Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: Approximately 81.7 per cent of Middle East and North Africa (Mena) professionals agree that they ‘feel more productive’ during Ramadan, according to Bayt.com’s recently released ‘Ramadan in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll.
“Ramadan is a great month for MENA professionals,” said Suhail Masri, Vice President of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com.
Regarding work productivity, 14.8 per cent of respondents said their ‘productivity doesn’t change during Ramadan’, and only 3.5 per cent said they become ‘less productive’.
“Not only do they reflect on their personal, spiritual, and professional life, they also become more focused and productive. As the region’s largest job site, we assure all job seekers out there that career planning and job hunting does not stop during the holy month,” he said
“In fact, many companies hire during Ramadan and many professionals find Ramadan a better time to put their career plans into action. We continue to have 10,000+ jobs on Bayt.com every single day and we welcome everyone to make use of these opportunities and apply,” Masri pointed out.
Across the region, the majority of respondents (87.7 per cent) were satisfied with their working hours, with 81.9 per cent stating that they are ‘very satisfied’. 4.7 per cent of respondents are ‘neutral’ towards this aspect, while only 7.6 per cent report being ‘somewhat dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’.
Data for the 2018 Bayt.com ‘Ramadan in the Middle East’ poll was collected online from March 3, 2018 to April 11, 2018. Results are based on a sample of 9,149 respondents. Participating countries included the UAE, Bahrain, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Qatar, KSA, and Yemen among others.
Responses were fairly evenly split when it comes to taking time off from work during Ramadan. Nearly 54.6 per cent of respondents say that they take ‘more vacation days during Ramadan’, while 45.4 per cent claim the opposite is true.
Additionally, 91.4 per cent of respondents say that their company becomes more charitable during Ramadan, and when it comes to social and team building activities, 91.1 per cent of Mena respondents agree that their company increases such activities during the holy month.
Although 61.4 per cent of Mena respondents agree that their workload increases during the holy month, this may be due to the fact that working hours decrease as stated by the majority (89.4 per cent) of respondents.
The majority of Mena respondents (88.4 per cent) agree with the statement that Ramadan is a ‘good time to reflect on their personal and professional goals’, 6.7 per cent were neutral towards this statement while only 4.9 per cent disagreed.
When asked to share their favourite aspects about Ramadan, more than two thirds (67.5 per cent) of Mena respondents said that ‘gathering with friends and family’ was their favourite aspect. Mena respondents also enjoy ‘practising religious and spiritual life’ (12.6 per cent), and ‘slowing down and enjoying the quiet time’ (2.5 per cent).
A vast majority (89.6 per cent) of respondents claim that Ramadan improves their relationships at work, with only 4.4 per cent Mena respondents claiming the opposite is true. Nearly 6 per cent of respondents were neutral towards this statement.
