90% professionals want 'greatly motivating' Ramadan bonuses

More than 80 per cent of the working population in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) believe that Ramadan is a month that lifts morale at work, according to a poll ‘Ramadan in the Mena Workplace’, conducted by a jobs website.

As a way to increase motivation, 90 per cent professionals who responded to a Bayt.com survey believe that special bonuses offered to employees in Ramadan will be greatly motivating.

Interestingly, opinion is split about whether Ramadan is a good time to look for another job, with 44.6 per cent stating that it is harder to do so than at any other time of the year. On the other hand, three out of 10 (31.9 per cent) respondents believe that it is easier to find a job during Ramadan.
Nine out of 10 (86.9 per cent) respondents said their employers follow different official working hours during Ramadan when compared to the rest of the year.

In terms of impact on performance, 58 per cent of respondents said that more working hours during the Holy Month would have a positive impact on their performance.

The sentiment is mirrored when it comes to company performance as well, with 42.1 per cent agreeing that more working hours will have a positive impact on their company’s performance either, although 41.3 per cent “strongly agree” that more working hours would have a positive impact.

Business is slower in Ramadan, according to 74.7 per cent of respondents – 46.4 per cent of which strongly believe so. This could be attributed to the fact that 69 per cent of professionals claim that colleagues tend to take their holidays during the Holy Month.

Another possible reason for lower productivity according to 81.1 per cent of poll respondents could be people staying up late.

Ramadan is seen as a time when there is a noticeable increase in the number of charitable activities, with 87.8 per cent stating that their company is more charitable during the Holy Month. It is also seen as a time of increased socialisation between clleagues, according to 84.7 per cent, although more than half (55.4 per cent) of respondents claim that employees tend to become short-tempered during Ramadan. However, 25.2 per cent of respondents strongly disagree.

Eight out of 10 (81.9 per cent) respondents say that their consumption of goods and services increases during Ramadan – to a large extent, for 50.3 per cent.

Data for the Bayt.com ‘Ramadan in the Mena workplace’ poll was collected online from May 20 to June 24, 2014, with 7,394 respondents from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

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