Why only 23% UAE firms grant flexible working hours

A majority (94 per cent) of UAE office workers would feel less stressed, be more productive and achieve better balance between work and family responsibilities if they were given the freedom to work flexibly outside of the office.

This is according to a survey conducted by YouGov ahead of this year's Gitex Technology Week, and released by Citrix, a company providing mobile workspaces.

Demand for flexible working has increased by a further 20 per cent since 2013, with many UAE workers also indicating that the ability to work from anywhere would significantly increase their job satisfaction.

In contrast, only 23 per cent of businesses surveyed fully encourage and enable employees to work from anywhere, using any device.

Further, 34 per cent of UAE organizations fear that employees may become less productive when outside an office environment, whilst 33 per cent believe that a lack of security controls for devices prevents them adopting mobility solutions.

The research also revealed that 17 per cent of organizations do not currently enable employees to work outside of the office at all – or use any personal devices and a further 8 per cent only allow it in special circumstances.

Only 30 per cent of UAE businesses are examining the impact of mobility on productivity, 29 per cent are examining the impact on employee morale, whilst 20 per cent have not taken steps to understand the potential impact of mobility on their business.

The findings reflect the increasing need to transform the way people and organizations do business – compounded by the profound impact of consumerisation.

By providing the technology to enable full productivity beyond the constraints of physical desks, offices and traditional working hours, businesses can empower employees to work smarter wherever they may be – and most importantly, attract and retain the best talent in a highly competitive labour market.

“These latest results demonstrate a slow but clear cultural shift in the attitude and adoption of mobile working technologies – employee demand is strong, but businesses still have some progress to make in meeting that demand,” said Johnny Karam, Regional Vice-President, Middle East and Africa, Citrix.

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