90% of MENA professionals are ‘optimistic’ about the future, majority preferring remote work

The majority of professionals in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) feel 90% optimistic about 2022, while 85% believe this year will bring plenty of changes in their professional and personal lives, according to a new survey from Bayt.

The regional job site surveyed thousands of respondents from MENA on their professional outlooks and changed work patterns post COVID-19, finding that although 80% of respondents are satisfied with their professional and personal growth during the past year, finding a new job emerges as the top career-related resolution for 56% of respondents.

Other professional goals were getting a promotion or a salary raise (21%), learning new skills at work (21%), and improving relationships with colleagues and managers (2%).

The new survey “clearly shows that most MENA professionals set their professional goals as a way to enrich their professional and personal lives,” says Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com.

Whilst looking for new jobs in 2022, 86% of respondents will spend more time looking for remote jobs, using online job sites (76%), company websites (14%), social media (6%), and virtual job fairs (2%).

This proves the long-talked-about shift in work preferences brought about by the pandemic. Globally, professionals are increasingly preferring remote jobs, despite a relative improvement in the health situation.

67% of respondents have year-end appraisals at their company while only 20% don’t, as the great majority of professionals (87%) think that year-end appraisals at work are “helpful.”

Most MENA professionals have also been found to be more focused on improving aspects that have a “direct impact on the quality of their lives.”

Among the most popular professional resolutions by MENA, professionals are saving money (65%), exercising and following a healthy diet (21%), spending more time with friends and family (9%), and taking more vacations (6%).