Re: The Nomadic Corporation

Your article is really interesting and sheds the light on a lot of issues regarding the employment choices made by citizens of Kuwait and the ensuing local companies managements’ plans of action.

As for disfavoring the private sector as a probable workplace, I think the main reason, which was implied in your article, is a lack of incentive:

Financially: The difference in pay is nominal. It does not make up for the big discrepancy between the two when it comes to work/life balance. It also does not warrant undertaking more responsibilities, which would lead to more stress and anxiety.

Morally: A lot of people regard conventional banks, insurance companies, and investment companies as ‘Haram’, removing a sizable demographic as potential recruits and leaving fewer choices for them to transition into the private sector.

Personally: The nomadic psyche link that you made does explain a lot as evidenced when it comes to Kuwaitis’ lines of work. As you mentioned, the scarcity mentality led our forefathers to constantly wander in search of resources in fear and stress, so a constant stream of resources was the holy grail back then, and surprisingly still is. Even though the present day abundance of resources should have a mitigating effect, the fear of the imminent depletion of resources is always present in the back of our minds. In essence, our forefathers’ desert hustling roots have backfired by making us cling to vocations that offer job security with minimal effort exertion — making us more risk averse in the process. Even more so, we still retain the decentralized tightly-knit community mentality that was prevalent back then, manifested through the reliance on ‘Wasta’ for job placement instead of competency.

I believe that once a proper incentive system is put in a place, a reverse in trend will follow. All in all, your analysis is spot-on and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your informative piece.