The Middle East and North Africa Salary Survey 2021, conducted recently by Bayt.com,the Middle East’s #1 job site, in partnership with YouGov, market research agency, revealed a variety of insights on employees’ perceptions of salaries and benefits.According to the survey, nearly two-thirds of MENA respondents (63%) believe salaries are either increasing or staying the same in their country of residence.
Salaries and Benefits in the UAE
53% of UAE respondents claim that their current salary package consists of basic salary and benefits, while 33% claim that it consists of basic salary only. 14% say it consists of basic salary, benefits, and commission.
When it came to the preferred pay structure, 68% ofrespondents prefer a 100% fixed pay structure, while 19%said they prefer a partially fixed pay structure with a variable pay for commissions and incentives.
Among the various benefits employees receive, personal medical insurance (41%), personal air ticket (34%), gratuity (30%), and housing allowance (22%)are found to be the top benefits in the UAE.
As for end of service benefits, 68% of UAE respondents say their company presently offers endofservice gratuity.
Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com says: “The Bayt.comSalary Survey 2021 explores current income structure and levels, salary satisfaction, perception towards cost of living and expense allocation, providing an insight to the job market and the economy. Employers need to treat compensation as an integral part of an employee’s reward and monitor major factors driving the salary expectations.”
Drivers of Loyalty
31% claim that their loyalty to their company is not linked to the salary they receive. Yet, another 31% regard their loyalty is linked to the salary in a large to full extent.Apart from salary, the nature of daily responsibilities (32%), opportunities for career advancement (30%) and the company brand reputation (26%) are important drivers of loyalty.
When asked about their career plans in the next twelve months, 55% of UAE respondents said they will look for a better job in the same industry, and 36% said they plan to look for a better job in a different industry.
Finances and Expenses
In terms of quality of life, nearly 7 in 10 (69%) respondentsin the UAE believe they are better off or about the same asother people of a similar generation in their country of residence.
Additionally, nearly 6 in 10 respondents (57%) manage to savea portion of their personal income and 43% of respondents repatriate up to 50% of their savings to their home country.
Talking about future investment, 17% make regular financial investments with 24% doing so by investing in their own business.
Respondent Profile
Among those surveyed, 52% of UAE respondents have been working in their current industry for up to six years. When it came to specific employers, 80% of respondents have been working with their current employer for six years or less, with 46% having worked for their employer for less than three years.
In their current role, 37%of UAE professionals claim to be ‘midway in terms of seniority’ when asked about the level they have reached in their career path, with another 34% claiming they are in ‘fairly senior level but not at the top yet’.
Zafar Shah, Research Director at YouGov said: “The Salary Survey illustrates the job market from employees’ perspective, helping candidates gauge their worth in the current job market, and promoting employers’ understanding in a way that best serves the business and employees. Smart employers will invest in opportunities for career advancement as well as training and development which are the most important drivers of loyalty besides salary.”
Data for the Middle East and North Africa Salary Survey 2021 was collected online from 3 to 15 March 2021. Results are based on a sample of 2,524 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan among others.