Abu Dhabi: Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar said he prefers hiring Indians because of their strong work ethic and willingness to stay available even at odd hours.
Speaking at the Make it in the Emirates summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Alabbar linked his hiring choices to hard work and discipline over talent.
“There’s a saying: hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. And this is why I like to hire Indians, because they answer the phone even at one o’clock in the morning,” Alabbar said, according to Gulf News.
The billionaire businessman, whose company developed Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, said he values consistency over raw intelligence.
“I always tell people, from my own perspective, my IQ is average, but my hard work is the best,” he said. “I believe in hard work.”
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‘We care about our reputation’
More than 3.5 million Indian nationals live and work in the UAE, making them the largest expatriate community in the country. Construction, Alabbar’s business, is a key industry employing Indians, alongside retail and hospitality.
According to Alabbar, surviving repeated economic crises depends less on talent and more on discipline, from monitoring execution closely to staying responsive during unpredictable situations.
“You need to check your work. You need to study every opportunity and know where to take risks, bring people, monitor their work and keep pushing,” he said.
Alabbar also reflected on lessons from the 2008 financial crash and the Covid pandemic, saying businesses in the UAE have become more resilient after operating through years of disruption.
“When you learn from 2008 and from Covid, you have to build an agile and resilient business that can handle these circumstances,” he said.
He added that during recent crises, Emaar had assured employees there would be no layoffs or salary cuts, arguing that companies are ultimately judged by how they treat workers during difficult times.
“We care about our reputation among the society in front of our leadership,” Alabbar said. “It’s important for us to always be up to this or to live up to these names and the name of our country.”