Working conditions

Job title, salary and position

Working conditions

If you are a potential expatriate planning to work in Saudi Arabia, the first thing you should remember is to forget your job title / designation you were holding in your current company in your home country.

There are several instances of people who had occupied senior positions in their own countries who had been total failures after coming to the kingdom. The reason is not far to seek. Human tendency is to resist change.

People who have worked in good positions in their countries should never ever come to Saudi Arabia and expect the same level of perks / respect. Remember, you are coming to work here only for money - nothing more, nothing less! If you have contracted to work in a senior position, particularly in a government organization, then good luck to you because sooner or later, your position will be Saudized - i.e., you will be replaced by a Saudi national. If you have contracted to work in a very junior position, then you better be careful about the reputation of the company to escape being ill-treated.

The bottom line is that if you are going to get paid fairly well and that your company is taking care of most of your expenses (for example, round trip tickets for you and your family, medical/dental and education expenses for your family, etc.), then there is a fairly high chance that you have landed in the right job. In any case, your intention to come to Saudi Arabia for work should be only money. Do not expect people to treat you like a General Manager, just because you were a General Manager in your home country! It doesn't work here that way. The sooner you realize this, the longer is your stay in the kingdom. Every day you are here is a bonus, because you have come here to make tax-free money which was not there in your home country.

Of course, it doesn't mean that you have to crawl, but if you feel you can't take it any more, it is better to quietly move out rather than trying to fight for your rights - you don't have them anyway! Make your money and be ready to call it quits any day, because as the saying goes, the only thing certain in the Gulf is uncertainty!

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Other comments

  • Simon Hicks, 05 July 2011 Reply

    Saudi should be avoided

    Saudi Arabia has boycotted Philippine domestic workers because they asked for basic rights and a minimum of $400 a month instead it offered no rights and $200 a month. Whatever your likely position in Saudi the message is simple, you have no rights, therefore avoid.