Job Discussion Forums

[Redcar24]

I have to say Qatar is by far the worse country to work in all the GGC... What do you have to say?

[johnslat]

If Qatar is the worse, maybe Saudi is the worst .

I suspect if a poll were to be taken, the Kingdom would win (lose?)

Regards,
John

[rdobbs98]

If you don't like Qatar, then KSA will destroy you before you even get there. Qatar is a good place but you must realize it isn't Kansas. UAE, Qatar, and Oman are very easy to live in, KSA is nothing but hypocritical.

[veiledsentiments]

[Hatcher]

Has the OP ever worked in the KSA? I doubt it....

[Yorks Lad]

I'm interested to know what makes you say Qatar is the place. By what measures? What about how people are treated?

What is scandalous across the Gulf is the way the mostly south Asian labourers are treated - very long hours for little pay and probably almost zero respect from locals or their employers. There's sadly not much we can do about that.

[DD3]

Having lived and worked in Qatar and Kuwait, I agree that Kuwait is by far the worst! I was CONSTANTLY harassed by men in Kuwait, while dressed very conservatively and I never had any problems in Qatar. Yes, Qatar can be dull but there are bars and some clubs/ a social scene. And Doha is relatively nice. Kuwait City is horrendous!

[okedata]

[bulgogiboy]

quote="Redcar24"]I have to say Qatar is by far the worse country to work in all the GGC... What do you have to say?[/quote]

Dear Redcar,

I've only ever lived in KSA and Qatar, so I can't comment on other countries in the GCC, but I'll give you my take on working in Qatar.

As other posters have pointed out, everything is relative. For me, on the whole, KSA was a far worse country in which to work, but that was as much to do with the ultra-conservative culture in which I had to live as it was the work environment. Because I'm a big fan of quality drink and female companionship, Qatar has definite advantages over KSA. KSA catered more for homosexual tastes and paint-thinner style moonshine. Not my bag.

Having said that, working in Qatar is no easy ride by any means, at least in my experience, and there are plenty of people who do actually prefer KSA to Qatar. I know at least one teacher who quit Qatar to return to the magic kingdom. And, of course, not all teachers who are content in KSA are gay/alcoholic weirdos. Some people, for their own reasons, like the quiet, uneventful life KSA has to offer.

I'd like to make a clear distinction between the living environment and the working environment in Qatar. First off, I would say that Doha is a rather pleasant city, on the whole, and living in Doha offers TEFLers, even those at the bottom of the payscale, an opportunity to live a nice lifestyle. I don't have any problem with my living environment.

However, the working environment here is another matter entirely. People are often treated very badly, perhaps not any worse than in KSA, but nevertheless people can be treated very badly here. Qatar isn't my first experience of the Gulf, but even I can say I've noticed how little workers are valued. I'm not just talking about the Asian labourers/service industry people either. I'm talking about workers in general. The Qatari HR policy appears to be based on the principle of hire and fire on a whim, because there's always ten other people ready and willing to fill the post. They don't seem to consider how high staff turnover reflects on their organisations, or how it affects morale. Very few people are viewed as indisposable here, and doing a good job and being professional contributes very little towards your job security. People aren't viewed as a resource here. They are viewed as a commodity.

For example, Qatar Airways is notorious for firing people for petty infringements of their numerous draconian rules. Their cabin crew live in a low-level state of paranoia. Also, Qatar Petroleum regularly fires its contractor teachers en masse, regardless of how the instructors may have performed. Those are two of Qatar's main employers. People live in constant fear for their jobs. You can be sacked abritrarily, by a bullying boss, and ultimately you have no legal recourse. I've also heard similar stories of constant firing threats from the workers at the National Police Institute. "The Sword of Damocles" hangs over many a head in Qatar.

The contract is pretty much worthless to you, and is only referred to when they want to enforce something from their end. Although this seems to be pretty much the case across the entire TEFL world now.

For teachers, there's the added hurdle that your Qatari students, while suffering from the same problems of poor punctuality, poor work ethic and general apathy, are also often from very wealthy and 'wastaful' families, who can also endanger your job, if you rub them up the wrong way. Thankfully, most Qatari students are fairly decent and don't make use of their wasta in this way.

Having said all that, to keep some positivity, on a good day, working in Qatar can be very good. So far that's why I'm still here. A good day in Qatar is a very good day. Good money, good benefits (although they vary and fluctuate), good saving opportunities, and good holidays. Things could be better here, but they could be worse too!

[DD3]

That's true and this has been my experience as well.

I think that lots of places in Qatar just have such terrible hiring practices that they end up with a huge number of people who could not care less about their jobs and are totally burnt out on teaching, so the turn over is high. However on the other side of the coin, I've known some people who were promoted or given huge raises based on their performance at work - this could mean almost anything - just being cheerful in the morning or showing any type of motivation. But these cases were rare. My experience with my Qatari supervisors was that they were very nice and polite but they did not treat anyone who was not Qatari like an equal; everyone was beneath them. However, in their defense, at least where I worked (big place) they had to deal with a ton of wackjobs from the west so they had probably gotten pretty sick of it.

I think that Qatar is an alright place for people who don't necessarily need job security - single, young people for instance, who want to make some fast cash. Also I think as far as the Gulf, that it's a good place for women to work. How much you let the work atmosphere bother you depends on lots of factors like personality. Most who get wrapped up in the paranoia and drama are those who are desperate to stay long term. That being said, I knew plenty of people who were fired but never abruptly; I think they were asked not to return from summer break.

The standards of how people are treated in Qatar are certainly worse than in the western world and this really bothers some people but I just tried not to take it personally. I went there with a set amount I wanted to save, reached my goal and got out. Also, Qatari students tend to be very nice.

[bulgogiboy]

[Redcar24]

Thank you for your post....

FYI .....This is happening in Qatar!


Look I said this because of Employers harrasing and bullying their employee's low salary no housing and they say we gave you a package that does not include housing which is now 1900 US dollars furnished apartment or unfurnished is about 1000 a month or a little more and when you buy furniture it is even more....

Plus you are responsible for your housing and your employer is embarrassing you and harrasing you so bad that you have to quit....

No legal recourse is available although they say the labor department will help you but the laws are so old that the government has not sat down to change them...

After that the Qatar men have no respect for women and they go so far to run you off the road and hit your car only because you drive in front of you,,,,I have proof and back up...

[veiledsentiments]

I don't think that anyone is saying that your situation is/was not bad... but not everyone shares your experience. There are crappy employers from one end of the Gulf to the other and not complying with the contract... or changing it in mid-stream is sadly not unusual. This is why one MUST check out the employer carefully before taking these positions.

As to the dangers of the traffic, that too is the whole Gulf and has been for many years now.

Sorry that you have had a bad experience, but if you are unable to move into one of the trustworthy employers, it may be time to head to another part of the world or home.

VS

[blastermill]

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/227094-woman-injured-in-brawl-over-parking-space.html
Doha: A 30-year-old woman was severely injured after being assaulted by four women over a car parking dispute in the Al Dafna area recently.

The woman received multiple injuries on her face, arms and other parts of the body, according to the Arabic daily Al Sharq. Last Thursday, the woman had temporarily parked her car in front of a restaurant to place her order when four women in a Land Cruiser appeared on the scene. They called out to her to move her car in order to create parking space for their vehicle. Since there was limited space, she could not move the car.
At this, the woman driving the Land Cruiser stepped out of her vehicle and began shouting at the woman in the car. At first she used foul language and then reportedly pulled the woman out of the car to beat her up.
Her three companions joined her in attacking the hapless woman. One of the women reportedly held the victim�s hands while the others hit her.
A friend of the victim later arrived on the scene and took her to a hospital.
The police reportedly recorded a statement by the victim while she was undergoing treatment at the emergency unit of Hamad General Hospital.
THE PENINSULA



Report: Woman sustains multiple injuries after fight over parking space in West Bay

A woman in her thirties has been rushed to hospital after being set upon by four women in a row over a parking space in West Bay, the Peninsula reports. Apparently, the victim had parked her car outside of a restaurant in Dafna, and was waiting for a friend to bring out their food when a Land Cruiser pulled up alongside her, presumably double-parking there.
The female driver of that vehicle asked the first driver to vacate her parking spot, which the woman refused to do, Arabic daily Al Sharq reports. One of Land Cruiser passengers then went into the restaurant, and when she came out began to shout at the woman in the other car, before opening the car door and dragging the woman out into the street, the paper says.
�Beaten severely�
Then, three other females in the Land Cruiser left the car to join their friend, and they all took part in an attack on the woman, repeatedly hitting her in the face and body, tearing at her clothes and pulling her hair, says Al Sharq.
When the victim�s friend emerged from the restaurant and saw what was going on, she tried to help, but was held back by three passengers from the Land Cruiser, reports the paper.
The victim was taken by ambulance to Hamad, where hospital staff notified the police, who then filed a report against the woman�s attackers, according to reports.
Al Sharq says it�s spoken to the victim, who says she was �beaten severely.� She is calling for the case to come to trial. The victim�s name has not been revealed, and it�s not clear whether the police investigation has resulted in a prosecution.

http://dohanews.co/post/44134180099/report-woman-sustains-multiple-injuries-after-fight
http://dohanews.co/post/44134180099/report-woman-sustains-multiple-injuries-after-fight#ixzz2PZjBQNDL

[Redcar24]

Ok! somebody should take some notes because Qatar is no longer a safe place to live ...................

At least this post brought some light to jobs and the situations in Qatar.. Be sure there should be some reason for concern...