Summer is not the ideal Arab season to look for a job, according to Bayt.com

The summer season is not very promising to employees or people on the lookout for jobs in Middle East and North Africa, according to the ‘Summer in the MENA Workplace’ survey conducted by the leading job portal in the area, Bayt.com. The survey which targeted some 7024 people from 16 different Arab states has shown that employees consider the summer as one of the most draining seasons. Nearly 35.2% of respondents pointed to a buildup of assignments and working hours during that period, with 34.5% saying their employers do not show flexibility in this regard. However, the job portal mentioned a positive aspect related to an upsurge in productivity during the summer (42.5% of respondents). On the other hand, half of the job seekers covered by the survey, stated that the summer is not the ideal time to search for a job in the region. The main reason is that human resources managers tend to take their vacations in the summer, as explained by Suhail Masri, vice president of recruiting solutions at Bayt.com. Masri said that about 72.4% of professionals in the MENA region plan their annual vacations in the summer, with 44.1% preferring to spend their annual leave resting at home and 55.9% outdoors (32.4% with family or visiting friends; 28.4% at the beach….). (Al Akhbar, August 20, 2016)