DOHA: Some 40 percent of Qatar-based professionals are unhappy with their income, compared to just four percent who say they are highly satisfied with what they earn, shows a survey.
More than third (38 percent) of respondents said they did not get a pay raise in 2014, and for those who did, 27 percent were either very or modestly happy with the raise.
A 2015 Bayt.com MENA Salary Survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s famous job site, and market research agency, YouGov, has found that more than half of Qatar professionals are expecting a salary increase in 2015.
Some 59 percent of respondents said they receive a basic salary with benefits; another 12 percent are also entitled to commissions.
For over a third of respondents in Qatar (34 percent) who receive a basic salary along with other benefits, the basic salary consists of 25-50 percent of their monthly salary package, while for 40 percent their basic salary represents 51-75 percent of their overall monthly income.
Some 51 of Qatar professionals surveyed said they were quite unhappy or very unhappy with their raise. Almost a quarter (22 percent) of Qatar respondents do not expect to receive a salary increase in 2015, while 33 percent said they expected a raise of up to 15 percent.
The most common benefits offered by companies in Qatar are personal annual air ticket (45 percent) and personal medical insurance (38 percent).
Sixty percent of Qatar respondents recognise that their loyalty to their company is, on some level, based on the salary that they earn. For 25 percent, however, that is just not the case. Other variables that drive Qatar professionals’ loyalty to their company include opportunities for long-term career advancement (40 percent) and their line manager (30 percent).
In Qatar, 75 percent of respondents receive an end-of-service gratuity and a mere 3 percent get pension upon retirement. 23 percent have access to other forms of end-of-service benefits or none at all.
More than one third of Qatar professionals (38 percent) have access to medical insurance for themselves – through their company – while 14 percent are also offered coverage for their dependents.
A staggering 85 percent of Qatar respondents have seen the cost of living rise in 2014, with 27 percent saying that it grew by more than 20 percent. These Qatar respondents who mentioned that the cost of living increased attribute it to increases in the cost of rent (74 percent), food and beverages (69 percent), and utilities (28 percent). 80 percent of Qatar respondents expect that the cost of living will continue to soar throughout the year.
The increased cost of living has, in turn, hampered these professionals’ ability to save: 19 percent of Qatar respondents admit that they save nothing from their monthly salary. Still, 74 percent of expats in Qatar manage to repatriate a portion of their salary to their home country.
Despite Qatar’s high cost of living, 53 percent of Qatar respondents say that they are better off, in terms of quality of life, when compared to other people of a similar generation in their country of residence.
In the next 12 months, 52 percent of Qatar professionals intend to look for a better job in the same industry, while 25 percent aim to find one in another industry. 66 percent believe that salaries in Qatar are increasing.
As for the factors causing salaries to increase, respondents in the Qatar think that these include inflation/rise in cost of living (53 percent) and opportunity and economic growth (27 percent). On the other hand, the elements that are hindering pay rises are poor corporate performance/decreased profitability (21 percent) and a bad economy (24 percent)
“The 2015 Bayt.com MENA Salary Survey indicates that there is a growing gap between the cost of living in Qatar and salary earnings and propensity to save,” said Suhail Al Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com. Only 23 percent of Qatar respondents make regular investments (at least once a month), with property (27 percent) being the most popular investment product.
While almost half (44 percent) of Qatar respondents already own a home, 30 percent of Qatar respondents who currently do not own a home would like to own one in their country of residence. Another 70 percent aspire to own a home in their home country.
According to a quarter of Qatar respondents, the average length of time that they have held a job for is at least six years.
Data for the 2015 Bayt.com MENA Salary Survey was collected online from March 30-April 6 2015. Results are based on a sample of 12,158 respondents. Countries that participated are the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.The Peninsula
