‘Job title inflation’ in UAE: Would you accept a senior-sounding role without the salary to match?

‘Job title inflation’ in UAE: Would you accept a senior-sounding role without the salary to match?

Published: Thu 18 Apr 2024, 6:00 AM

Job roles that featured ‘lead’ or ‘manager’ in the title — but required just up to two years of experience — were up 43 per cent in the Middle East over the last year, a study has found. Experts have warned that ‘job title inflation’ — the process of giving an employee a more important-sounding job title — has caused an “influx of new, more senior job titles” in the market without the experience, skills or salaries to match.

The trend is seeing professionals in their 20s take positions as directors and vice-presidents of smaller companies.

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“It used to be the case that titles like ‘lead’, ‘partner’ and ‘vice-president’ took years of experience and hard work. However, that now seems to be changing, with professionals being awarded such titles despite only being in the primary stages of their career,” said Jonathan Berry, director - regional head of UAE and Northern Gulf of Robert Walters Middle East.

In an interview with Khaleej Times, the recruitment expert said these inflated titles may look good on the surface, but for young employees, it leaves them no room to