Building tomorrow's workforce
The future of work in the Middle East
The regional developments of early 2026 have transformed how organizations think about workforce tax strategy across the Middle East. Deloitte’s Global Employer Services Middle East Operational and Workforce Measures Survey finds that 94% of employers enabled some form of remote working in response, raising a bigger question: how should organizations build for the future workforce tax and talent landscape ahead?
Remote and flexible working arrangements introduced in response to regional developments now call for structured workforce tax strategy and governance. Cross-border workforce tax, immigration, and employment tax compliance obligations can arise whenever employees work outside their home location, even temporarily. Organizations are increasingly documenting international workforce planning frameworks that define permitted work locations, approval protocols, and remote work tax implications from the outset, rather than managing them case by case.
The survey also highlights a widening talent mobility tax and retention gap, with most organizations concerned about attracting and retaining talent yet few have formalized plans in place. Strengthening employee mobility tax frameworks, embedding nationalization into a broader talent strategy, and evolving global mobility tax and reward structures are emerging as the clearest opportunities for organizations to build a resilient, future-ready workforce.
of employers enabled some form of remote working
of organizations intend to maintain or grow their Middle East headcount
of organizations are concerned about attracting talent to the region
are concerned about retaining talent
of organizations permitted international remote work
of organizations report satisfaction with their current Nationalization approach
Hadi Allawi
