The Story of the Agent and the Abaya Owner!

In our professional lives, some decisions can crush ambition, and rushing to achieve one’s goals can also have negative consequences.

On social media, I heard a humorous story told by a young man. He said: “A young colleague joined our department. He was diligent and worked with sincerity; he had no absences and took no sick leave. After a while, we learned that if he received an ‘excellent’ rating, the Undersecretary would grant him a year-end bonus of approximately 200 Kuwaiti dinars. So, he worked even harder.”

At the end of the year, he achieved his goal and received the “excellent” rating. He then expected to receive the bonus. However, when the list of bonus recipients was published, it included only three female employees, and he was not among them. He erupted in anger, exclaiming, “How is this possible? I worked hard, yet the bonus went to women and not to me?”

His colleague advised him, “Be patient. Patience is all you have. Perhaps next year you will be selected.” But he was unconvinced and lived in a state of anger and tension. He decided to meet the Undersecretary, whose authority allows him to select only three employees for the bonus, not everyone who received an excellent rating.

His colleague recounted: “Before we entered the Undersecretary’s office, my friend opened a bag he was holding, took out a bisht (a traditional cloak), and put it on over his ghutra and agal. Everyone in the waiting area was shocked and stunned. He then entered the Undersecretary’s office, without offering greetings, wearing the bisht and speaking loudly: ‘You only give bonuses to women... and not to me?’”

The Undersecretary, surprised by this unexpected situation, replied: “Enough, enough. I will give you a bonus from my own pocket.”

This humorous anecdote, drawn from real life, is what I wanted to share in this article.

When I was working as the Human Resources Manager at one institution, I requested a list of employees who had not received promotions for several years. Indeed, we found a small number of such employees, and we instructed their supervisors to promote them. Interestingly, these employees had not even requested promotions and seemed to have been forgotten for years.

The point is that haste may not achieve the desired goal. That young man was in a hurry, but every system has rules and procedures that an employee must not bypass.

There is a cunning foreign management tactic: If you want to get rid of a smart employee who constantly demands a promotion without merit, simply promote him and assign him to a position for which he is unqualified. Consequently, he will make mistakes, as the role requires accumulated experience. He will inevitably commit violations, leading to formal warnings and ultimately termination of his employment.

The proverb says, “Haste brings regret,” and this holds true in all circumstances.