Should oil-based economies implement taxes? Evidence from the United Arab Emirates

Employee happiness has received less attention compared with other constructs. This study aims to examine the effect of employee happiness on employee performance in the public sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). study operationalized employee happiness into performance appraisal, flexible working hours, promotion, rewards, and recognition, income, peer and supervisor support, workload, and workplace environment. data was collected from 319 employees working in Abu Dhabi and Dubai using a questionnaire The effect of employee spirituality and emotional wellness toward the relationship between employee happiness and employee performance 2019. findings were derived using Smart Partial Least Squares (PLS). findings showed that performance appraisal, income, workplace environment, promotion, reward, and recognition, and peer and supervisor support are significant predictors of employee performance. Flexible Working Hours (FWH) and workload have insignificant effect on employee performance. Findings were discussed and decision makers are advised to increase employee happiness among employees in UAE.

Purpose This paper aims to explore barriers to employment, problems caused by working, motivation to work and job satisfaction of women employed in hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach The study surveyed 385 women working in 75 hotels in KSA and UAE. The sample included citizens of KSA and UAE (n = 177), Arab and non-Arab expatriates (n = 208) and women with and without caring responsibilities for children or adults. The survey responses were analysed by stratifying the sample, using mean-comparison tests to consider sub-sample differences and regression analysis to quantify associations with job satisfaction. Findings Women in the sample with childcare or other caring responsibilities were more likely to report work-family conflicts which were in turn linked negatively to job satisfaction. These women were also the most positive about flexible employment practices. Nationals and expatriate Arabs reported higher levels of satisfaction with managerial aspects of their work. However, nationals in KSA recorded lower levels of job satisfaction in relation to pay and conditions and also said that low salaries were a barrier to taking up employment in the first place. Negative social attitudes towards women working in hotels were a particular concern for nationals and expatriate Arab women. Research limitations/implications The sample is not representative of all females working in hotels in UAE and KSA, and the results cannot be generalised. However, implications include the need to examine the experiences of self-initiated expatriate women and consider women as part of a family system. Originality/value The analysis is based on original data collected through fieldwork. The findings generate new insights on the experiences of women working in hotels in KSA and UAE.

The aim of this study was to explore the ideas and expectations of medical students toward their career choices and the speciality of psychiatry. A total of 323 students of the Hannover Medical School filled in a questionnaire about their career choices, preferred medical specialization, factors of influence on career choices and attitude towards psychiatry. The three most important factors of influence appeared to be: (1) work–life balance, (2) flexible working hours, (3) career prospects. Although expectations towards the professional life of psychiatrists were quite positive among the students, there was only a small number of students (n = 53 of 318 respondents, 17%) interested in specializing in psychiatry. Important reasons for choosing psychiatry included personal experience with somatic or mental health issues and practical experience in psychiatry. Most of the students experienced clinical exposure to psychiatry but at a much later period in the curriculum. For a career choice of psychiatry as a speciality it seems to be important to start psychiatric education in medical school early. The positive aspects of the professional life in psychiatry, such as flexible working hours, career prospects and good work–life balance should be more emphasized.

In today's interdependent world, issues of physician shortages, skill imbalances and maldistribution affect all countries. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a nation that has historically imported its physician manpower, there is sustained investment in educational infrastructure to meet the population's healthcare needs. However, policy development and workforce planning are often hampered by limited data regarding the career choice of physicians-in-training. The purpose of this study was to determine the specialty career choice of applicants to postgraduate training programs in the UAE and factors that influence their decisions, in an effort to inform educational and health policy reform. To our knowledge, this is the first study of career preferences for UAE residency applicants. All applicants to residency programs in the UAE in 2013 were given an electronic questionnaire, which collected demographic data, specialty preference, and factors that affected their choice. Differences were calculated using the t-test statistic. Of 512 applicants, 378 participated (74%). The most preferred residency programs included internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine and family medicine. A variety of clinical experience, academic reputation of the hospital, and international accreditation were leading determinants of career choice. Potential future income was not a significant contributing factor. Applicants to UAE residency programs predominantly selected primary care careers, with the exception of obstetrics. The results of this study can serve as a springboard for curricular and policy changes throughout the continuum of medical education, with the ultimate goal of training future generations of primary care clinicians who can meet the country's healthcare needs. As 65% of respondents trained in medical schools outside of the UAE, our results may be indicative of medical student career choice in countries throughout the Arab world.

Background:Over the past decade, higher education has made significant progress in the Gulf Corporation Council Region (GCC) due to the promotion and investments made by the local governments. Medical and dental higher education has undergone massive transformation across all the universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the implementation of innovative educational policies.Objectives:The objective of the survey was to determine the career choices and assess the perspectives on higher education among dental students of a medical university in the UAE.Methodology:Structured closed-ended survey questionnaire was provided to 377 respondents at a dental school of a private medical university in UAE.Results:The results of the survey revealed that 51% of the respondents wanted to pursue specialization in dentistry. Orthodontics (33%), endodontics (28%) and oral surgery (16%) were the most preferred branches for specialization. UAE was the most preferred destination for pursuing specialization. Quality of education and proximity to the family were the most common reasons for selecting UAE as the destination for specialization. 36% of the survey respondents wanted more dental post-graduate seats to be available in the UAE. 57% of the survey respondents felt that the cost of post-graduation is comparable to other countries. 64% of the survey respondents felt that Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) program should be offered by medical universities in the UAE.Conclusion:To conclude it can be stated that dental undergraduate students in the UAE prefer to pursue specialization in clinical branches like orthodontics, endodontics and oral surgery. Majority of the respondents prefer to pursue their specialization in the UAE due to the quality of education. Survey respondents felt that there was a need to offer more dental post-graduation and dental PhD programs by UAE universities.

This study aimed to investigate the motivational factors that lead to choice of teaching career in expatriate teachers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A UAE version of the Factors Influencing Teaching (FIT)-Choice scale (Watt & Richardson, 2007) was developed following the pre-testing strategies used by Dillman (2000), Heinz (2013) and Sharif (2014) and applied to identify the factors that most influenced the expatriates choose teaching as a career in the UAE. In a proposed and successfully tested model in this study, altruistic &/or intrinsic and extrinsic factors were found to be the mediator in the relationship between prior teaching & learning experience and social influence, and choice of a teaching career. Some gender differences were observed in case of four factors, ie, fall back career, work with children and adolescents, salary and prior teaching and learning experiences, and implications were discussed. For recruitment campaigns, strategies based on this study findings and understanding of the expatriate teachers’ motivations to adopt teaching as a career in the UAE were discussed. Due to the fact that the most recent study by LinkedIn among 380 million global members highlighted the UAE to be the most popular destination for expatriates surpassing Australia, Canada and Singapore (Maceda, 2015), the findings of this study can be considered to be of value to: (a) altruistically/intrinsically motivated professionals who are international-minded and seeking greener pastures in the UAE, and (b) the UAE policymakers who are working hard to fill the demand-supply gap drawing the attention of expatriates with the right skills and expertise. Finally, the research attempts in this study are seemingly unique in the sense that no previous study on teaching motivation had a combined focus on ‘in-service’, ‘expatriate teachers’ and UAE using FIT-Choice scale.

PurposeAlthough 76% of the population of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Muslim,takāful(Islamic insurance) has a much smaller share of business in the UAE than conventional insurance does. The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of brand equity (BE), which is known as the incremental value that provides reason to buy a brand. This study provides useful insights that can help the healthtakāfulindustry to gain a feasible market share in the UAE.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study in which stratified random sampling was adopted for data collection from 300 respondents through a self-administered questionnaire from August to November 2018. Underpinning the study is the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique has been used to examine the impact of BE on purchase intentions (PI) through the moderating role of demographic factors such as age, income, education and religion. Three dimensions of BE, i.e. brand awareness (BAW), brand association (BAS) and perceived quality (PQ), are evaluated in terms of their significance as dimensions of BE.FindingsThe major findings of this study confirm that BE has a strong positive influence on the PIs of healthtakāfulcustomers in the UAE and that all three dimensions of BE make significant contributions to the overall BE. The results show that education does moderate the relationship between BE and PI while age, income and religion do not. A new finding of this study is the nonsignificant moderating role of religion, whereby it was found thattakāfulproducts in the UAE are not limited to Muslim customers but can include potential customers who are followers of other religions.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first of its kind to examine the impact of BE on the PI of healthtakāfulcustomers in the UAE. The findings of the study give academia, researchers and marketers a better understanding of the importance of BE and of its vital role in promotingtakāfulproducts in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries such as the UAE.

Both managers and scholars maintain that the work and family roles are the two most central and prevalent roles performed in one's adult life (Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992; Michel, Mitchelson, Kotrba, LeBreton, & Baltes, 2009). Therefore, understanding the intersection of work and family roles is highly important for both research and practice (Frone, Yardley, & Markel, 1997). Previous research indicates that perceptions of conflict between these roles can engender negative work outcomes such as lower job satisfaction (Allen, Herst, Bruck, & Sutton, 2000), lower organizational commitment (Carr, Boyar, & Gregory, 2008), and higher physical symptoms of stress (Allen et al., 2000). Furthermore, recent research found that high levels of work-family conflict can exacerbate the relationship between burnout and organizational cynicism (Simha, Elloy, & Huang, 2014). Given these research findings, scholars and practitioners argue that aiding employees in their attempts to balance their work and family roles is a business and social imperative (Carlson, Grzywacz, & Zivnuska, 2009).Many organizations try to reduce the negative outcomes associated with work-family conflict by implementing alternative practices designed to promote work-life balance (Messersmith, 2007; Thompson & Aspinwall, 2009). Such alternative practices include compressed work weeks, flexible work hours, job sharing, and telecommuting (Johnson, 2004). However, the nature of work performance within some organizations prevents them from offering these types of alternatives (Rotondo, Carlson, & Kincaid, 2003). For instance, certain categories of employees, such as teachers or nurses, may be unable to take advantage of some common work-life benefits such as flexible work hours or compressed work weeks because their presence on the job is required during typical business hours (that is, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday). Therefore, work-life benefits, although shown to reap positive benefits for some organizations, are simply not feasible in all organizations.Just as organizations vary in their ability to offer work-life benefits, individuals also have varying expectations regarding the work-family interface. Employee expectations regarding work-family balance are increasingly part of the psychological contract; that is, the individual employee's expectations relative to the conditions of employment and the nature of the exchange relationship with the employer (Blomme, van Rheede, & Tromp, 2010). For example, some employees expect flexible working arrangements, and perceive that the promises implied in the psychological contract have been broken when employers do not make these arrangements available to them (Smithson & Lewis, 2004). Research found that employee perceptions of the extent that the employer broke promises regarding workload and work hours was positively related to employees' perceptions of work-family conflict (Sturges & Guest, 2004). These findings suggest that realism in recruitment practices may influence individual expectations regarding the work-family interface. Further, the extent that these expectations are met may have important implications for employee reactions toward both their work arrangements and the organization.This study examines whether the use of realistic recruitment practices, such as realistic job previews (RJPs), affects the degree that employee expectations regarding work-life balance are met. The theoretical foundation for our examination is expectancy theory that addresses the role of alignment of instrumentality for work motivation (Vroom, 1964). This suggests RJPs could serve as a protective antecedent (Lu et al., 2010) to help reduce perceptions of work-family conflict by aligning employee expectations with reality. Figure 1 outlines our proposed model. Specifically, we test whether realistic recruitment practices containing information about the work-family interface will influence employees' expectations regarding work-family balance to be met, thus leading to decreases in employee perceptions of the work role interfering with the family role. …

Objective: The goal of this research was to identify familial and nonfamilial social factors influencing post-secondary students' choices of career in medicine.Method: The comparative study was conducted in Ajman, among medical students in the beginning three years, and nonmedical students at the same educational level.After obtaining verbal consent, the participants completed a pilot tested, self-administered questionnaire which included socio-demographic variables and social factors related to career choices.Result: Among the 135 medical students, two thirds were females and 87.3% were below 23 years of age.Most fathers were South Asians (53%); 80% had professional training; 48% were business persons and 12% worked in the medical field.Among mothers, 61.4% were professionally trained, and 67.2% was engaged in unskilled, semi-skilled or skilled labor.The non-medical students had mostly Middle Eastern fathers (83.5%), were professionally educated (56.3%) and had careers in business (52.9%);mothers of non-medical students were primarily working in unskilled, skilled or semi-skilled occupations (61.4%) and 38% had attained a professional level of education.The majority of medical students perceived their parents to have had strong influence on their career choice of medicine.Among non-familial social factors, 'friends' had a significantly weak influence on their career choice.While more medical students chose their career along with parents, most of the nonmedical group made the choice on their own.Conclusion: Parents had significant influence on post-secondary career choice in medicine and friends had a weak influence.Career guidance programs should consider including parents at the process of career selection at the secondary level.

Purpose: Recent research studies conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) showed that the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant detrimental psychological impact on the UAE population. Based on these outcomes, it is essential to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the UAE population towards coping mechanisms. The purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the UAE residents towards coping mechanisms used to relieve stress during COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among UAE residents above the age of 18. A total of 292 participants were enrolled by volunteer sampling and data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions about demographics, prevalence, causes of stress, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of coping mechanisms. Practices were assessed using the Brief-COPE scale and the data collected was analyzed using the SPSS-26 program. Findings: Out of 292 participants, 213 (73%) were between 18-24 years old, 207 (71%) were females, 193 (66%) were Arabs, 222 (76%) were single, 199 (68%) were students, 169 (58%) had a bachelor’s degree or above, and 190 (65%) had an income ≤ 10,000 AED. 210 (71.9%) of the participants experienced varying levels of stress and the most common causes of stress were online learning and the health of family members. The level of knowledge about coping mechanisms was poor in 150 (51.4%) of participants. In the case of attitudes towards coping mechanisms, 173 (59.2%) and 183 (62.7%) of participants agreed that adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms were beneficial in relieving stress, respectively. The mean practices score for adaptive and maladaptive coping was 43.43/64 and 24.58/48, respectively. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Stress management is vital for the overall well-being of the community. Awareness programs should be established to improve the perception and implementation of adaptive coping mechanisms among UAE population. Overall, the study emphasizes the urgent need for mental health awareness programs in the UAE to enhance adaptive coping mechanisms, reduce reliance on maladaptive strategies, and improve community resilience in future crises.

To examine the association of changes in pediatricians' work characteristics with their satisfaction using longitudinal data. Data from a cohort study, the American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatrician Life and Career Experience Study (PLACES), were used to examine self-reported work satisfaction from 2012 to 2020 among 2002-2004 and 2009-2011 residency graduates (N = 1794). Drawing from the Physician Worklife Study, work satisfaction was measured as a 4-item scale score and averaged [range, 1 (low)-5 (high)]. Mixed effects linear regression for longitudinal analysis examined work satisfaction with year as the lone explanatory variable and then with 11 variables that might change over time (time variant) to assess how changes in work might be linked to increased or decreased satisfaction. In total, 85.9% of pediatricians in 2020 (September-December) thought their work was personally rewarding. Overall mean work satisfaction scale score displayed a small but significant (P < .001) decrease over time (3.80 in 2012 to 3.69 in 2020). Mixed effects modeling identified several changes associated with increasing work satisfaction over time: increased flexibility in work hours (B = 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.20 to 0.25) and personal support from physician colleagues (B = 0.18; 95% confidence interval, 0.15 to 0.21) had the largest associations. Pediatricians reporting increased stress balancing work and personal responsibilities and increased work hours had decreased satisfaction scores. Early- to midcareer pediatricians expressed high levels of work satisfaction, though, satisfaction scale scores decreased slightly over time for the sample overall, including during 2020 (year 1 of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic). Pediatricians reporting increases in flexibility with work hours and colleague support showed the strongest increase in work satisfaction.

Today, every school strives to achieve a reasonable level of student performance and to enhance student performance in order to improve educational quality. Despite the fact that the UAE's population has high literacy rates and people of United Arab Emirates (UAE) are fairly educated, whereas the enrolment in primary and secondary schools has expanded in recent decades, the UAE's educational systems have a number of challenges that must be addressed, such as the performance of pupils in primary schools in the majority of schools is not high and not satisfactory according to OECD. In addition, several evaluations indicate that student performance in all subjects is average according PISA Database. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the influence of headmasters’ servant leadership and teacher motivation on student performance in UAE primary schools. This study applied quantitative methods to analyze relationships between these variables. The population is the teachers in Al-Sharjah primary schools. Data instrument is self-administrated questionnaire. The data collection has been conducted on a sample of 382 respondents. Simple random sampling technique has been applied in the survey procedure. SPSS software is deployed to conduct data analysis. To test the hypotheses, simple linear regression was applied for data analysis. The result revealed that headmaster’s servant leadership and teacher motivation have significant effects towards student performance. Based on this result, this paper suggests Al-Sharjah school headmasters create a friendly and empowering atmosphere for both teachers and students. This can be done by encouraging open communication, teamwork, and instructor appreciation. Additionally, providing teachers with professional development to improve their abilities and expertise can boost their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which in turn should enhance student achievement. The results of this study will help principals in Al-Sharjah schools as well as policymakers in the Ministry of Education in the UAE to understand why headmasters’ servant leadership and teacher motivation are essential factors for fostering student performance.

We need to make sure telecommuting does not exacerbate gender disparity

BackgroundDespite recent improvements in the visibility of mental health, the prevalence of stigma remains high. Exploring the attitudes toward psychiatry among students can provide insight into the future. Currently, there is limited available data about the attitudes toward psychiatry among university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed to explore the attitudes toward psychiatry among medical and psychology students in the UAE. The country’s diverse population allowed us to explore the possibility of cultural and geographical differences in the participants’ stated views toward psychiatry.MethodsThis cross-sectional study recruited Medical and Psychology students from three major UAE universities: Ajman University, Mohamed bin Rashid University, and the United Arab Emirates University. The participants completed the Attitudes Toward Psychiatry-30 items scale (ATP-30), examining attitudes towards mental illness, psychiatric patients, treatment methods, psychiatric institutions, psychiatrists, psychiatric education, and psychiatry as a career choice. A logistic regression model was used to assess the relationship between ATP-30 scores and gender, geographical origin, age, and university major.ResultsFive hundred and three (503) students participated, comprising 377 (75%) medical and 126 (25%) psychology students. The mean ATP-30 score for the whole sample was 108 (SD = 14.1; CI 95%=107, 109). A significant correlation was found between higher ATP-30 scores and the female students (p <.001; effect size Cohen’s d = 0.6; CI 95%=0.40, 0.80), students pursuing psychology (p <.001; effect size Cohen’s d=-0.50; CI 95%= -0.70, -0.30), and those 20 years or older (p =.007; effect size Cohen’s d = 0.26; CI 95%=0.07, 0.45).ConclusionsFemale students, those above 20, and those pursuing a psychology major had more favourable attitudes toward psychiatry. This is one of the first studies in the UAE assessing ATP-30 scores among medical and psychology students. Insights from this study will help improve psychiatry recruitment and reduce stigmatisation in the UAE and the wider region.

The low number of medical trainees entering primary care is contributing to the lack of access to primary care services in many countries. Despite the need for primary care physicians in the Middle East, there is limited information regarding trainees' career choices, a critical determinant in the supply of primary care physicians. We analyzed the career choices of medical students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a larger goal of reforming postgraduate training in the region and enhancing the focus on primary care. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of applicants to a large established internal medicine residency program in the UAE. We calculated data for demographics, subspecialty choice, and factors affecting subspecialty choice, and we also reported descriptive statistics. Our response rate was 86% (183 of 212). Only 25% of applicants (n = 46) were interested in general internal medicine. The majority of respondents (n = 126, 69%) indicated a desire to pursue subspecialty training, and the remainder chose careers in research or administration. A majority of respondents (73%) were women, unmarried, and childless. Educational debt or lifestyle were not indicated as important factors in career choice. Low interest in primary care was similar to that in many Western countries, despite a much higher percentage of female applicants and a reduced emphasis on lifestyle or income factors in career decisions. Reasons for the reduced interest in primary care deserve further exploration, as do tests of interventions to increase interest, such as improving the primary care clerkship experience.