Today's Edition
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
Employees in the UAE are among the most optimistic in the world about their job prospects, even as the MENA region continues to lag behind other parts of the world in workplace engagement, according to Gallup’s latest study.
The “2026 State of the Global Workplace” survey found that 76% of employees in the UAE believe it is a good time to find a job, placing the country alongside Saudi Arabia (77%) as the most confident labour markets worldwide.
That stands well above the wider MENA region, where only 36% of employees share that view - the lowest level in the world, though still higher than the 28% recorded in 2020 and 2021. Globally, confidence in the job market reached 52% in 2025, up one percentage point from the year before.
The UAE also posted one of the highest employee engagement rates in the region at 27%, behind only Iraq at 30% and ahead of Saudi Arabia at 26%.
Across MENA, employee engagement remains among the lowest in the world, with only 14% of employees classified as engaged - only slightly ahead of Europe at 12%. Within the region, the weakest levels were recorded in Egypt (4%), Lebanon (6%), Türkiye (8%) and Tunisia (9%).
Wellbeing figures point to a similar divide. More than half of employees in the UAE (55%) and Saudi Arabia (51%) are considered to be “thriving” in their lives, while countries such as Lebanon (8%) and Egypt (9%) rank among the lowest globally.
According to Boushra Kanj, Abu Dhabi-based Managing Consultant at Gallup, the UAE’s strong performance is driven by a combination of economic strength and workplace structures.
“A large share of employees work in government or well-resourced organisations that offer stronger benefits, clearer management practices and more stability - all of which support engagement,” she said in a statement to Aletihad.
Kanj added that strong economic growth and high job market optimism contribute to a sense of opportunity among employees, boosting motivation and engagement.
While such conditions may not be fully replicable across the region, Kanj added that other countries could improve engagement by investing in management quality, clearer career pathways and stronger alignment between employees’ roles and organisational purpose.
Globally, employee engagement dropped to 20% in 2025, down from a peak of 23% in 2022, marking the first time it has fallen for two consecutive years in a row.
Gallup estimates that low engagement cost the global economy about $10 trillion in lost productivity last year, equal to 9% of global GDP.
The decline has been most pronounced among managers, whose engagement has fallen by nine percentage points since 2022.
That trend may carry wider consequences as companies respond to technological disruption. The report identifies employee engagement as a central factor in how ready organisations are to adapt to change, including AI adoption.
Companies with more engaged workforces are also better placed to integrate new technologies and maintain productivity gains.
Gallup’s research in the United States found that manager support plays a central role in the effective use of AI. Employees who strongly believe their manager supports AI adoption are nearly 100 times more likely to say the technology has changed how work is done and improved their ability to focus on their strengths.
Despite this, fewer than one-third of employees in AI-enabled organisations say their managers actively support the technology.
Gallup argues that improving management capability, potentially through AI-driven coaching tools, could play a decisive role in boosting engagement and productivity globally.
