UAE Workforce Risks in 2025: Cybercrime and Workforce Stress and Burnout Take Center Stage

Dubai, 24th February, 2025—International SOS, the global leader in health and security risk management, has released its highly anticipated Risk Outlook 2025 Report on ‘Navigating a Fragmenting World’. The report highlights the evolving global risk landscape and thereby the critical need for organisations in the UAE and globally to enhance resilience in the wake of unprecedented cross-border, environmental, and security challenges.

The Risk Outlook 2025 Report 1 underscores the volatility witnessed globally that is reshaping business operations and workforce safety across the world. The study, based on expert analysis and insights from over 800 senior risk decision-makers across 96 countries, including the UAE, identifies three key amplifiers of global instability and its potential impact locally:

• Geopolitical Conflicts & Internal Fragmentation – Tensions in the Middle East, Russia-Ukraine, and broader economic and political shifts are leading to a more multipolar and unpredictable global environment, influencing local business operations.

• Climate Change & Health Risks – Extreme weather, resource scarcity, and the resurgence of infectious diseases pose growing risks to businesses and employees in the Middle East region and beyond.

• Misinformation & Digital Threats – The rapid spread of misinformation, combined with evolving AI risks, is creating new security vulnerabilities for organisations.

Top Risks Seniority Split

The 2025 Risk Outlook is based on an online survey conducted on behalf of International SOS by Ipsos of 802 clients and contacts of International SOS, comprising senior decision makers responsible for the health, well-being and/or security of people in their organisations. Of those 802 clients and contacts, 85 were identified as primary decision-makers. Fieldwork took place online from 20 August 2024 to 1 October 2024. The survey is complemented with interpretations and predictions from the Workforce Resilience Council and extensive proprietary data and analysis from International SOS. The Workforce Resilience Council comprises representative experts from all health, security, and safety fields. The participants in this year’s Council are from a mix of think tanks, associations, advisory boards, NGOs, and IGOs, relevant to the risks of working at home or abroad.

Additionally, 69% of the senior risk professionals who are also primary decision makers surveyed expect geopolitical events to significantly impact their operations in 2025, while 65% of risk leaders cite political stress and social unrest as major concerns compelling organisations in the UAE to adopt smarter and more unified approaches to protect their operations and ensure business growth.

The global report reveals that 78 per cent of respondents who are on the decision-making team with significant influence consider cyber attacks and online crimes, as well as work stress and burnout, tops the list of risks perceived within the workforce. 75% reported to be impacted by the growing cost of living, followed by mental health concerns noted at 70 per cent, requiring businesses in the UAE to reassess how they safeguard workforce wellbeing.

According to Sebastien Bedu, General Manager Middle East, International SOS, “As we enter 2025, organisations in the region must prioritise Resilience and Duty of Care by moving from reactive to proactive risk management approach. The ability to anticipate, prepare for, and mitigate risks - whether geopolitical, health-related, or digital-is now a business imperative. Our mission is to provide organisations in the UAE, amongst others, with real-time intelligence, expert analysis, and on-the-ground support to help them navigate this increasingly complex landscape.”

To address these escalating risks, a data-driven approach by International SOS is paving the way for global and local risk management by understanding and tackling the destabilising effect of external forces on business operations and employees. The Risk Outlook 2025 report introduces an advanced risk intelligence platform that integrates AI-driven analytics with expert-led risk assessments. This new technology aims to enhance situational awareness, improve crisis response times, and streamline business continuity planning, especially for multinational organisations based in the UAE.

The full Risk Outlook 2025 report is linked here.