My good friend Laura is trying to decide between two jobs. One is for a major local Lebanese business and the other is for its international competitor. The local one pays slightly better, but she’s considering going with the multinational, even though she’ll also get stuck in major traffic. She feels as though she’d be in “better hands” with the multinational. I think not.
Everybody knows that Lebanon has its own special way of conducting business: Unprofessional.
Yup, not many people here give a damn about how rude they come off to others in the workplace, they don’t measure the intensity of the words they use, the manner in which they carry themselves and their abuse of power. That I know. That’s why, if given the choice between a multinational versus a local firm, most would pick the multinational naturally- assuming that there would be more accountability to such behavior. Even if the benefits were identical.
Why? First because it sounds more sexy. This town LOVES sexy. Also hoping that the multinational would adhere to higher standards of business place conduct. *Think mustached local angry boss throwing a fit at underpaid employee.*
But we’re wrong. Here’s why:
For some reason that is beyond me, top international brands and companies instantly become “Lebanonized” the minute they set foot on this land, by that I mean “typical Lebanese” in the manner in which they choose to conduct themselves. Suddenly the expat boss who used take the subway in freezing temperatures back home will need the company car to drive him from his desk to the washroom. He or she would probably also make their overqualified employees order their food because of the “language barrier.” They would refer to you and “your people” in every culturally insensitive way possible and talk shit about how corrupt the country is yet while calling in for a “wasta” every chance they get.
Employees will address other fellow Lebanese working at local institutions with a superior tone simply because they work for a firm that has headquarters in a country with actual traffic laws. They would backstabb each other at every chance they got and would have no problem grocery shopping for their boss’s wife. And what about emails? Would this mean that most of them would drop the acronyms ASAP and FYI from their professional emails and loose the excessive use of upper-case letters, explanation marks and smiley faces? I think not.
So don’t be fooled by the foreign boss or the picture-perfect offices, as long as the address spells Lebanon, you’re in for one heck of a ride.
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Not totally true. International companies usually abide by laws. They give social security, insurance and respect official holidays. They also usually pay overtime and have directives against discrimination. Lebanese companies usually don’t respect any of those, they make you work more without paying overtime, they don’t give you insurance… etc.
With some differences, the same thing happens to Multinationals that operate in Egypt! I guess having to maneuver red tape teaches them how to be ‘twisted’!
I found the same to be true to some extent while working in Abu Dhabi, but the setup was a little different: American/Aussie expats working for a local firm. They used to exploit the Pakistani office boys with menial tasks that are too shameful to note here. The lesson seems to be “when in Rome, do as the Romans.” People quickly adapt to the local rule.
It is to be noted however that at least Lebanese Companies are lately switching into a new era of management where Professionnal is the main focus. They are even abiding to all the laws of the country, despite their severity
I agree with some of the points but have to say even if you are dealing with the same kind of people, the opportunities that are offered to you to grow and actually deal with non Lebanese professionals are more. Also in terms of financial reward, vacation requests, human rights … at least you know what to expect, some of the lebanese companies have subjective laws that might change according to the owner’s mood.
Im someone who had her share of lebanese companies and have seen the best and worst of the them, I can assure you the bad is more than the good.
So what your saying is that your screwed either way so go for the best one that can benefit you and your well being the most. They say your environment has a psychological effect on you and you need the re assurance for professionalism.
You can always relocate to other other countries with multinational companies, that’s the edge.