Inferiority Complex
Kuwait’s National Workforce Predicament.
Inferiority complex is an unrealistic feeling of general inadequacy caused by actual or supposed inferiority in one sphere. It is a psychiatric disorder that affects individuals. However, this disorder could extend to sweep an entire community and become ingrained in its culture, thus becoming a systematic behavior. A prime example of this would be the utilization of the national workforce in Kuwait.
An inferiority complex in patients is partially caused by genetic descent. On a national scale, this could be loosely translated into the ancestry and heritage of the whole nation. Kuwait, similar to its counterparts, has been plagued with British colonialism from 1899 to 1961. Politics aside, this era has been a prosperous era for the country, physical and economic infrastructures were established during this period. Nonetheless, the indigenous people of Kuwait at that time did not possess the knowledge nor the hands-on experience needed to establish such infrastructures. The foreigners helped the locals build and run the country, thus creating some sort of dependency on foreigners.
The second cause for inferiority complex in patients is personal experiences. Rendered on a nationwide scale, repeated experiences of reliance on expatriates in doing even the mundane of tasks created another dilemma. Older generations of the population grew up to the sight of having expatriates in the senior positions in the most vital of sectors in the country. Gradually, the locals started to regain their positions and have more authority in running the country. Yet still, when encountered with any problem, the locals would run to the foreigners for help without attempting to solve it. Thinking that they, themselves, lack the know-how and the expat would, most definitely, have the solution. This happened, time and time again, triggering the false belief that the locals themselves would never be able to become autonomous.
This cycle of dependency has been going for enough time to become deeply rooted in the local culture. Even with the presence of the government’s Kuwaitization Decree, private companies still do not employ a full-fledged Kuwaiti workforce, and even if they did, they either keep the integral roles of business development for expats and/or operate under expat consultations. No matter how much expertise or knowledge the local attains, society cannot bring itself to become fully contingent on the local talent.
Yes, in recent years, we have seen some companies taking the initiative of employing more local talents than the governmental mandates and actually employing them in crucial roles and positions. However, to fully break this vicious cycle of inferiority, we should use the same cure employed by psychiatrists encountered with cases of inferiority complex: building confidence through positive reinforcement. Practically, the locals have the knowledge needed, so what we need is to keep the local workforce fully engaged in all-levels of the enterprise to increase their confidence. Continuous exposure to the bits and pieces of labor would positively reinforce their self-reliance and the national workforce would live happily ever after.
