Optimistic yet exhausted, the Korn Ferry survey reveals AI work realities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

In the survey itself, 81% of professionals in Saudi Arabia say they view artificial intelligence positively and are excited about what it will change in their work, and 56% say they feel driven beyond their capabilities. The two figures may seem contradictory at first glance, but together they paint a picture of a labor market that embraces the tool with enthusiasm, only to discover that enthusiasm alone does not ease the burden.

Numbers from the reportWorkforce 2026 Global Insightsissued by consulting firm Korn Ferry, as published by Khaleej Times on 28 September 2026. The survey included more than 16,000 professionals in 11 markets worldwide, including 500 participants in the UAE and 500 in Saudi Arabia, ranging from individual employees to CEOs.

Higher efficiency, more tasks

Seventy-eight percent of participants in Saudi Arabia and 68% in the UAE say artificial intelligence has increased their efficiency, compared with 63% globally. Even here the story appears positive. But the next question shifts the direction: 64% in Saudi Arabia and 59% in the UAE say AI tools have increased the number of tasks expected of them, versus a global average of 52%.

In other words, the time saved by the tool rarely returns to the employee. Saved hours turn into additional tasks, and efficiency becomes a new ceiling of expectations. Accordingly, 58% in Saudi Arabia and 50% in the UAE say they are too busy to deliver meaningful results, compared with 45% globally. And 53% in the UAE, alongside 56% in Saudi Arabia, feel they are asked to do more than they are capable of, while the global average stands at 44%.

The region leads in both enthusiasm and pressure

Notably, the two Gulf markets are ahead of the global average in almost every category: optimism, sense of efficiency, and also fatigue. Jonathan Holmes, managing director of Korn Ferry for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, says employee enthusiasm for AI in the UAE and Saudi Arabia is a "real advantage for organisations in the region". A fair reading is that this advantage can be depleted if organisations treat the tool as a means to load the team with more work.

The role that expands without being written

The newspaper also cites a separate survey released by recruitment firm Robert Walters in August 2026: 79% of professionals in the UAE say their roles have informally expanded over the past year, 49% say they are working longer hours, and only 17% have discussed the increased load with their manager.

That last figure is the clearest part of the story. Expansion happens silently, and most who experience it do not raise it for discussion. The result is that the written job description remains unchanged, while the actual work grows each month, widening the gap between what the employee is evaluated on and what they actually do.

What this means for your path

If you use AI tools in your daily work in Riyadh, Dubai or any other city in the region, the optimism is justified and the efficiency you feel is real. But the practical step here is simple: record for two weeks how much time the tool saves you and where that time goes. Does it turn into deeper work, or into new tasks that were not part of your role?

That log is what you need to join the 17% who discuss the load with their managers, backed by numbers that support your case. It is also ready material for any upcoming discussion about appraisal, promotion or rewriting the job description, because the new skill you have acquired in using the tool deserves to be counted in your evaluation rather than disappearing into unseen additional tasks.

At the market level, the question worth following in the coming months is whether organisations in the region will redesign roles around the tool or simply add it on top of existing roles. Current figures indicate that the latter option remains the most common so far.