Book excerpt: The notion of "rentier mentality" has haunted the literature on the Gulf States for almost 40 years now. However, few studies have actually provided insight into how the nationals themselves perceive their career motivators, employability and productivity. The eleven studies of this book present both empirical findings and case studies that reveal what nationals expect from their workplace and what hinders them from a personal, meaningful contribution. While it seems that an initially high work motivation is often annihilated by structural impediments such as a strong hierarchy or widespread wasta, it also seems that many nationals fail to understand the urgent requirements of the GCC labour markets.