More than one-third of the expatriates working in the Middle East would rather stay put in the country of their current residence in spite of the global economic crisis, a recent series of polls on professionals by a job site has revealed.

According to the poll, 36 per cent of the expatriate workers see no reason to leave their country of residence during the current conditions even as 28 per cent feel they may have no choice but to return home, said Bayt.com.

The poll results also revealed that the ongoing crisis was creating appositive impact in terms of savings.

"For the most part people are, or are planning to, reduce their daily spending, as opposed to moving to a cheaper house or selling their car. Yet homes and cars are normally two of the biggest expenses for workers. This suggests that while people are concerned about the current crisis, they are willing to make small financial adjustments, but are reluctant to make changes to their larger investments," said Amer Zureikat, Regional Manager, Bayt.com. The "reactions to economic conditions" online poll series conducted by Bayt.com sought to gauge how employees feel that the current economic turmoil is affecting them – in terms of work and finances, and their opinions on the likely longevity of the crisis in their country of residence.

While 28 per cent said they may have no choice but to return home as a result of the current conditions, 15 per cent said they would prefer to make the move back home. Interestingly, 21 per cent of those participated in the poll said that instead of going back to their country of origin, they would consider moving to a new country.

Sharing details on the impact of crisis on savings, Bayt revealed that as many as 69 per cent said they were saving more money, of which more than one-third said they were saving considerably more – most likely as a reaction to safeguard their or their family's finances, in case of worsening financial turmoil or further instability.

The polls asked the respondents what actions they are currently taking vis-à-vis the current economic climate. Even as they may cut their daily spending, very few of the respondents said there were chances of them moving to a low-cost house.

More than one-fourth of the respondents said that they would reduce their daily spending habits, while a quarter said they would relocate to a different country. "Interestingly, just four per cent of respondents said they would move to a lower cost home, three per cent said they would sell their car, and just one per cent would sell investments."

The respondents were asked how long they intend on staying in their current job. Unlike previous polls which suggested employees would like to move jobs relatively quickly, the latest data suggested that employees are more willing to stay put, perhaps given the instability. Thirty per cent said they would stay for more than 36 months, compared to 22 per cent who said they would consider moving in the next three months.

Additionally, 15 per cent saw themselves staying at their present job for six to 12 months.

"I think that what we are seeing now is that employees are more committed to their work and wanting to stay put for a longer time, perhaps because jobs are seemingly harder to come by than before. However, there are still many people that only see themselves staying for a short period of time in their current job. This could be due to two factors – either they are planning to leave, whether for another job or for another country; or they are concerned about the security of their job – perhaps because of staff being asked to leave – and are therefore not expecting to be employed for much longer," said Zureikat.

Asked what they would do if they leave their jobs, nearly half of the professionals said they would move to a different company in the same industry and country, 19 per cent said they would move to a different industry in the same country, while 34 per cent said they would move either home or to a different country.

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