United Arab Emirates

Greetings

Man greeting Man – A light handshake and sometime a kiss on the nose or both cheeks is common. Placing your right hand on your heart or chest after shaking hands is a show of great respect to the person you are greeting. Handshakes may linger a bit. A more traditional greeting between men involves grasping each other’s right hand, placing the left hand on the other’s right shoulder and exchanging kisses on each cheek.

Woman greeting Woman – Friends and family usually kiss on the left cheek three times, or at least touch their left cheek to the other woman’s right cheek three times.

Man greeting Woman –There is little to no touching between men and women during greetings in public. Women may extend a sleeve-covered wrist or hand to be shaken. Always wait for the woman to initiate, if at all.

Communication Style

• Emiratis tend to favor an indirect style of communication over a direct style. Avoiding confrontation and saving face is paramount.
• Being tactful and less direct when communicating is appreciated.
  

Personal Space & Touch

• Personal space is very important especially for members of the opposite sex. A little more than arm’s length is the norm. This space may be less between friends and family members of the same sex.
• Touching members of the opposite sex during conversation is an absolute no-no and definitely offensive.
• There is a fair amount of touching between men. It is common to see men holding hands as it is a sign of close friendship.

Eye Contact

• Emiratis tend to favor direct eye contact in conversations.
• While staring is not considered rude or an invasion if privacy, it is best for foreign men to avoid staring directly into the eyes of an Emirati woman.
• While talking to an elder,there usually is not much direct eye contact as a sign of respect.

Gestures

• Always give, pass, and receive objects (including food) with your right hand as the left is viewed as unclean.
• Avoid pointing with your finger, use the whole hand.
• Always cross your legs at the ankle, not at the knee.
• People beckon one another by extending an arm and making a scratching motion with their fingers (fingers pointed to the floor).

Views of Time

• Punctuality does not tend to be taken seriously. While the usual expectations of being on time for a meeting are present, it is normal for people to be late at meetings, social gatherings, etc.
• People expect things to run slow and for people to be late. Deadlines are very hard to stick to. Also because traffic is quite an issue here, it is normal to use it as an excuse for being late.
• The public transport buses are almost never on time and you may have to wait for an extra hour for a bus.

Gender Roles

• Local women are usually submissive to the leading male be it the father, brother, husband etc. They are expected to respect and obey the wishes of these men.
• However, gender roles are changing, more Arab women are working independently, are more confident and are ambitious and more hard working.
• Most Arab women are expected to wear a burkha or hijab and cover their heads with a scarf or shaila. However, there are no set rules for foreign women and they are usually under no obligation for the same.

Taboos

• Don’t point the toe or heel or any part of the foot at any person.
• Don’t show the sole of your foot or use the foot to move anything as it is viewed as the lowliest body part.

Law & Order

• The legal drinking age in the UAE, where alcohol is allowed and available is 21. It is taken quite seriously and therefore you usually cannot enter a club without ID with your age.
• You are also only allowed to serve and consume alcohol in bars. Or have an alcohol license to buy alcohol outdoors. This is due to the religious and cultural restrictions of the religion Islam.
• The smoking age is 18 though it is taken less seriously than drinking.
• Penalties for possession of drugs is quite severe and may include huge fines, jail time and deportation for expatriates.
• Other laws like crossing a red light and drinking and driving have very serious consequences.
• If you’re in the country during the holy month of Ramadan which is usually 30 days, you are not allowed to play music or eat outdoors and could be fined and even jailed for doing so.

Dress

• For Men - Formal and smart attire. Local Men may wear the traditional dishdasha or kandura or a suit or just formal pants and shirt. For foreigners, conservative suits and ties are common for initial meetings. Darker colors are the way to go. Business casual attire is becoming more and more acceptable in many industries.
• For Women - Local women usually wear hijab or burkha while others wear formal business attire like trousers and knee length skirts. For foreigners, conservative yet stylish is a good choice. For initial meetings, avoid wearing overly expensive accessories, dresses/skirts cut above the knee, low necklines and sleeveless attire. Pants are acceptable.
• Jeans and shorts are not usually worn in business situations.

Titles & Business Cards

• When it comes to business cards it is always best to treat the card with respect and advisable to give and receive cards with the right hand.

Meetings

• You are expected to be on time for meetings but the key speaker or person with the highest position at the meeting can be late.
• It is normal for things to not start on time. You should greet the manager or the person with the highest title first unless you are familiar with another person. After greeting the highest ranking person it is customary to greet the rest of the people in the room in a counter-clockwise direction.
• Small talk is expected, inquiring about the persons health, family,etc., is common.
• Meetings do not tend to follow set schedules. Frequent interruptions and cancellations are common. It's best to just go with the flow.
• It is customary to remove your shoes before entering a carpeted room. When in doubt, follow an Emirati counterpart's lead.

Negotiations

• It's bets to remain calm during negotiations and avoid any hard selling or high-pressure tactics.
• Decisions are usually made from the top down and usually take time. It is important to not come across as impatient or over eager.

In the Classroom

• Generally the school year begins in September and ends in July. However for colleges with different curriculum, it could be different.
• Vacations are generally 2 months during July and August when the highest temperatures occur.
• Both girls and boys are expected to be dressed appropriately, i.e not showing too much skin. Some colleges are more strict than other especially depending on which Emirate the college is located in.
• Tube tops, mini skirts, other clothes revealing too much skin is frowned upon.
• At school level grades are usually given as A-F depending on the highest mark where A is excellent and C is non satisfactory and F is fail. However due to the different types of courses and education systems, other types of grading exist.
• The most common form of teaching is lecturing. Many times discussion and student involvement is not expected and experiential teaching is very rare.