs than millennials, with external commitments taking priority over work.

 

Ali Matar, Head of LinkedIn Mena and EMEA growth hub, says: “Despite economic uncertainty and the slump in global hiring that’s trickled its way into the region, we’re still seeing a significant number of professionals looking to either grow within their organisations or switch jobs in 2023, many driven by the desire for bigger salaries as the global cost of living goes up. Workforces clearly know their value within the job market and are taking charge of their career by investing in new skills. It’s clear that since the pandemic, professionals have become much more resilient and we’re seeing this in their confidence to tackle the year ahead.”-- TradeArabia News Service