Controlling your work life balance in the UAE

For present-day expats, the goal is work-life balance, but our jobs are seen as our identity and our entire purpose in life.

When self-worth is linked to success in a profession, is it time to call it quits and retire to a desert island? Increasingly, researchers into work/life balance are seeing the pursuit of success, meaning and identity at a professional level only as an unhealthy aspect of modern life. The trend is seen in adverts for overseas positions which concentrate on career progression and the pursuit of money rather than emphasising the positive aspects of learning to understand another culture as part of the expat experience.

This syndrome seems to be especially true for expats working in the UAE, according to a new survey by InterNations. Destinations are ranked according to their work/life balance, with the collective UAE emirates coming in at number 52 out of the 65 countries in the survey. The much-admired ‘ work hard, play hard’ mentality of expats in this region seems to have given way to working too hard and being too darn tired to play.

Bahrain seems to have it right, as its place in the survey was number 2, with almost 70 per cent of respondents more than happy with this important balance. Little Oman also did well with a rating of ninth out of 65. The hard hit of the results was that no direct correlation seemed to exist between hours worked each week and actual satisfaction with UAE life as it’s lived by the average expat professional.

The holy grail of the argument suggests it’s what you do in the hours you’re not slaving over a hot desk that really counts. Compartmentalising is one way around the dilemma of achieving a balanced expat life; with leisure pursuits, family, parenting, exercise, friends and caring for yourself all in separate cubby holes waiting to be let out. According to those who’ve tried it, figuring out your personal priorities is far easier and leads to a more gratifying work/life balance.