Lebanon’s prolonged economic, political and social crises have led to mass emigration that could last years, according to the Crisis Observatory at the American University of Beirut. In response, several initiatives have sought solutions to enable Lebanese talents to work remotely for overseas companies, thus providing an incentive for them to stay in Lebanon.
Carla Richa wakes up at 8am, gets dressed, prepares a coffee, and sits at a corner office at her home in Beirut. From Monday to Friday, she creates her own work environment to meet the needs of her clients in Dubai and Egypt.
“I have been working remotely for an international advertising agency as a Performance Marketing Executive for over a year now,” Richa told FRANCE 24. “I feel lucky because I have a good job and I’m gaining an amazing experience, all while staying in Lebanon and living comfortably next to my family and friends.”
In 2020, the World Bank warned that migrating was “becoming an increasingly desperate option” for the Lebanese. Two years into the country’s economic and social crises, Lebanon’s Crisis Observatory at the American University of Beirut noted that Lebanon was witnessing a third mass exodus since the late 19th century, with hundreds of thousands of Lebanese fleeing the country.
“Given the ongoing crises, the Lebanese are grabbing any chance to leave, and this is mostly because they cannot find suitable job opportunities in Lebanon. But the high migration rate will have long lasting effects on the country and the only way to respond to this trend is through having overseas companies outsource to Lebanese talents,” said Joseph Nemer, regional growth lead at Jobs for Lebanon, a US-registered non-governmental organisation that aims to bring international remote working opportunities to Lebanon’s skilled labour market by identifying and connecting international businesses with local service providers.
Remote working for overseas companies as a trend has existed in Lebanon since the mid-'90s, yet the economic crisis has transformed it into a necessity, according to Neal El-Jor Taouk, executive director of Jobs for Lebanon.
“Bringing in opportunities that provide a stable salary gives security to the Lebanese, which in turn leads to better quality of life. If you have peace of mind and are able to live comfortably, you won’t feel the need to leave,” El-Jor Taouk said.
Since its launch in 2020, Jobs for Lebanon has generated a database of more than14,000 candidates and posted more than 4,000 job opportunities online, of which 60 percent were remote.
“Our volunteers facilitate the connection between employers and the Lebanese and give candidates the needed tools to be career-ready through mentorship, career coaching, and jobs matching their profiles,” El-Jor Taouk told FRANCE 24. “We are trying to build this ecosystem to transform Lebanon into an outsourcing hub and encourage the Lebanese to stay in the country.”
Challenges faced by remote workers
“When do I stop responding to requests from my job?” Richa asks, explaining one of the challenges of remote working. “It took me a while to put limits on my working hours and realise that working remotely requires a lot of organisational skills.”
One of the main challenges of working remotely is building an adequate team culture, as employees cannot see each other most of the time, according to Wissam Youssef, co-founder and CEO of the multinational technology consulting firm CME, which provides skilled workers to global companies.
“The country’s weak infrastructure on the other hand, including slow Wi-Fi and low electricity supply, is not as much of an issue,” Youssef told FRANCE 24. “This is mostly because those who are working remotely are being paid fairly well and can therefore mitigate the challenges through accessing proper tools, such as buying a UPS [uninterruptable power supply] system to make up for the long hours of electricity cuts.”
With the growing brain drain, Mark Jlailaty, founder and chief marketing officer of Joint Media House, a marketing agency that offers a fully operational outsourced marketing department for companies, explained that another challenge is actually finding the right candidates for the job.
“To respond to this, we have developed an academy to teach the needed skills for the global market and provide the Lebanese with a chance to grow, career-wise,” he said. “We hope to ensure that we can keep as many talents as we can in the country.”
While some people have chosen to leave, others might not have this choice, or they might wholeheartedly choose to stay. Remote working is for those people, El-Jor Taouk explained.
“I wake up every day feeling happy. Is it because of my remote job? Yes. Because it allows me to do everything I want to do while staying in Lebanon,” Richa said.
.png?w=600)
