Bayt poll reveals 85 percent of Middle East professionals are optimistic for 2020

A poll by Bayt.com entitled ‘New Year’s Resolutions in the Middle East and North Africa 2020’ reveals that 76% of the respondents have made resolutions for 2020 and 70% of them believe this year will bring plenty of changes in their professional and personal lives. Poll respondents highlighted the expectations they have of MENA employers – which include more training and learning resources (50%), providing more feedback and support (21%), offering more rewards and benefits (15%), and being more flexible with timing (7%).

Data for the poll was collected online between 15th December 2019 and 8th February 2020. Results are based on a sample of 4,732 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and Pakistan.

According to the poll, the great majority of MENA professionals (85%) feel confident about 2020. Respondents are optimistic about their ability to stick to their resolutions; almost two-thirds of those who made New Year’s resolutions in 2019 (65%) said they have achieved all or most of them.

Most MENA professionals are focused on improving aspects that have a direct impact on their professional lives – 19% want to become more productive and efficient, 17% would like to learn new skills, 6% would like to build more meaningful relationships, and 56% want to improve all of the aforementioned categories. When asked about their top career-related resolutions, 47% said they plan to find a new job, 25% said they would like to learn a new skill and 24% are aiming for a higher compensation.

Poll respondents also came up with resolutions for their co-workers, including improving communication and team dynamics (48%), providing more help and support to each other (20%), sharing more feedback and ideas (19%), and spending more time with each other outside of work (9%).

On the personal resolutions side, many professionals are turning an eye towards their personal finances in 2020 – the most common resolution among poll respondents is to save money (45%). Other popular personal goals are exercising and following a healthy diet (17%), taking more vacations (9%) and spending more time with friends and family (8%).