Middle East Firms Face Workforce Resilience Gap
Employers across the region should test whether their confidence in workforce planning matches their actual readiness for disruption.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Remote Work
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Insurance brokerage Lockton's Workforce Resilience report found 47 per cent of Middle East businesses face a 'resilience gap' between their perceived preparedness and real exposure to workforce disruption. The survey of 140 HR and business leaders across the MENA region points to talent loss and skills evolution as central concerns for employers.
Why it matters
Operators are being told their confidence in workforce planning may outpace their actual readiness, which matters as competition for skilled staff tightens. Pressure on already scarce talent pools from emerging technologies is intensifying hiring competition across the region.
The Lockton survey of 140 HR and business leaders across MENA found 47 per cent of businesses face a resilience gap, while only 39 per cent consider themselves very prepared for significant disruption. Loss of key talent was the most-cited workforce challenge at 66 per cent, ahead of evolving skills alongside digitisation and AI at 43 per cent and talent competition at 38 per cent.
The players
Lockton
Global insurance brokerage whose risk and workforce research informs corporate resilience planning across its client base.
Adeeb Al Naser
Chief executive of Lockton's UAE operation, who commented on the report's findings for regional businesses.
The details
The gap sits between how confident businesses feel about workforce risk and how ready they are to absorb disruption: 86 per cent say their workforce risks are well understood, yet fewer than four in ten consider themselves very prepared. Lockton's findings place talent retention and skills adaptation at the centre of that exposure. Emerging technologies compound the problem by drawing on talent pools that are already squeezed, so the challenge is less about finding staff than about keeping and reskilling the people already employed.
Timeline
Lockton's Workforce Resilience report was published on 1 November 2026.
Market Landscape
Lockton's survey gives regional employers a documented benchmark of how many businesses feel prepared versus how many actually are. The figures suggest a gap between perceived workforce risk management and operational readiness that employers in the region will need to measure against over time.
Operators should review how prepared their own workforce plans really are, not just how well they feel covered. Retention of key talent and reskilling for digitisation and AI are the practical priorities to test against the survey's findings.
The takeaway
Treat the gap between perceived and actual workforce readiness as a measurable planning risk rather than a settled assumption. Track talent retention and skills-adaptation metrics quarterly so that your readiness assessment stays grounded in data.
Further reading
For broader context on how employers are adapting hiring and staffing models, see the Remote Work section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Khaleej Times.
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