Do you benefit from wasta? This ancient and deeply-rooted practice can sometimes prove beneficial in the context of corporate success—but only if certain specifications are met first.
Jokingly referred to as “Vitamin W,” wasta ( وَاسِطة) is a prevalent and powerful force in Bahrain and the Arab world. Literally translated as “mediation” or “intercession,” wasta is the underlying assumption that a person who has connections with people in authority will use those connections to help family and friends gain advantage, whether to get a job or sidestep red tape. Wasta is not a new concept. It has a long, and generally respectable, history of managing relations between families, clans, or tribes through intermediaries. Queen Rania of Jordan refers to wasta as the “bank of goodwill”—that is, the more you draw upon and perform wasta for the right reasons, the more assets you will accrue. Unfortunately, despite its noble roots, the use of wasta today is associated with nepotism, favoritism, and bias, if not outright bribery and corruption.
…DESPITE INCREASED AWARENESS OF THE NEED FOR TRANSPARENCY AND FAIRNESS, IT SEEMS THAT WASTA IS HERE TO STAY. THIS IS BECAUSE WASTA IS A CULTURAL PHENOMENON WITH DEEP ROOTS, AND IS THEREFORE DIFFICULT TO UNLEARN.
Wasta, as it relates to the workplace, can determine with whom business is done, as well as who is hired, fired, or promoted—and herein lies the problem. Wasta-based practices can lead to a host of organizational issues. It places incapable people in important positions, and spreads negative perceptions amongst otherwise-engaged employees. Employees who have been hired based upon wasta often feel a sense of entitlement, and therefore lack the motivation to do a good job. This comes at the expense of other employees who have to pick up the slack! Wasta has also become a barrier to good corporate governance, and the creation of corporate cultures of transparency and trust. Global management consultancy firm Gallup discovered that the Middle Eastern region has the highest levels of active employee disengagement in the world, and they attributed this, in part, to the prevalence of wasta. To be fair, leaders in Bahrain are taking note, and wasta is becoming less acceptable in the corporate environment. Many companies and government agencies are now working to eliminate wasta. Changes to recruitment, including written examinations, psychometric testing, and computerized application databases—in addition to decentralization in recruitment—are all designed to combat this powerful force. However, despite increased awareness of the need for transparency and fairness, it seems that wasta is here to stay. This is because wasta is a cultural phenomenon with deep roots, and is therefore difficult to unlearn.
It also doesn’t help the situation that Bahrain’s collectivist society (in which family and relationships play a dominant role) and its high power/distance index denote a society in which employees are often unwilling to contradict their superiors, thereby nurturing the continuation of the practice.
…LEADERS IN BAHRAIN MUST TAKE AN HONEST LOOK AT THEIR OWN ASSUMPTIONS SURROUNDING WASTA, AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS IN TERMS OF WASTA-BASED PRACTICES.
We may have to accept wasta in one form or another. Corporate culture gurus say that values, or shared beliefs, are more powerful in driving employee behavior than formal hierarchy ever could be. Now, think about the shared beliefs that stand behind the behavior of wasta: beliefs surrounding community, loyalty, reciprocity, and family. Leaders must then ask themselves: “How can I leverage these powerful drivers in order to shape organizational cultures that work to support success, and environments that allow employees to feel safe enough to share creative thoughts, collaborate, and innovate?”
With fair and authentic leadership, this is a plausible future reality. First, however, leaders in Bahrain must take an honest look at their own assumptions surrounding wasta, and understand what is happening in their organizations in terms of wasta-based practices. Once this has happened, a strategy must be drawn up—not necessarily a plan for cultural change, but instead a cultural awakening of sorts.