Longer work hours now becoming a norm

Over 40% of Middle East professionals say they work beyond stipulated hours daily

- BY MANOJ NAIR

Only 15 per cent of white-collar workers in the Middle East are sticking to their “core hours”, as more of them work longer every day to handle their tasks.

A new study finds that 41 per cent of Middle East professionals are starting early or finishing late every day. And another 45 per cent say their work hours are entirely workload dependent.

The main reasons professionals cited for working beyond their usual office hours were catching up on work or meeting deadlines (62 per cent), according to data from the consultancy Robert Walters.

"Just under a quarter of them reported working late to communicate with teams in different time zones."

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Employers appear comfortable with the longer hours being logged with greater frequency.