Employer's dream: UAE professionals engaged at the workplace

‘Employee Engagement in the MENA’, a poll recently conducted by Bayt.com, the region’s number one job site, has revealed that more than 80 per cent of employees in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region claim to feel very engaged at work.

Six in 10 (57.1 per cent) believe that their company’s management makes job satisfaction a top priority. Engaged employees are willing to go the extra mile for their company, driven by passion and a profound connection that drives them to desire success.

The majority of poll respondents (70.5 per cent) say that their manager values their skills and the contributions they make to the company, while poor performance is addressed by 80.4 per cent of poll-takers’ companies. For the most part, senior management across the board is held accountable for achieving goals, according to 64 per cent of respondents – though 76.4 per cent strongly believe that it’s the employees that bear the weight of achieving goals.

Four in 10 managers always do a good job of sharing information, with only 25 per cent rarely hitting that particular benchmark. Beyond information, 65.4 per cent of employee respondents state that they have all of the resources that they need to do a good job. On the other hand, 34.6 per cent claim to need resources that would help their job performance improve.

According to 70 per cent of poll respondents, communications channels are open in their companies; they feel they can disagree with their manager without fear of getting in trouble.

The majority (60.6 per cent) strongly agree that their company measures job performance in a way that is fair to all staff, with an additional fifth (19.6 per cent) somewhat agreeing to the same statement.

Just more than half (52.2 per cent) say that they ‘always’ receive feedback to help improve their performance, while 34.2 per cent state that feedback is given ‘sometimes’. Almost half (49.7 per cent) of regional professionals have regular career discussions with their manager, whereas 32.3 per cent have the same on an irregular basis.

Nine in 10 (88.7%) claim to have a good understanding of the mission and goals of their organisation, and 95 per cent understand how their work directly contributes to the company’s overall success.

The majority (93 per cent) are involved in decisions that impact their work.

Suhail Al-Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com said: “Employee engagement is a hot topic in today’s workplace with good reason; employees engaged in their work are likely to be motivated, to remain loyal to their employer and to stay focused on achieving business goals and driving the organisation’s future.

Disengaged employees can drag down others and impact critical business areas. Beyond salary, psychological and social fulfillment can determine which employees are motivated to stay, perform, and contribute to organisation success.

Companies that realise the importance of employee engagement understand that encouraging high performance and aligning talent with business strategy requires getting to the heart of what matters to employees.”