{"id":263695,"date":"2025-07-14T07:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T07:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/263695\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T07:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T07:54:11","slug":"the-rise-of-annual-leave-anxiety-in-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/263695\/","title":{"rendered":"The rise of annual leave anxiety in the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cProfessionals suffering from annual leave anxiety not only threaten already-low engagement levels but the long-term impact on productivity across workplaces could be substantial, \u201dsays Jason Grundy, Managing Director of Robert Walters Middle East, \u201c<\/p>\n

Firefighting inbox backlogs<\/strong><\/p>\n

The anxiety surrounding work emails is so widespread that many professionals\u2019 resort to “firefighting” tactics. In fact, 54% of professionals in the Middle East check their work emails during annual leave to reduce the backlog they’ll face upon returning, while 41% do so to stay on top of urgent matters.<\/p>\n

Grundy noted that apps such as Slack and MS Teams help to put work right at our fingertips 24\/7 \u2013 whilst useful, it can result in professionals feeling obligated to \u2018check in\u2019 during their time off.<\/p>\n

The anxious end to annual leave<\/strong><\/p>\n

Findings from Robert Walters reveal that back-to-work anxiety significantly impacts professionals as they return to work, with only 22% of professionals in the Middle East feeling refreshed and ready to work after a long holiday.<\/p>\n

“Returning to work can trigger many anxieties for professionals, falling behind on important projects, missing major updates or even being handed much heavier workloads. Annual leave should provide professionals respite and a chance to reset. It should not cause them to become more stressed than before they went away,\u201d Grundy added. <\/p>\n

Enter FOFB, the fear of falling behind, a new phenomenon that seems to be rife in workplaces. Resoundingly, 63% of professionals across the Middle East state that it’s much easier to relax on annual leave when their teams are also off.<\/p>\n

\"Ashfaq<\/a><\/p>\n

Ashfaq has been storming the UAE media scene for over 27 years. As Senior Assistant Editor, his insights, analysis and deep understanding of regional dynamics have helped make sense of the unfolding news.\u00a0\u2028<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the go-to guy for deep dives into the South Asian diaspora, blending heart, and hardcore reporting into his pieces. Whether he’s unpacking Pakistani community affairs, chasing down leads on international political whirlwinds, or investigative reports on the scourge of terrorism and regional drama \u2014 Ashfaq doesn\u2019t miss a beat.\u00a0\u00a0\u2028<\/p>\n

He’s earned kudos for his relentless hustle and sharp storytelling. Dependable, dynamic, and unstoppable, Ashfaq does not just report the news, he shapes it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cProfessionals suffering from annual leave anxiety not only threaten already-low engagement levels but the long-term impact on productivity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[105,218,100735,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-263695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-uae-jobs","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114850513792881181","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}