Geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East is being met with optimism, ambition, and confidence by people in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Across work, health, money, technology, and consumption, trust in institutions is strong, and people are actively investing in the country’s growth. Yet as the UAE matures and its demographics shift, expectations are also rising about what residents deserve from their society, with safety and security top of people’s priorities.
The UAE edition of Oliver Wyman Forum's 300,000 Voices study, part of a five-year global research effort spanning 20 countries and nearly 300,000 responses, reveals a society in which people are building skills for an evolving workplace, participating in the country’s financial markets, and adopting AI to make faster, data-based decisions.
A more recent April 2026 pulse check survey, conducted against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, does not suggest indifference to conflict: 10% of UAE nationals, and 15% of residents surveyed, say their overall well-being has worsened in light of the events in 2026, while 17% report declines in mental well-being. Yet the same data shows that confidence has not disappeared.
A majority remain optimistic about their ability to afford everyday purchases (62%), find work if needed (60%), and improve their personal financial outlook (59%). In an unsettling period, confidence persists. Now, people are asking whether the institutions around them are responding to that confidence by helping them move forward.
Technology is shifting more decision-making power to UAE residents
Financial independence is the life skill people most wish they had learned earlier, according to the broader Forum survey, and they’re now turning to AI in an effort to catch up.
Half of lower-income respondents in the UAE participate in the stock market, compared with 28% globally. More than nine in 10 investors say they intend to continue investing over the long-term. Roughly two-thirds use AI to guide their investment decisions, while 64% of UAE respondents believe they can achieve better returns investing on their own rather than through a financial advisor. People are also using technology to educate themselves and test their ideas before seeking professional advice.
The same behavior is emerging in healthcare. Eighty percent of UAE respondents have used AI for health-related purposes, compared with 65% globally, and almost half say healthcare is the sector most in need of more personalized products and services. AI users are also more likely to use symptom checkers and less likely to turn immediately to primary care.
Where people do seek expert help, they arrive better informed and with stronger expectations of the advisers and healthcare providers who meet them later in the journey.
AI adoption is high — but alignment is patchy
People in the UAE are adopting AI at work and in their personal lives, often at a speed that outpaces their employers. Eighty-five percent of UAE employees use AI — 48% daily — and more than half report gains in productivity and work-life balance.
Concern about the technology’s longer-term effects has not stopped its adoption. Sixty-seven percent worry about job loss caused by AI, yet employees continue to use it to stay productive and relevant. For younger workers, especially, AI capability is becoming part of what it means to remain competitive: Almost seven out of 10 Generation Z employees are frequent users, and only 3% say they never use AI at work.
The problem is alignment rather than adoption. Just 6% of frontline workers say their company has a clear AI vision, compared with 26% of executives. Employees are moving quickly, but many do not yet see a common institutional approach that connects directly to their own progression.
Visible career growth is becoming critical to retention in the UAE
Three-quarters of employees in the UAE say they are satisfied with their jobs, 44% enjoy their work, and 71% trust senior leadership to make decisions that benefit the workforce. Yet only 25% say they feel fulfilled at work.
Employees are willing to work hard when they can see a return on their effort. Demand for learning, advancement, and recognition is rising, while leadership and technical skills are sought by more employees than currently receive them. Workers are asking whether their role is helping them become more capable and employable, or whether it risks becoming a dead end.
Gen Z makes that bargain particularly explicit. Six out of 10 say career acceleration and financial freedom are worth prioritizing over work-life balance, and 73% believe in their company's future. What they are less willing to accept is stagnation. Their desire for visible progression, access to leaders, and skills with tangible value means that retention in the UAE is becoming less focused on employee comfort and more on demonstrating where individual efforts can lead.
High expectations are making brands work harder for loyalty
Consumers display a similarly demanding mindset, with only 35% expecting to continue buying from a brand over the long-term, compared with 47% globally. Sixty-three percent of respondents in the UAE are willing to try a new brand, even when they already have a preferred one, and 65% would switch after a single poor experience.
Technology makes it easier to act on the willingness to reconsider. Seventy-eight percent have used AI to find and purchase prodcuts, while social media and personal recommendations play important roles in product discovery. Consumers can compare alternatives quickly and arrive at the point of purchase with stronger views about quality, service, and value.
At the same time, they expect personalization without surrendering control of their data. Around seven in 10 expect brands to remember their preferences, yet only 25% trust personalized targeted advertising.
People are investing in themselves, adopting technology quickly, and taking greater ownership of decisions across their lives — and they expect that autonomy to extend to how and where their data is used.
In the UAE, ambition and confidence are not in short supply. The question is whether institutions can keep pace.
