Recent expatriates might have more motivation

Ibelieve that one can have an advantage over the other or vice versa. People born and raised in the UAE may have the edge of knowing the culture, language, work environment and norms.

Expatriates who have just arrived, on the other hand, may use their experience with their previous workplaces from their home country or elsewhere to combat the unfamiliarity of this new territory.

Many expatriates may have been exposed to different work cultures that could make them more adaptable to a new environment.

More so, these two groups of people may slightly have different motivations as to why they have arrived here. I can’t speak for all of them, but given that I’m a recent expatriate, I speak from my experience.

I work here to get exposed to new skills; learn how marketing and public relations work in a diverse culture; boost my resume; earn a decent living to save more for the future but most of all, provide for the needs of my grandmother — this gives people like me a more personal motivation to persevere as I not only provide for myself but for someone who needs support.

However, whether one was born here or an expatriate who is still delving into the UAE, both should be open about each other’s limitations, share each other’s knowledge, accept each other’s differences, and explore each other’s commonalities — learning to do all these will help build each other individually and nurture the workplace as a whole.

From Ms Nadia Shami

Marketing executive based in Dubai