Dubai Flipside

How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days

Well, maybe 45 days actually, but the number does not matter.

And it was the job of one of my flatmates who was fired (?) two days ago.

This is his story....

He started right off the good mark. Immediately after the final interview, Jewel (my housemate, that is) thought the job offer to be generous. He was to work as a Site Engineer (one of his projects was in one of the upcoming Malls here in Dubai, opening this September) for an interior works company we will call Galactic Interiors Constructions (not the real name, though but close enough). On his first day of work, he was issued a brand new Chevy sedan, a pair of good-looking safety shoes and promised a mobile phone. His starting salary, a bit modest 5,000 AED but with a promise of raise on his permanence (...or regularization to us Flips).

Things are looking up for Jewel, and the man was a very good Interiors Civil Engineer. Bosses in the office were impressed, as he would giddyingly tell us very night he comes home to our flat. The car was a big improvement to an old pick-up he used to drive in his previous job. Though not given accommodation pad, Jewel thought that housing was less of a problem and this would be a non-issue once he gets his employment visa.

So everyday, Jewel drove to their factory, got to knew fellow Flips in the office and got a cajoling for having been given a car ahead of them who were already in the company longer than he was.
Luckily for Jewel, he was still holding on to his GCC driver's license , courtesy of his previous job, and fellow Flips at work had none. From factory, Jewel would drive to his project sites in the city and watched over the project's pacing making sure that every concern would be addressed and relayed to his SAF boss.

Two weeks and all I heard from Jewel was praise to the company, and how huge was the potential of his career making it in Galactic Interiors Construction. Jewel was a hardworking engineer...he stayed up late in his projects site and reports for work at 6am, where most Dubaians would still be asleep. That he would do for the next two weeks more. His Thursday halfday off would still turn out a one-day job, some Fridays are even spent shuttling to the site to check completed jobs. Jewel was a deadline-obsessive engineer and a quality conscious one, rejecting factory-made interiors (aluminum dividers and shelves) if they seemed inferior and needed reworking.

But slowly, things change. At the middle of fourth week in Galactic, Jewel started mentioning about minor hiccups in their projects. How a designer in the factory would be submitting his work too late, site work at times came to a halt because drawings/design instructions were not yet given by Ibrahim (not his real name, again). How his gasoline reimbursements would be questioned:

Accountant 1 (Mohammad): How come you pile up too much gasoline expenses in a week? You should not be charging the company too much. I should know, we have the same car and I don't pay more than 30 AED for a gas in a week.

Jewel: My friend, every day I drive to the site from the factory, in some cases more than once if there are problems. I have more than one sites to visit and some projects have taken me to Al Ain and Abu Dhabi already. You my friend would only drive from home to the factory at most twice a day.

Accountant 1: (Throwing a bad look as if to imply, " you'd think you got me?"). I am not releasing your reimbursements.

And poor Jewel had to bring his gas receipts to his SAF boss who then had to personally come down to the Cashier's office instructing them to release Jewel's gas.

And Jewel still did his job normally, without grudge but without failing too to share his work anecdotes to his flatmates. Day after day, he would put in as much as 12 hours of work (without charging overtime, to which his sister reacted, don't let your bosses get used to that), catching up sleep at his midday break only to be interrupted by bosses' call for project updates.

At the end of his first month, Jewel got to knew that his laborers are not given their wages yet. It has been delayed for several days already, and not a few has openly complained about it to his face. Then his project at one site got hit by a big delay because construction materials are not being delivered on time because Galactic has failed to pay them for their previous purchases in the first place.

The problems was becoming larger and larger and there are no days that he told his boss about it. However, in engineering works, Jewel was wont to solving the problem first or at least proposed a solution to it before ticking off the boss at the bat. Thus, his SAF boss has grown to like him as well as his Flip collegues at works. His attitude to the job has made quite a good impression on his coworkers and superior.

Then one day, the other Flip (who is actually a foreman) and his men were all absent in the same day. And the Flip foreman was already out for more than a week and failed to make a thorough project turnover. Jewel was left all alone at the site. One design issue cropped up again and he had to go back to the factory to rework for himself the design defect. He informed his SAF boss and gave him the signal to continue.

Just then, Anwar, the MD entered the picture. That same day, he decided to visit the project site. After all, the showroom will have to open the following week and their German clients have become increasingly flustered about their deadline. Upon knowing that the Flip foreman and his flip men were nowhere to be found, and Jewel was beset by site problems still, he called for the SAF Manager and other department manager to discuss the problem and the danger of missing the deadline.

After a heated meeting, Anwar the MD came out of the door to declare that all Flips working on the site would be terminated; the Flip foreman, the Flip carpenters, including the Flip Site Engineer, Jewel. The announcement devastated SAF (who by the way is still on visit visa) and argued about how this could even more jeopardise the project. Then, as a gallant face-saving gesture, SAF also decided to quit.

Anwar, realizing maybe that there must be something wrong (...Hello!?) then said that SAF should remain and the Flips too except for one....Jewel. Why?

He is still on visit visa and only here for a month so far....

SAF was of course still completely aghast. Jewel was being sacrificed to give some credence to the earlier decision.

Now is it me or is there some Arab-style management lesson here:

I don't care how well you performed in your job, how much sleepless night you put in, no matter how many problem you can solve on your own, but since I already said so, no matter how foolish it was, you're still fired!

or

Reward the incompetent and the nincompoops, but fire the Performing guy just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time!

Then why the hell the seemingly snooty recruitment process here? Looking for Western - educated (or US/UK/SAF/Aus/NZ), with local experience (with the career globalization of most white-collar jobs, does this really matter on the first day of your job?), and Arabic / English/** (fill in the blanks) speaking who can suck up to the bosses every time?

Meantime, Jewel is in Kish Island thinking about his next maneouver moves and probably wondering, what the heck did just happen?

posted by YelJay @ 3:25 AM