Citrix today revealed findings of its research into the adoption of, and attitude towards, mobile and flexible working in the UAE. Conducted by YouGov ahead of this year's GITEX Technology Week, the report highlights that 94 per cent of UAE office workers would feel less stressed, be more productive and achieve better balance between work and family responsibilities if they were given the freedom to work flexibly outside of the office.

Demand for flexible working has increased by a further 20 per cent since 2013[1], with many UAE workers also indicating that the ability to work from anywhere would significantly increase their job satisfaction. 

In contrast, only 23 per cent of businesses surveyed fully encourage and enable employees to work from anywhere, using any device. Further, 34 per cent of UAE organizations believe that employees may become less productive when outside an office environment, whilst 33 per cent believe that a lack of security controls for devices prevents them adopting mobility solutions.

The research also revealed that:

17 per cent of organizations do not currently enable employees to work outside of the office at all - or use any personal devices; a further 8 per cent only allow it in special circumstances

Only 30 per cent of UAE businesses are examining the impact of mobility on productivity, 29 per cent are examining the impact on employee morale, whilst 20 per cent have not taken steps to understand the potential impact of mobility on their business

The findings reflect the increasing need to transform the way people and organizations do business – compounded by the profound impact of consumerization. By providing the technology to enable full productivity beyond the constraints of physical desks, offices and traditional working hours, businesses can empower employees to work smarter wherever they may be – and most importantly, attract and retain the best talent in a highly competitive labor market.

“These latest results demonstrate a slow but clear cultural shift in the attitude and adoption of mobile working technologies – employee demand is strong, but businesses still have some progress to make in meeting that demand,” said Johnny Karam, Regional Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Citrix. “As technology has become a seamless part of people’s work and personal lives, Citrix has provided desktop, mobile, app and data services to enable people to work better. Mobility in the workplace has become both an expectation and necessity very quickly – any business that does not address this opportunity could soon be at a significant disadvantage.”

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