UAE: Are companies still offering work-from-home, hybrid options to employees?

Hybrid and work-from-office models are currently dominant in the UAE as companies are encouraging their employees to work from the office due to a drop in Covid-19 cases and ease in restrictions related to the pandemic, say recruitment and human resources consultant firms.

Mayank Patel, country head, Adecco Middle East, said more and more firms are now looking to adopt hybrid work models, due to advancements in technology and innovative new ways of work that best suit their organisation needs.

“Hybrid model is the most dominant as employees can enjoy better work-life balance and deliver exceptional results get the work done in an environment where they are most productive,” he said.

Aisha Amarsi, senior manager at Hays, says the hybrid work model is still being practised, however, work-from-office is still the most dominant model in the country.

As per Hay’s 2022 GCC Salary Guide, 55 per cent of employers in the UAE offer no working-from-home options. However, 20 per cent of employees can work completely flexibly, from home or the office. A further 12 per cent of employees work at home 2-3 days per week, followed by seven per cent 1-2 days per month and 6 per cent spend 1 day working from home per week.

“During the pandemic, working from home became part of the new normal. With employees enjoying more flexibility and enhanced work-life balance, it triggered a desire for a more permanent shift in working models. Having the flexibility to work from home is now a benefit that many employees value,” she said.

Amarsi stressed that the work-from-home option offers a distinct advantage to attract and retain the best talent. “Multinational corporations are more likely to offer this option, while smaller local companies are more reluctant to offer widespread working from home.”

Work-from-home jobs

Amarsi added that the types of roles that tend to be remote include creative and professional services.

Mayank Patel added that in hybrid work modules, employees have more flexibility to get work done where they are most productive.

“There are support functions that could have hybrid work modules such as customer service, web designer, marketing and communications professionals, analytics experts, data architects and developers etc. This enables enhanced productivity, employee well-being and better retention,” added Patel.

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