Both my son and daughter-in-law have been telecommuting to work for the past five years. This has allowed them to work in the relaxing and peaceful atmosphere of their own home. It also saves them the challenge of having to negotiate roadways during the peak of morning and evening rush hour. And with the downturn in the US economy telecommuting provides significant savings such as not having to fill the tank with gas as often, worrying about an extensive work wardrobe or having to buy something for lunch each day. They and their respective employers have also recognized additional benefits. They find themselves more efficient and effective in doing their respective jobs. They do not face constant interruptions or distractions. Since becoming new parents this has allowed them to keep their child at home (with nanny) rather than send him to daycare and they get to witness all those important firsts of their child!
So after observing my son and daughter-in-law and how well telecommuting has worked for them it makes me wonder, would it work in Saudi Arabia? Are there many individuals (meaning Saudis) in Saudi Arabia who telecommute? According to this article published last year in Arab News, Muhammad Mandoura, a specialist in information technology and the owner of a consultancy firm says “Telecommuting seems fit for Saudi society, which is grappling with the moral implications of allowing men and women to work together.” Women in Saudi Arabia are also prohibited from driving themselves to work and therefore have to rely on a (male) driver to get to and from work. Telecommuting removes the dependency of transport to and from work for Saudi women which also results in additional cost savings.
Some who are against the concept of telecommuting in Saudi Arabia feel that an employee would be less productive working from home than at an office where actions can be observed and supervised. Those who hold this mindset believe that the lifestyle of Saudi Arabia prohibits individuals to acquire the self-discipline required to be a successful telecommuter.
What do you think? Would telecommuting work for Saudis? Can anyone share experiences or knowledge of Saudis who telecommute or which companies in Saudi Arabia advocate and support telecommuting?
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I think telecommuting is the last thing Saudi Arabia should do. That way they can keep women locked into the house indefenitely and the whole population will become more neurotic as they allready are.
Telecommuting will work in saudi, yes they’ll happily hide the women but it will also give the women earning power without having to rely on someone for transport etc., i thnk it will be a much better balance and good to get more women in the workforce.
I pesonally would love to telecommute , but NOT if my spouse is @ home too. i don’t think i could deal with that 24*7 , need some space and also need to meet other people, anyway not an option in our line of work at all. so just a pipe dream for me
I think it is just the ticket for Saudi sensibilities…Personally I would love to see women have the CHOICE to work outside the house or not and maybe someday that choice will come. But for now this might be a very good option, especially if she has small children at home and yet would like to use her brains, skills and earn some money.
My understanding is that the quran says that women can earn money and without any sort of qualms keep what they get. In a world where women have few choices of power and due to the restrictions on driving even fewer perhaps in work, this could give her the more equal footing she seeks.
Let’s face it money talks no matter what society one lives in! I say go for it!!! More power to women!
The problem with Telecommuting, not every person can do his job from home.. with the amount of social pressure/random guest visits.. I think it could be difficult to find stable output… with that and lack of self motivation. it would do little to convince employers to take that option…
It might have a good future when the job market and work force become more competitive and professional in the future.. Its not hard to see that many Saudis in the job market sometimes withhold from getting careers in the private or free lance and try to get a government job instead.. even though these jobs can be pretty rewarding.
Very interesting points and perspectives.
My son and daughter-in-law have worked out their schedule well. They each have their own office in different sections of the home (he is downstairs, she is up). They keep regular hours. It is good for one who likes structure and discipline.
DW: you do raise an interesting point about the random guests. I can see where perhaps some family or friends would not take a Saudi woman working from home seriously and this is where the woman would have to demonstrate her intent. If random guests drop in she could perhaps tell them as she receives them that now she must work later to make up for the lost time? I’m sure with Saudi known for its hospitality she probably would not refuse to receive guests.
I dont think it would work well because in my experience, the Middle Eastern countries and their societies generally lack a work ethic which would make such widespread programs successful.
Productivity seems to be rather low when workers are required to show up for work, let alone if they were allowed to sit at home and govern themselves. Besides, telecommuting can only be widespread when economies become high tech based and Saudi and the Middle East are a long way off to the point where any significant percentage of the population could be employed in jobs where telecommuting is an option.
I work at in international school here in Saudi. When the King declared that all schools must be closed we went ‘virtual’. The entire school- junior kindergarten through 12 grade (American system) was taught on-line for 1 or 2 weeks, depending on the age level. This had it’s ups and downs. I am sure it will happen again and we need to be ready for it.
Our major problem was internet connections. We are not in one of the large cities and with all students and teachers home for an extended time many people resorted to the internet for entertainment. Our students and teacher struggled with being able to chat, have forums, and view video’s on line because of the amount of traffic on the internet and the availability of the good quality internet where we are. It was very nice to be able to work from home when my little one was not feeling well. It does take dedication to do this~ there are so many distractions available at home that can hinder your work ability. I can see telecommuting working with the proper people, training, services and work ethnic.
@Queen Mommy – that is quite interesting to learn how your school did a work-around during the closures through virtual education.
I wonder if the internet problems also had to do with not enough bandwidth coupled with so many using the internet due to closures and excessive use?
I have done various kinds of telecommuting from Riyadh and continue to do some while in the States. I’ve also had past positions where I have done most of my work from home and very much enjoy it.
I think it could work in Saudi…it is of course dependent on the individual, type of work and culture of the company.
I loved the idea ,,and i think it would be suitable for Saudis or at least for non Saudis who feel jailed here like me
but i prefer to work in an open and big environment just because money is not always the sole target of any job.
anyway i tried that by working just for a month as an internet rater with an international company called LIONBRIDGE but i couldn’t deal with the lack of communication between the company and the employee.
I also suggest for anyone looking for a job in Riyadh, I have found http://www.bayt.com to be useful. I’ve seen the occasional position advertised for a woman and telecommuting.
Queen Mommy, whats the story about the International Schools closure? I really don’t understand what happened here.. did the King order all International schools to be closed? I am baffled, I don’t think I heard about that.. We had a lot of expats in hospitals who left because their children need education.. we thought it was just because our locale international school was not satisfying for them.. I guess that assumption was incorrect.. would you mind sharing what happened?
DW, the school closure refers to the delay in schools reopening as a precaution against h1n1. It wasn’t a permanent thing and schools are now open in Saudi.
Interesting, I think that due to the lack of work ethic, it would NOT work in ksa.
I like the idea of having home and work somewhat separate. It is great to feel relief when you walk through your door, and know you are back home.
It would be better for the environment though.
I guess that there are some pros and cons in using telecommuting.
In the West and especially in law firms, we are using this system a lot. You can work from home with a little device called “SecurID”. You just need to connect to the interface of the law firm and enter few passwords and your entire computer and all the database from the firm will be on your laptop screen.
Telecommuting is nice if you have enough discipline to work from home and if you don’t mind not getting fresh air by going to work. I mean staying home all day even in different rooms might drive one nuts!
As for Saudi Arabia, it may be a good way of involving more and more women into work. It will also make women more independant i.e. not depending on the driver, and they will also acquire more freedom in handling their work.
But it doesn’t facilitate communication in a way that when at work, if you have questions, you can go to one of your colleagues and ask. With telecommuting you can send the said colleague an email but the “contact” is more human when asking directly face to face.
I am an advocate of telecommuting. As said, there are multiple ways to ensure security of data. And in regards to contact with colleagues, in addition to emails one can easily have video chats via skype or google talk for example which work well.
I’m pretty sure that most of my Saudi colleagues telecommute already. What else could explain the regular extended absences?
Joe, you underestimate the power of kabsa and laban at lunch time.
To be honest, Saudis don’t lack work ethics as individuals.. I think you can be in many places around Saudi where the environment is very professional and competitive.. What Saudis lack usually is self motivation.. it the spoon feeding system… the do as you are told management. Because of social interactions for example.. you will see the person in charge reduce the whole effort of his department to moot thanks to wasta or social pressure.. invalidating all of his employees work instead of soldiering the position of his department.
I know and have seen many Saudis whom I don’t know who are very motivated and professional. And I have worked either for large Saudi organizations or independently as a consultant with many Saudis and it has been an enjoyable experience.
I wonder if they sell remote access software in this country? I looked at logmein site and they don’t have arabic version, that’s strange!
There is some available but I’m not sure about arabic versions.
I checked some software for telecommuting (sometimes I’m so curious) and I found only Radmin in Arabic(http://www.radmin.com/sa/). Though I suppose they don’t sell a lot in Saudi Arabia. To my mind telecommuting won’t succeed in this country.
@BWG – I can relate to the curiousity! A large number of Saudis I know in the business world work with English applications. This is just a hunch on my part but I think that anyone starting to telecommute would likely use many programs which are in the English language although preparation, sending and/or uploading of docs and presentations could be in Arabic.