​​Most field workers in the UAE’s energy and manufacturing sectors said that technology can help them alleviate their stressful working days, according to a Microsoft-sponsored IDC study.

​​Most field workers in the UAE’s energy and manufacturing sectors said that technology can help them alleviate their stressful working days, according to a Microsoft-sponsored IDC study.

“The ‘deskless workforce’, as we call them, number 427 million worldwide in the manufacturing sector according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO),” said Ahmad El Dandachi, Enterprise Channel Lead, Microsoft UAE.

“We must come up with ways to remedy what they face on a daily basis, and technology can play a pivotal role in this endeavour. Enhancing the employee experience is a critical step in preventing a second wave of the Great Resignation.”

In compiling “Empowering Field Workers in the UAE Manufacturing and Energy Industry”, IDC researchers interviewed field workers and their line managers across the energy and the manufacturing sectors.

According to a press statement, 66% of those interviewed said on-the-job stress was leading to “workforce attrition”, explaining that the long working hours and rigid schedules are the source of the stress.

More than three quarters, 78%,of field workers interviewed believed technology would help them perform their job more effectively. 

Almost a third, 27% of UAE manufacturing and energy-sector employees currently work remotely at least some of the time, according to an IDC HR Managers Survey from late last year. A number that is expected to increase. 

“Manufacturing and energy field workers are currently underserved by technology, despite the fact that their challenges are growing,” El Dandachi added. “This must change as a matter of urgency.”