Due to the pandemic, many businesses have had to develop strategies to adjust to the new normal. Kavan Choksi notes that many companies still fail to meet their employees' needs. According to LinkedIn's recent data, nearly 70% of employees in the UAE and Saudi Arabia consider leaving their jobs owing to a lack of flexibility.
Despite 97 percent of recruiting managers reporting their firm has modified working rules to allow greater flexibility after Covid-19, the professional network noted a potential exodus among professionals in the UAE and Saudi workforce, explains Kavan Choksi.
While almost three-quarters of professionals surveyed believe the epidemic has highlighted the need for change in how we handle flexible work environments, more than half say their employer has yet to implement new flexible working policies.
"The pandemic's impact on the workplace has been dramatic, and research from around the world indicates a higher need for workplace flexibility and empowerment," said Ali Matar, head of LinkedIn MENA and EMEA Venture Markets.
"We have been given a great opportunity to reshape the world of work," he continued, "and we must remember to keep people at the center of it all to construct a workspace that genuinely works for everyone."
The Pandemic Has Disproportionately Affected Women
According to LinkedIn's research, workplace flexibility has a major impact on women's careers. Twenty percent of women who had to quit a job due to a lack of flexibility said it hampered their career advancement, and 22% said they would only seek jobs with robust and flexible working practices. Nearly one-fifth of the women polled believe there is still a stigma associated with flexible working.
Kavan Choksi notes that women are particularly affected by greater flexibility, with 37 percent saying that being able to work more flexibly would help improve their mental health and nearly a third saying they would flourish in these conditions.