Nearly two thirds of Omanis are satisfied with their working hours and their work culture, a new survey has revealed.

The survey by Bayt.com and YouGov research and consulting group revealed that 50 percent of Omani respondents claim to be “completely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” in terms of training and development at work and almost half claim to be satisfied with their career growth (48%).

The survey also found that one in five Omani respondents said that the government or civil service industry is the most attractive for local talent. This was followed by 18 percent who said the same thing about the banking and finance industry.

Banking and finance emerged as the most attractive industry for women, according to 32per cent of Omani respondents. This was followed by the education/academia sector (26%), and the healthcare/medical Services sector (23%).

IT/internet/e-commerce emerged as the most attractive industry for fresh graduates, according to 21per cent of Omani respondents. This was followed by Banking and Finance at 18per cent.

More than a quarter of respondents in Oman (26%) claimed that the Government/ Civil Service industry has the highest job security. One in five respondents (20%) said the same thing about the Military/ Defense/ Police sector.

Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals emerged as the most stressful industry for 24% of Omani respondents. Military/ Defence/ Police and IT/ Internet/ E-commerce were also perceived as the most stressful industries by 13% of respondents. On the other hand, Pharmaceuticals (2%), Tourism (2%), Market Research (3%), Human Resources (3%) and Business Consultancy (3%) were reportedly among the least stressful industries in Oman.

Suhail Masri, Vice President of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com, said: “It is eye-opening to find out which industries the region’s professionals favor working in, as it is easy to rely on false impressions. More and more professionals are becoming satisfied with their job attributes, be it training opportunities or compensation or work culture. Yet, many are on the lookout for new and better career opportunities."

Another major finding of the Bayt.com survey is that a quarter of Omani respondents (25%) have changed industries in the last year and more than half (52%) are considering an industry change in the next few months.

“Respondents are evidently keen to find and maintain career opportunities that satisfy their professional and personal needs,” said Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov. “This is why this survey is so insightful; it provides all professionals in the MENA region with more direction, as to which job attributes are valued the most and which fields of work are excelling in providing them.”

Data for the Bayt.com ‘Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa’ survey was conducted between February 23 and March 7, 2017 with 7,162 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.