a few points
1) bonuses have been killed at many companies, same goes for reduction or suspension of 401k (retirement fund) matching by employers, tuition reimbursements are halted and not taking new people, companies are trying to keep costs low, salaries have been frozen, some companies have had unpaid furloughs or salary reductions even.
2) the goray people who are there may get a different rate as an expat, international compensation factors apply there
3) action items- things need to get done, and many teams are doing more with less people, a worse case is when you dont have enough to do
now as far as a career change, do what you like to do, realize each field has its pros and cons, and be ready for it.
is the field you are in an issue, the company, or the role, or a combination? only u can figure it out, if it is the field itself then go for a different career, if its the role, then look for a better role and try and position yourself for it, if that cant happen or you dont like the company then start looking. they cant stop you from leaving
Living cost in Abu Dhabi is much higher compared to other Emirates. Abu Dhabi economy is as stable as it always happened to be. The prices of everything is going up every day. From house rent to taxi fares to food items. If they make the salaries stagnant, how will we survive in this country?
The company I am working with, is getting lots of projects. Its not they do not have work. We are more busier now then we were 1-2 yrs back. Okay I understand that they are trying to being cautious and working on cost cutting strategies in order to avoid any future financial crisis, but my case is a little different. I was always promised a good raise based on change of position (promotion) and obviously new and increased responsibilites with the new role. That promised raise was never given to me and its been 3yrs now.
We had recently peformance reviews and face to face meeting with boss and i reminded him of his promise he made to me. He didnt give me a satisfactory response. The increments will be announced in a month or so but i am sure it will be only shocking and no nice surprises inside.