UAE’s Top Executives Plan Major Career Change To Prioritise Family Time And Mental Health – Bupa Global Study Reveals

Over half of the UAE’s top leaders are considering a career change in the next year as they reassess their priorities, putting family and friends at the top of their agendas, alongside mental health.

According to data from the latest Bupa Global Executive Wellbeing Index, top executives in the UAE are planning some form of major career change in the next year – including moving job, reducing working hours or stopping work completely – in a bid to improve their mental health and spend more time with loved ones.

In the last 12 months, 94% of UAE top leaders have experienced symptoms of poor mental health, with one in five (20%) reaching burnout – yet few (17%) have sought help for these issues. This is a significant reduction from last year’s data which found that over two thirds (68%) said they had spoken to a doctor or professional about their mental health.

Dean Pollard, General Manager, Bupa Global Middle East and Asiasaid: “Despite UAE top executives recognising the need to prioritise mental health of their people by investing in wellbeing, they are not prioritising their own needs. There is still much work to be done to alleviate the stigma around mental health and reluctance to ask for help amongst senior leaders, which has led to many suffering from burn-out, anxiety and low mood.  

“We believe a shift is in motion with a collective rethinking of priorities that will hopefully lead to healthier, happier senior management – essential for the success of any organisation.” 

Rethinking priorities 

Over the next year, the ‘rethinking of priorities’ will see one of the biggest waves of resignations and changes globally and locally, according to Bupa’s findings, as some of the UAE’s top executives leave their jobs, become consultants, go part-time, retire or stop working completely, creating seismic shifts in the local labour market at the highest level and at a time of increased global economic uncertainty.

Disillusionment among leaders has transpired into feelings of sadness and anxiety categorised as low mood (24%) in the survey, coupled with a lack of energy (22%) amongst the UAE’s top executives. One in five (20%) have experienced feelings of anger, mood swings and burnout.

When it comes to daily concerns, personal financial stability (26%), family stress (23%) and changes to Covid management policies (22%) are among their biggest daily worries.

Employee Wellbeing Amidst Rising Inflation

Globally, an inflation surge is high on business leaders’ list of biggest worries for 2022. The picture is similar in the UAE, with 28% of those surveyed citing rising cost of living and inflation as their biggest daily worry.

The squeeze from inflation on profitability has seen high-level executives halt staff pay rises and cut down on research and development (both 13%).

But it’s not all doom and gloom, as despite inflation concerns and cutbacks, companies in the UAE still plan to significantly invest in employee wellbeing and mental health, allocating on average over AED 5.3 million (AED 5,312,968.45) towards employee wellness in 2022.

Many leaders (19%) have increased investment in training and coaching for staff and 15% introduced softer benefits. Interestingly, 14% of UAE top leaders have reduced inessential spending such as business lunches and social events and have instead opted to redirect the spending towards wellbeing initiatives for staff (13%).

Reluctance To Open Up About Mental Health

There are mixed messages regarding mental health among the top executives in the UAE. While 23% plan to focus more on maintaining their mental health, this isn’t reflected in the number of respondents (17%) who stated they would reach out to speak to a mental health professional.  More significantly, this a decline in last year’s findings, where 68% said they had spoken to a doctor about their mental health.

Robin Clark, Medical Director for Bupa said:“When it comes to mental health, diagnosis delays can have a big impact on prognosis, so it’s crucial that UAE business leaders work to address any issues both personally and at their organisations proactively – rather than when a crisis hits.”

Marked Reduction in Work-Related Travels 

The 2021 Bupa Global Executive Wellbeing Index highlighted that 65% of high-level UAE executives spent more than 300 days abroad or away from home for work, with 67% stating they would like to see their company make a reduction in international business travel. Realising this intent in 2022, only 1% of top executives surveyed in 2022 plan on being away for more than 300 days in the year, while 24% plan to be away from home for 21-50 days, showing a marked decrease from last year’s data findings – A shift that is likely to be attributed to the rise in virtual meetings as opposed to face to face, which previously required UAE executives to travel more.

Investing In Wellbeing

The long-term impact of the pandemic both in terms of mental and physical health is still yet to be fully known, and the Index reveals that business leaders worldwide are recognising the benefits of private medical insurance for themselves and their people. In the UAE, the Index revealed that the majority of UAE business leaders (66%) plan to purchase additional private medical insurance for themselves or their family in the next year. And when asked what they expect from a medical insurance plan, three in every ten (31%) cited greater cover for mental health support and 27% citing holistic support as a desired coverage within their policy.