Employees across the UAE and Gulf region are paying more attention to health benefits, wellbeing, flexible working and paid leave than to headline grabbing office perks such as free food or lifestyle facilities, according to a new workplace study by NAVO.
The research analyzed 2,000 employer sources including job advertisements, careers pages and LinkedIn posts, alongside more than 1,000 employee reviews and discussions from platforms including Glassdoor, Indeed, Reddit, Blind and Fishbowl. After removing duplicates and generic references, the final dataset included 1,121 workplace perk mentions.
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Health benefits ranked first with 124 mentions, followed by wellbeing at 122 and flexibility and remote work at 111.
Paid leave came fourth with 101 mentions, followed by financial and retirement benefits at 90 and professional development at 75.
Health and wellbeing dominate
The study found that well-being became the largest overall theme when combined with mental health benefits, generating 179 mentions.
Health benefits included medical insurance, private medical cover and employer-funded healthcare, while wellbeing covered broader wellness initiatives.
Flexibility and remote work received 111 mentions, covering hybrid schedules, remote working, flexible hours, four day, weeks and work from home options.
Paid leave, including annual leave, parental leave, sick leave and other paid time off, received 101 mentions, underlining the importance employees and companies place on work life balance.
Employees talk about desk comfort
One of the most striking findings was the difference between what employers promote and what workers raise themselves.
More than 80 per cent of conversations about standing desks and ergonomic workstations came from employees, rather than employers.
Standing desks and ergonomic workstations ranked eighth overall with 56 mentions, of which 45 came from employees and only 11 from employers.
Generic desks and chairs showed a similar pattern, with around four in five mentions coming from employees.
By contrast, professional development, mental health benefits and life and disability insurance were driven almost entirely by employers in the dataset.
Free food ranks last
Despite the popularity of free meals and snacks as a recruitment perk, the study found they ranked last among the benefits analyzed, with just six mentions in total.
The report cautioned that low employee mention numbers do not necessarily mean a benefit is not valued. Some benefits, such as health cover and paid leave, may increasingly be viewed as basic expectations rather than features employees feel the need to discuss.
The employer sample included a meaningful UAE and GCC component, with 320 of the 2,000 employer sources coming from the UAE and wider Gulf region. However, NAVO said the findings should be treated as broad workplace trends rather than conclusions specific to one country.
Source: Khaleej Times