A Millennial's Recap: Decade at a Middle East airline and employment tenure

Note: All opinions are my own and this is a recap of my work experience having worked/lived in the Middle East. This is the third one of many I plan to publish, helping to educate people about the differences compared to what you see in mature markets (i.e. US, EU, Australia, etc.).

If you missed my previous ones, you can see them below

• A Millennial's recap: perspective of work employment in the Middle East region
• A Millennial's Recap: Taking a Career Break

Let me get the obvious thing out of the way - if you've seen my LinkedIn profile, you'll notice that I previously worked at Qatar Airways for 11+ years.

While there has been so much talk about how people should spend an average of 3-5 years and then hop to another job to help you advance your career and salary/paycheck (common in US/EU/etc.), I spent 11 years in the same role. You might think it's stupid or insane, especially being in the same role for such a long period.

There have been people who have likely spent even longer in the same role at the same employer (until their retirement as per the country's Labour Law in the Middle East region). Those people are usually our parents' generation, instilled with the belief that loyalty will reward progress (in recent times, that's been thrown out the window with most employers - it comes down to 'brown nosing' and sweet talking among cultural cliques, which I'll cover separately).

While also sharing lessons learned from working at a global airline like Qatar Airways, I want to help answer two questions related to employment in the Middle East region (most likely you've been asking yourself the same things):

1. What's the median/optimal length of employment at the same employer?
2. Is it worth working 10+ years with the same employer?

Lesson from an airline

Did I ever think that I'd start my professional career working for a major airline that has disrupted the establishment when it comes to leisure/business travel? It was like an opportunity that I was ready to board (also, it was quite a big relief as well; working there meant my other obligations would be forgiven as it would count as contributing to the country's economic growth).

It was like my first job at a large global entity, and I had to learn the nitty organizational behaviour. I was like some naive "fresh off the boat" adolescent packed with enthusiasm and passion, out to prove my worth and that I was worthy of the investment.

Rather than bore you, I've decided to put them into concise bullet lists.

• When you're in a large organization, learn to curb the enthusiasm as processes and approvals would mean that things would take time. Those would drive up your frustration.
• It's good to make friends at work, but it's also crucial that you draw a hard line to avoid mixing work with leisure. Sadly, that didn't stick for very long as being on the social media team was like answering the calls to the Senior/Executive Management. Still, you learn to draw boundaries where possible to avoid awkward scenarios.
• Working on social media doesn't mean that you just sit and post stuff then you're done. The scope of the role had evolved as it slowly started taking priority for many things. It can mean that you learn to take on other skills/responsibilities (like how I juggled advertising, content production work, logistics, the numbers crunching/reporting guy, etc.), while also learning to weave the business objectives with your knowledge (ask me in person and I can share so many stories of people who thought we could do miracles. Some didn't make the concerted effort to understand the industry during the day-to-day work).
• Make an effort to know people in key departments. You never know when you need subject matter experts (SMEs) for projects required by the business.
• Cliques (i.e. workplace mafias, where people who speak/hail from the same ethnic background) tend to be common, especially among Arabs and South Asians (Indians/Pakistanis/etc.). They have a net negative impact, as they also tend to breed and instil behaviours which really can impact your work. I'll expand on this in a separate article, since they don't have any net positive contribution.
• Learn to trust and support your team, and they'll have your back. This leads to sharing the following quote

The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other. - Mario Puzo (if you don't know him, then you don't know The Godfather)

• Learn to see through people (both within your team and also other departments you frequent) who might just be 'bad apples'/'venomous snakes' hiding in plain sight; they also serve to sabotage your work/efforts just to show they're doing something.
• Don't get involved in office politics/drama.
• You'd unofficially become the 'know-it-all'/'go-to-person in the team or department. Although that is a good sign, it can also lead to other challenges.
• Try to do something that is different yet also intersects with your work, to keep your cognitive functions fresh and thirsty for knowledge.
• People can be risk averse until they see the competition doing the same thing that was discussed. Then the vicious cycle begins on why we weren't the first.
• There is always light at the end of the tunnel. How soon it approaches might be influenced by you, but karma eventually comes around.

Overall, I'd say that being in the thick of the action helped me to learn more about the industry and even my specialised niches. On another note, I met some 'fun' people (see below).

How long is too long?

It's not that easy when it comes to job hopping in the Middle East region, since you're also looking to have your residency sponsorship transferred from one employer to another. There have been many stories of people who said they'd come to work for a few years but then decided to stay longer.

Articles from Fast Company/Inc./Business Insider/etc. have spoken about this - ranging from 2+ years and even an average of 4-5 years. There's just one problem with that - it isn't easily applicable to employment here in the Middle East region. Many choose to stick with the same employer (reasons can vary) until they have something at hand. It's a calculated risk of moving up or trying something different.

This is an individual choice. There is no right or wrong answer (sometimes there is, but it's quite circumstantial). As for me, it was more than a decade that put me in the front seat of many challenges (the GCC blockade until January 2021, and the COVID-19 pandemic that turned travel completely around).

10+ years and more?

If you're a millennial (or Gen Z), you've likely seen your parents stick it out at the same employer until retirement. Not many may have moved up the career ladder much, and they may have stayed in the same role for a long time with just pay increases.

If you're planning to commit such a long period to the same employer, that's your decision. However, it pays to see if there are any benefits you'd get. Sometimes, the nature of the benefits can vary based on the industry of the employer; they could also be one-time, recurring, or near permanent.

For me, I have the privilege of enjoying discount tickets as a former employee - a perk for the number of years I've worked at the airline. At the same time, it helped to increase my severance contribution while I've been still looking for work.

Also, I've seen Reddit flooded by people in various country-level subreddits asking if it's possible to find a job in <insert title based on experience> or even out of desperate circumstances people venting with all hope is lost.

Final Thoughts

I could ramble on about other subtopics, but those will have their own dedicated space to expand and discuss them.

On another note, my close friend and I started a podcast focused on technology/digital and social media topics relevant to the Middle East region. Do listen to it on Spotify/Apple Podcasts/Anghami/Amazon Music and watch it on YouTube.

We have an episode planned on LinkedIn behaviours in the MENA region and looking for input from users in the region. Do you have something to share? Please fill out the form via the link below.

Please subscribe so that you'll know when the latest episode is published.

Follow my account if you want to get a first-hand perspective with Middle East relevance, as I'm planning to cover topics that include the following (not an exhaustive list):

1. Privilege Passport (offsetting its impact)
2. Perks you'd never consider from your employer
3. and more that spring to my mind

Anything you'd want to get a perspective on that is not listed above? Comment below!

P.S: If you like this article, follow my LinkedIn profile!

I'm curating the tech/digital/social media news by making it relevant to the MENA region. Do check out my blog 'Geeked Out Nomad' where I try to regionalise global news since much of it is always focused on markets like the US/UK/EU/etc.

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