GCC nationals are not after ‘Status’ or an ‘Easy life’ finds Oxford survey

GCC nationals ranked ‘status’ and ‘easy life’ as among the least influential factors that motivate them in life, found the latest survey commissioned by Oxford Strategic Consulting (OSC).

These survey findings challenge widespread employer stereotypes about GCC nationals, such as an obsession with status and a tendency to opt for low-pressure, public sector employment. In these findings, ‘status’ ranked the least influential motivator for nationals (at 2%), and only 6% of nationals mentioned an ‘easy life’ as an important motivator.

The survey released by the UK/Dubai-based HR consultancy consisted of nearly 3,000 responses from GCC nationals and expats. The survey asked participants what three things motivated them most in life as well as what three things discouraged them the most in life. ‘Family’ was ranked as the most influential motivator for both GCC nationals and expats.

Professor William Scott-Jackson said “the importance of family to both nationals and expats reflects the fact that most expats in the GCC are from similar ‘collective cultures of South East Asia and the other Arab countries – this supports our view that models of leadership and human resources coming from Western ‘individualistic’ societies may become less and less useful in the new world economy”.

In addition to ‘family’, both sets of respondents listed ‘finances, ‘striving to achieve’ and ‘religion and beliefs’ as important factors that motivate them the most in life. The close similarity in responses challenges another often heard employer stereotype that GCC nationals and expats possess very different sets of motivations and expectations when it comes to juggling the work-life balance.

“These findings reveal important similarities between nationals and expats, which have real implications for GCC-based companies seeking to increase employee engagement and organisational effectiveness,” said Professor William Scott-Jackson, Chairman of OSC, and Fellow at The University of Oxford.

The survey also found that GCC nationals were significantly more likely than expats to feel discouraged by their own negative feelings (40% cf. 27%), finances/cost of living (32% cf. 23%) and lack of achievement (18% cf. 14%).

That many GCC nationals are discouraged by their own negative feelings reinforces Oxford Strategic Consulting’s recommendation that GCC business leaders should work to develop individual positivism among national employees. Nationals demonstrating a more positive attribution style will help boost engagement levels in GCC organisations.

Motivated employees tend to be more committed to their work, and this can result in major benefits for their organisations. Research found, for example, that organisations with the highest engagement scores averaged 18% higher productivity than those with the lowest engagement scores.

“The most successful GCC companies will incorporate these findings, and indeed similar studies, into their recruitment, development, retention and engagement strategies by focusing on individual motivation – mostly impacted by the first line leader and the individual’s own personal attribution style. Using advanced techniques, both of these can be changed for the benefit of the person, the organisation and society’ added Professor Scott-Jackson.

OSC is widely recognized as the leading center of expertise on Human Resource (HR) development, including employee engagement and organizational effectiveness, across the GCC. As a result of high profile research projects and consulting engagements, OSC has built a wide range of experience and a library of best-practice approaches to recruiting, retaining, engaging and managing the GCC’s diverse workforce.