From Vision to RealityThe Road to Full Employment of

Nationals in the United Arab Emirates

Overview of Paper• Vision• Discussion of Public Sector Successes• Discussion of Private Sector Challenges• Low Emirati Job Satisfaction in the Private Sector

• Lack of Necessary Skills and Qualifications• Undesirable Working Conditions• Uncomfortable Environment• Challenges Facing Emirati Females

• Employer’s Negative Perceptions of Emirati Employees• Higher Emirati Expectations for Salary, Benefits, Working Conditions

• Discussion of Private Sector Rationale for Not Hiring Emiratis

• Meeting in the Middle• Efforts in Education to Enhance Emirati Employability• Efforts in Community to Enhance Emirati Employability

• Conclusion

VisionTo fully understand the complexities of achieving full employment of Emiratis, all employers must understand, appreciate, and integrate the four themes of the UAE Vision 2021 into their policies and work environments.

United in Ambition“efforts to prosper will

not come at the expense of Emirati’s strong and healthy emotional balance” (4), so traditions, culture, and language must remain “a crucial matter of national pride and social stability” (7).

Empowerment of WomenThe empowerment of women is emphasized encouraging women enjoy both the fulfillment of motherhood and the satisfaction of a rewarding career.

Emirati Economy• Economy in growth phase• Over 2 million barrels of oil exported each day• Private sector able to create 600,000 jobs every year• Population rose from about 5.6 mil to 7.6 mil in 2006 • In 2010 Emiratis were about 15% of the total population• Estimated 25,000 to 30,000 Emirati job seekers• Reports of unemployment rates among Emiratis as high as 14%

• 80% of Emiratis work in public sector which contains 11% of jobs

• Emirati workforce participation rates in 2010:• 4% in private sector• 52% in public sector• 1% in tourism sector• 18% in energy sector

Sources: National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (TANMIA), Rasheed (2010) and Habboush (2010)

Public Sector Emiratization• Emiratization of public sector jobs began in 2002

• By 2009 Emiratization reached 64% (42,000 of the 66,000) in Ministries and other official entities

• Many Emiratis prefer working in the public sector over the private sector due to:• Higher salaries• working conditions more favorable• work environments are more comfortable• jobs more secure• Perception of less qualifications, skills, and experience needed

Source: Federal Reports and Rasheed (2010)

Private Sector Challenges

•Emirati job satisfaction in private sector jobs

•Private sector employers’ perceptions of Emirati employees

Emirati Job Satisfaction• Job satisfaction is down in most developed areas of the world especially among lower paid employees, older employees, and women.

• In the UAE, poor job satisfaction is a major contributor to:• poor performance• high turnover rates in the private sector.

• Factors contributing to low job satisfaction in UAE include:• lack of necessary skills or qualifications• undesirable working conditions• uncomfortable environment

Source: Shallal (2011)

Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Emiratis already in workforce with experience may lack required educational qualifications to advance in their careers

• Fresh graduations may have required qualifications but lack work experience to be considered for desired jobs

• Lack of career choice / preparation early on in education may result in choosing majors not suited to interests and abilities

• Lack of part-time work / study options may force Emiratis with financial /family responsibilities to exit educational system before earning suitable qualifications

• End result in many cases: • mundane, routine, or unrewarding jobs, typically routine office work or

some type of clerk positions with little or no responsibility, and little advancement potential

Source: Shallal (2010) and Ahmad (2011)

Undesirable Working Conditions

• low job satisfaction generally in private sector for following reasons:• long working hours• little flexibility with work timings• fewer holidays than public sector jobs

• In 2011, private sector employees surveyed in the UAE:• 42% felt the excessive pressure from their jobs• 56% concerned about their financial future• Only 30% felt employers supported policies promoting health and well-being

• According to one expert “such low scores could ultimately result in poor productivity among employees and is likely to negatively impact financial performance of organizations in the UAE”

• Parents, especially working mothers, experience work strain that contributes to stress, job dissatisfaction, absences, and distractions while at work. Lack of good quality and affordable childcare puts additional pressure on working mothers with small children

Sources: Towers Watson Global Workforce Study (Mesbah 2012), Kapur (2012), Shallal (2010)

Uncomfortable Environment• When a firm or supervisor does not possess appropriate cultural sensitivities, the supervisor may inadvertently create an environment uncomfortable and unacceptable to Emirati employees:

• resentment from expatriate employees who may perceive that Emirati employees are given preferential treatment

• Expression of expatriate employees’ dissatisfaction with their jobs

• Little orientation to unfamiliar corporate culture with different value system may lead to misunderstandings in the workplace

• Misinterpreting Emirati emphasis on family as a priority

Sources: Elamin (2011), Maceda (2008), Subaihi (2011), Klein & Kuperman (2008)

Challenges Facing Emirati Females

Work and Home Balance• Most of household and childrearing responsibilities even when they work sick children, elderly care, or other family matters arise

• Issues related to pregnancy or being nursing mothers

Female only environment• A shift in perceptions is occurring in which multicultural mixed gender environment was not a disincentive for young Emiratis, male or female

• Women sometimes feel pressure from male coworkers to limit interactions, not talk too much, or engage in casual conversation as a sign of respect, as per Arabic tradition

• The pressure leads some Emirati females to prefer “conservatism” or working in all-female workplaces which are found mostly in the public sector

• Workplace environments without minimal consideration for Emirati women including adequate personal space to do her work and suitable break areas put pressure on Emirati women to choose female only environments

Sources: Madsen (2010), Shallal (2010), and ICOS (2010)

Employer’s Perceptions of Emirati Employees

• Private sector employees give two main reasons for low Emirati employment in the private sector:

• Expectations for salary, benefits, and working conditions that are higher than foreign expatriate workers

• Ability to find more highly qualified and experienced expatriate employees willing to settle for less favorable salary, benefits, and working conditions.

Higher Emirati Expectations for Salary, Benefits, Working Conditions

• In a recent survey most (67%) private sector employers indicated they support hiring Emiratis when “Emirati employees are as qualified and as willing to work for the same hours and pay as an expatriate counterpart.”

• Private sector employers stated that they prefer employing expatriate employees because expatriates accept lower salaries, accept longer working hours, and have higher qualifications and more work experience.

• In addition, many expatriate workers come to the UAE without their families eliminating the need to take time off to attend to sick children, elderly relatives, or other family related issues

Source: Kawach (2010)

Private Sector Rationale for Not Hiring Emiratis

Private sector sidestepping of Emiratization • Keeping qualifications artificially high to keep Emiratis out

• lack of career progression leading to up to 50% of Emiratis working in private sector to resign

• Marginal jobs or quota fillers only to give the appearance that the companies were meeting their Emiratization goals

• Avoid hiring Emiratis by hiring expatriates as consultants rather than employees

• Moving non-Emirati personnel to free zones to keep overall percentages of Emiratis within acceptable ranges

Sources: Hope (2010), Habboush (2010), Hellyer (2012)

Meeting in the Middle• Emiratis must have the appropriate qualifications, skills,

and experience to do the jobs that are available in the private sector

• However, the practice of hiring expatriates to the exclusion of Emiratis because they are willing to work for less than Emiratis, are less demanding of working conditions, and have little or no family responsibilities is a serious issue.

• Expatriate employees make decision to come to the UAE and choose to do so for salaries and working conditions available and they find a benefit in doing so.

• Emiratis must live according to their own societal norms and should not be judged by expatriate standards in their own country.

Education to Enhance Emirati Employability

The following have already begun:

• Improving public and private school experience

• Overhauling post-secondary education with emphasis on “learning by doing” in community learning , work experience, internships, and others

• Expanding program choice options

• Pathways for graduates to return to earn higher credentials

• Extending offer to private sector to develop new majors for sponsored students

Community to Enhance Emirati Employability

• Emiritization , mostly in public sector, shown in companies who sponsor employees to study or give study leave including ADNOC, ENEC, Eitsalat, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, and others

• Initiatives such as Tawteen to develop leadership in youth

• ENDP initiatives such as “CEO for a day”

• Competitions, scholarships, training, and more

Part-Time Work OptionBenefits of creating more part time work opportunities:

• More flexible for women allowing better balance of home and work leading to less absenteeism

• Provides a way for Emiratis with financial or family situations to continue with education

• Allows men who can not or do not wish to work full time to keep mentally and physically active while earning an income

• Allows youth to keep active and earn experience while studying

Plea to Private SectorTo be socially responsible and meet

expectations of the Emirati workplace, private sector companies should:

• provide more community based learning experiences by partnering with educational institutions

• institute more comprehensive orientation and training programs for newly hired Emirati employees

• assure culturally appropriate workplace conditions

• Assure better conditions for ALL employees not only Emiratis

ConclusionWe must all do our best to be socially responsible global citizens to help develop the country in which we all earn benefits by developing its most precious resource, its people…..

In this way, the UAE Vision 2021 can become Reality