A new survey conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s job site, focuses on the career goals that Middle Eastern professionals will pursue in 2023. The 2023 New Year’s Resolutions Poll reveals that a majority of MENA professionals (91%) feel positive about 2023 and 88% have made resolutions for the new year.
Although 79% of respondents are satisfied with their professional and personal growth in 2022, the majority of MENA professionals are focused on improving aspects that have a direct impact on their quality of life. Among professionals who are making personal resolutions, popular ones are saving money (63%), exercising and following a healthy diet (18%), spending more time with friends and family (14%) and taking more vacations (5%).
Surprisingly, most respondents are optimistic about their ability to keep their resolutions – 31% said they have completed all of their 2022 resolutions, and 35% said they have completed the majority of their year’s resolutions.
Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com said: “A majority of MENA professionals are not only up for a challenge next year, but also view it as a means to enrich their professional and personal life. MENA professionals display a growth attitude, as they are eager to learn and develop and have ambitious goals for 2023. To attract and retain talent, companies must provide the incentives, work-life balance, and professional progression possibilities that employees demand.”
Career-related New Year’s resolutions are popular among MENA professionals who aim to improve their career prospects in the coming year. Finding a new job (56%), learning new skills at work (21%), getting a promotion or a pay raise (20%), and improving relationships with coworkers and managers (3%).
Among professionals who are looking for new jobs, a whopping 74% are thinking of making a complete change in the industry they currently work in. Whilst looking for new jobs in 2023, respondents will look for career growth opportunities (31%), work-life balance (25%), flexible work arrangements (25%) and competitive salary (20%). To find new jobs, survey respondents use online job boards (69%), company websites (18%), social media (9%), and virtual job fairs (4%).
Professionals in the MENA region also shed light on their expectations from employers and areas of improvement that could be taken into consideration in the new year. These include providing more training and learning resources (53%), more rewards and benefits (20%), more feedback and support (15%) and being more flexible with timing (12%).
Data for the New Year’s Resolutions Poll 2023 was collected online from November 2 to December 4, 2022. Results are based on a sample of 2,988 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Sudan among others.
