Kuwaitisation: Watch out expats ... here we come

Kuwaitisation is a policy that has been followed by the government for decades now. It has been more intense in the public sector resulting in Kuwaitis representing 95 per cent of all government employees, subsequently placing 97 per cent of Kuwaiti labour force in the public sector, that leaves only 2.5 per cent of this labour force working in the private sector. This ridiculous imbalance has provoked the government to extend its Kuwaitisation policy to the private sector where expats dominate the scene and run the show. Leaders of the private sector have justifiably shown their dissatisfaction with this policy as this entails being recipients of a bunch of the laziest people on this planet (productivity of 37 minutes a day) which in turn will lower the overall productivity of private firms and in turn lower the level of profits. Honestly I side with the government in this one, 2.5 per cent is just too low, more Kuwaitis need to move to the private sector and socialise in the more competitive and productive environment. Actually it's this socialisation that I find interesting especially on the human and personal level. How would Kuwaitis behave in a work place where expats usually have the upper hand? And how would expats who can be protective when it comes to their jobs react to increasing number of young Kuwaitis invading their work environment? It should be fun watching this type of interaction. I have many friends who work in the private sector who gave me some insights about this ongoing daily struggle.First, regardless of the origins or nationalities of expats, they share the same view about their Kuwaiti colleagues. You know the stereotype, these are young rich boys who are not ready to work hard and do not really care about learning how things work here. Self-improvement is not their concern so why bother to share knowledge with them, even if they got interested in work and in developing their skills and enhancing their productivity they will only represent a threat and soon you might find yourself replaced by one young Kuwaiti. Many expats love to build strong connections with their Kuwaiti colleagues because they understand that to have a decent life in this country you have to have a connection with well-connected Kuwaitis, so some justified hypocrisy is usually present. Second, when it comes to how Kuwaitis deal with expats in the work place, origins and nationalities make almost all the difference. Kuwaitis divide expats into three categories: Westerners, Arabs and Indians. Kuwaitis usually treat Westerners with a maximum level of respect. They have this weird unexplainable sense of inferiority when working with colleagues from Europe and North America. They tend to be polite, respectful and even shy. They even push themselves to work harder to ensure their satisfaction.Arabs for Kuwaiti employees are seen as rivals. No Kuwaiti would want to see his boss or a senior colleague from Egypt, Syria or Jordan. Expats from these countries are always accused of being prudent in sharing knowledge and are usually very protective of their jobs. When it comes to interacting with Arabs in the work place, Kuwaitis can sometimes be a little disrespectful and aggressive.Indians - well, this is a hard one. Before saying anything we have to remind ourselves that those people produce more software that Europe does. India is an amazing country. Indians are nice, well-educated people. This is totally understood. It's just that the situation in Kuwait where many Indians take low-level jobs has allowed some Kuwaitis to look down at them. So in the work place it takes a certain type of Kuwaitis that have been raised to respect people regardless of who they are to give Indians the respect they deserve. My younger brother had recently an interview at a private firm. One of the interviewers was an Indian engineer. Before getting to test the technical knowledge of my brother, he asked him "What if I ask you to bring me some coffee, you know, you are Kuwaiti, will you bring me a nice cup of coffee?" It's a weird question that you do not usually expect in interviews, but it seems like this Indian engineer has seen a lot. My smart*** brother answered "Sorry sir, I do not serve people coffee regardless of where they come from." I just love my brother and wish all Kuwaitis were like him. By Meshary Alruwaih