Dubai: The UAE, as well as Bahrain, is leading the Arab world in terms of providing job satisfaction to employees, with nearly one in ten saying they have a great job, according to the latest data.

The 2016 Global Great Jobs Report by Gallup, released this year, showed that 9 per cent of adults in the two Gulf states are employed in jobs that they love or make them feel motivated.

Where the great/good jobs are

The figure is highest in the Middle East and North Africa region and ranked fourth globally. Human resources specialists say the findings indicate that organisations are doing better in driving employee engagement levels.

“When compared to the employee satisfaction ratings polled in previous years, the UAE has vastly improved on overall employee satisfaction. A key element for the positive change in employee satisfaction are the initiatives driven by the UAE government to build and provide a safe work environment for employees,” said Annalinde Nickisch, HR consultant at The Thought Factory.

Nickisch added that certain programmes, such as the Wages Protection System (WPS), which ensures that workers are paid “in a timely manner”, including ministerial decrees that seek to ease regulations around the applications of labour bans “have had a major impact.”

“The continuous development of the labour regulations has allowed employees to pursue opportunities within the country, while protecting their rights as employees.”

Hamad Saleh Ballaith, acting CEO of Sawaeed Employment, said a lot of people in UAE feel great about their jobs because the country offers “one of the most competitive job environments in the world.”

“Here, workers enjoy many forms of compensation and benefits such as insurance and gratuity. There is also an emphasis on a positive, harmonious and happy work environment. Moreover, the country’s leaders prioritize the welfare of workers and appreciate their active participation in national development as well as set worker-friendly regulations to enhance the economic activity and to meet workers’ satisfaction.”

Across the globe, the number of professionals who claim to have great jobs also rarely tops 10 per cent, indicating that there are only few people on the planet that have a genuine connection to their work or are enthusiastic about what they do for a living.

Improve engagement levels

In other GCC states, there are fewer people who feel great about their work, such as in Kuwait (8 per cent), Qatar (7 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (5 per cent). In Egypt and Turkey, job satisfaction is much lower, with only 3 per cent of the respondents saying they love their work.

Jon Clifton, managing director, global analytics, Gallup implied that a lot has yet to be done to improve engagement levels within the workforce. “Global leaders need to make “great job” creation a top priority,” he wrote in the report.

In terms of providing employment opportunities, Qatar leads the world, with 55 per cent of the respondents saying they have “good” jobs.

The UAE comes second globally at 53 per cent, followed by Bahrain at 44 per cent. In Saudi Arabia, 34 per cent of the adults said they have “good” jobs.

The prevalence of “good jobs” is a major component of economic productivity in most countries, according to Gallup. It doesn’t mean, however, that all these people with “good jobs” are engaged in their work or love their profession. Gallup defines “good job” as something that requires at least 30 hours of consistent work per week and offers a regular pay cheque.

“Not all good jobs are great jobs,” said Gallup.