Report: 70% in UAE Struggle with Work-Life Balance Due to Technology
Duke+Mir 2023 Life and Technology Report Shows 4 in every 10 UAE residents say they have a problem with using their phone too much.
Nearly 8 out of 10 people in the UAE (79%) wish their family and friends would spend less time on their phone when they are together. And a staggering 40% of UAE residents think they have a problem with using their mobile phone too much and would like to cut back.
These results are some of the top findings from the 2023 Life and Technology Report from communications agency Duke+Mir. More than 1,000 people across the Emirates were independently polled (through YouGov) for their views on a range of lifestyle and technology questions.
One of the biggest findings was that 70% of UAE respondents think it has become harder to separate their work and personal life because of technology since 2020. Adopting different remote technologies to enable us to work, since the onset of COVID-19, appears to have distorted work-life balance.
Jonathan Ivan-Duke, Co-founder and Partner at Duke+Mir, said in a statement, “People in the UAE are finding it very difficult to balance how they use technology, whether that is at work, at home, or out and about with friends and family. We are prioritizing using our phones ahead of people sitting right in front of us. This data shows we need to develop better ways to control our use of technology and perhaps learn to enjoy face-to-face interactions more.”
Other key findings from the report include:
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Nearly half of Emiratis (48%) say they spend too long on their phone and want to cut back on usage. A significant proportion of Arab expats (48%), Westerners (38%) and Asian expats (36%) also want to reduce their phone use;
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76% of people in the UAE get frustrated by apps or websites every month, with more than a third of people surveyed having daily problems with apps/websites.
Read the full report here.
