Sunday 05 / May / 2024
Muscat: More than half (55 per cent) of the respondents of a survey in Oman said they expect a salary increase in 2016, according to the 2016 Bayt.com Middle East and North Africa Salary Survey, conducted by job site Bayt.com, and YouGov, a market research agency.
However, some companies are not ready to give the hike given the economic condition and low oil prices.
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Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, general manager of a leading travel agency said: It’s impossible for most companies to give any hike this year as the business is not good. “Some small companies are even cutting down the perks,” he added.
“But if the oil prices go up, then we have a hope of more business, which can transform into more money for employees,” he said.
Shiv Gupta, chief executive officer of an IT company-based in Muscat, said, “The market has slowed down and they are currently experiencing a delay in receiving payments from the market. Taking everything into account, very few companies will even consider an increase.”
In Oman, one in five professionals (20 per cent) believed their salary was competitive with employees in other companies in their industry, while a majority (62 per cent) believed the salary was lower than the industry average.
When asked about the industries which offered the highest salaries, oil, gas and petrochemicals (60 per cent), banking and finance (27 per cent) and airline/aviation (25 per cent) emerged as the highest paying industries, as per Oman respondents.
Fifty per cent of Oman respondents claimed the salary they earned was, at least to some extent, the main reason for their loyalty to their company, while more than one quarter (28 per cent) claimed their loyalty was not linked to the salary.
Besides salary, long-term career advancement opportunities (42 per cent) and line manager (28 per cent) emerged as the most important factors driving employee loyalty in Oman.
In terms of equal pay, while half (54 per cent) claimed they were unaware, the largest proportion (28 per cent) with a point of view believed that men and women were being paid equally for doing the same work.
“This study was specially designed to provide employers with an insight into employee satisfaction levels with their salary and raises. This information is key to guiding both employers and job seekers, so the mismatch between salaries offered and expectations can be successfully addressed.
“Tools such as Salary Search by Bayt.com can help employers discover the salaries that are being paid in their industry. The same tool helps professionals gauge their earnings against market average, and thus, learn whether or not they are being fairly paid for the job they are doing,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com.
Pay raises
In 2015, 17 per cent of respondents in Oman received a promotion, with two-thirds of them (65 per cent) received an accompanying salary increase.
Surprisingly, 36 per cent of Oman respondents disclosed that they have not received a pay raise in 2015 at all, and 41 per cent of those who did were quite dissatisfied with their raise.
In fact, only 5 per cent of Oman respondents said their raise was above the inflation rate; 20 per cent said it was in line with the inflation rate, and 51 per cent said the raise they received was below the current rate of inflation.
On the other hand, 18 per cent appeared to be very happy or modestly happy with their raise, and 10 per cent believed that the pay raise they received last year was fair in the light of their contribution to the company.
As for future expectations, 43 per cent of Oman respondents expected a raise of up to 15 per cent, while 21 per cent did not expect to receive a raise at all in 2016. Another 19 per cent were unsure of whether they would get a raise.
Bonuses and promotions
In Oman, 37 per cent of professionals received overtime pay, and 46 per cent received a company bonus or incentive plan. For those who received a bonus, 68 per cent said they get an annual or year-end bonus, while 42 per cent get an incentive-based bonus.
In terms of pay structures, 60 per cent of professionals in Oman said they preferred a 100 per cent fixed pay structure, while a third (35 per cent) said they would prefer a partially-fixed pay structure, with variable pay for commissions and incentives.
Pay structures are annually or biennially reviewed for 36 per cent of Oman respondents, while one fifth (21 per cent) do not receive any pay reviews at all.
With regards to additional benefits, more than half (55 per cent) of Oman respondents said they were covered by personal medical insurance, 40 per cent said they are allotted a personal air ticket and 27 per cent receive transportation allowance from their companies.
When asked about their preferences, 60 per cent of the respondents admitted that they would prefer to receive a bonus, while others would rather receive housing allowance, or company-provided accommodation, at 23 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively.
Future plans, expectations
In Oman, 48 per cent of respondents claimed that they are planning on finding a better job in their industry within the next 12 months, while 23 per cent stated they will be looking for a better job in a new industry.
Interestingly, 41 per cent of Oman respondents plan on relocating to a different country in the Middle East in search of a better job.
When asked about future trends, a third (35 per cent) of Oman respondents said they expected salaries to increase slightly, while 4 per cent expected the opposite (slightly decrease). According to the respondents, factors causing salaries to increase included inflation/rise in cost of living (64 per cent), growth in opportunities and economic growth in the country (31 per cent), and good corporate performance/increased profitability (14 per cent).
On the other hand, Oman residents saw poor economic growth/declining oil prices (72 per cent), poor corporate performance/decreased profitability (28 per cent), and employer-friendly laws (39 per cent) as the factors preventing salary increases.
Expenses and savings
With regards to the rising cost of living in Oman, the majority of respondents said they witnessed an increase in their rent (54 per cent), food and beverage (64 per cent) and utilities (58 per cent). Another 35 per cent of respondents said they have also experienced increases in expenditure on education, and 29 per cent mentioned entertainment as one of the major cost increases.
The increased cost of living has, in turn, hampered Oman professionals’ ability to save: 27 per cent of them admitted that they end up saving nothing from their monthly salary. Still, 52 per cent of Oman employees manage to repatriate a portion of their salary to their home country.
Masri continued, “As a part of our mission to empower people to lead lifestyles of their choice, Bayt.com has currently more than 10,000 jobs posted on its website on any given day. That is besides the unadvertised jobs that are filled by employers through the CV Search mechanism on Bayt.com.
“Jobseeker registration on Bayt.com is growing at over 12,000 new registered job seekers a day - a growth that reflects a healthy appetite for jobs across the industry spectrum across the region and corresponds to the fact that the majority of MENA respondents plan to look for a new job in the next 12 months.”
Investments
In Oman, the most popular choice for monthly investments includes investing in local property (18 per cent). It is worth noting, though, that only 17 per cent of Oman’s respondents make financial investments on a regular basis.
Of those polled in Oman, 39 per cent owned their own home, while 34 per cent were interested in owning a home in their country of residence, and 70 per cent said they would like to own a home in their home country.
Joao Neves, Research Director, YouGov, said: “It is interesting to note that 61 per cent of MENA respondents manage to save a portion of their monthly income, with 58 per cent of those living outside their home country are able to repatriate a portion of their savings to their home country. This is a good sign for both employers and job seekers, as the ability to save and repatriate savings will impact other factors such as employee satisfaction and loyalty towards the company.”
Data for the 2016 Bayt.com Middle East and North Africa Salary Survey was collected online from April 1 to April 15, 2016. Results are based on a sample of 8,158 respondents who live in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
