Let's Get Down To Business

And to deal effectively in a global arena, one must have some notion of the deep meaning imbedded in various cultures – Bowen H. “Buzz” McCoy

After having gone for several interviews over the last few months, I realized some international companies are not entirely aware of work-related culture and customs in UAE. Following are some of my own experiences, and some of my friends:

• Not my cup of tea!
• At one interview for an Operations Administrator position, reporting directly to the Activities Manager, I was explicitly told that I would have to make tea and coffee for my seniors. Now I understand that this is the norm for entry-level employees and interns in Western countries, but here in Dubai, this is something that most people will not be pleased about. It is just unusual here in Dubai, if you know what I mean. You will notice that in most companies here, especially those that have been locally set up, there are Office Assistants who handle such tasks. And if employees prepare teas and coffees, it’s usually for themselves. In a locally set up German company I once visited, the CEO of the company was preparing his own coffee! That’s what the culture is like here. Either people prepare the drinks for themselves, or the office assistants prepare them. Telling someone explicitly that their job would include making beverages for the managers and other senior executives would really make someone here reconsider their job application! It is a different thing if one does it out of their own accord. Like some of my friends ask their seniors if they’d like a cup of coffee when they go to get themselves one. Being told explicitly in an interview that this is part of the job is considered unprofessional in this culture.

• What do you mean my university grades and projects don’t mean anything?
• Another incident I experienced was when the interviewer put down my academic qualifications. To him, it wasn’t worth anything and didn’t prove that I could do a well at work. I have put an immense amount of effort over the years (in University as well as in school) to get good grades and submit outstanding projects/research work. I have been acknowledged as a Merit Student in both High School and University, finished University in the top 5%, won a Marketing competition, and been commended several times for extensive research efforts. Was it really not worth it? How can all that hard work not prove anything? I’m not tooting my own horn, but wouldn’t it at least show that I make an effort to do my best in what is important to me? At least that?! How can it not mean anything at all?! Students in UAE work hard in school and University. There are so many inter-school competitions going on that reflect students’ projects and thus, show just how much of an effort students put into their work and how much they try to learn what they’re being taught. UAE newspapers have been publishing the names of top students for years, and student competitions and projects are always given press coverage. A lot of people are under the impression that people in Dubai are poorly educated, can barely speak good English, etc. Hardly true, I say! Everyone here speaks English. In fact, most speak English very well. Some Emiratis leave the comfort and luxury of Dubai to pursue their educational interests abroad. Many Emirati girls here maintain their own blogs in either English or Arabic, where they write about business news, or matters that interest them, or even stories (which are excellent and incredibly captivating, I must say). All of this leads me to believe that education is given a lot of importance here. Among my batch (of about 200), most of us really cared about how much effort we were putting into our studies. Of course, there were also many who didn’t care so much about their grades, but why scoff at those who do? All our lives, we have been told that it’s important to do well in school to get into a good university. And then, we have been told that it’s important to get good grades in university, to get a good job. Isn’t that what university is for? To prepare us for working life? To teach us how the outside world works? I don’t think belittling someone’s educational qualifications is alright to do anywhere in the world. Educational qualifications are important wherever you go. Saying it is insignificant and doesn’t prove anything is disrespectful. The interviewer put it as nicely as possible, but polishing a rock doesn’t turn it into a diamond, if you catch my drift.

• Wait, did I hear you right? You want me to clean the office?!
• Yes. Companies here have asked of this. Like the tea/coffee bit I mentioned earlier, there are office assistants/cleaners hired to do this. Yet my friends have been asked, shortly after being hired, to come an hour before opening time everyday, to clean the floors and dust the desks and product boxes. They were working as Sales Executives. Another friend was asked to wash windows and dust the blinds! Needless to say, they quit. Again, I will say, being asked to perform these kinds of tasks is absolutely not normal in Dubai. It is unprofessional and even disrespectful to some.

• Don’t lie!
• While it is rather common to hear that interviewees lie in interview sessions, I have experienced the exact opposite. I applied for an Executive position in a large, established company and at the interview, I found out that the job vacancy was an entirely different one – one that I was absolutely not interested in. The interviewer seemed to have no idea that a different advertisement was posted online. He seemed to imply that it was my mistake and indirectly insulted me for “not having read the advertisement properly.” Trust me, I read the ad very very well. I read the same ad again the next day and the day after, after he explicitly told me at the interview that “no Executive position was currently available in the company.” Word gets around very easily in Dubai where a lot of people have access to the Internet, maintain blogs and are not afraid of writing in to newspapers. Moreover, who hasn’t heard of the power of word-of-mouth? Dubai is very social. News about companies can get around very quickly here, and damage reputation. Just like companies are unwilling to employ people who lie in interviews, people are just as unwilling to work with companies that lie. Moreover, consider the reputation of these companies already damaged. Companies ought to disclose the job description and be honest. In my opinion, the clearer the advertisement, the more relevant the applications that come in. Misleading people like this is absolutely unethical and unprofessional.

Well, these were some important areas where companies missed the mark here in Dubai, in my opinion. By neglecting to take these things into consideration, these companies have been avoided by people. Not to mention, they have been advised against to others as well.  Most of the companies referred to above are not locally based companies. They are international companies that have their main headquarters abroad, so their lack of understanding of the culture here in UAE is understandable but inexcusable. From the above experiences, it appears that international companies don’t really study the market from a cultural perspective, which is a dangerous thing to do. While culturally insensitive companies have been advised against, companies that are culturally sensitive have been strongly recommended and praised.

To any company officials reading this article, I hope I have been able to provide some useful information about Dubai’s working culture.

To my readers, feel free share your experiences with companies that have missed the mark when it comes to the culture in your country! I’d love to hear it!