Malta’s demographic landscape has long been changing and the workplace is no exception. A noteworthy phenomenon, however, has recently emerged where two prominent Maltese companies, Vivian Corporation and GO, have awarded their coveted ‘Employee of the Year’ accolades to two non-Maltese employees.

Slavcho Ilievski, Network Solutions Technician was awarded GO’s 2023 Employee of the Year, two years after joining GO in 2021 and was described as a key pillar behind GO’s network solutions.

On the other hand, Indika Thilakarathne from Sri Lanka was the recipient of the latest ‘Employee of the Year’ Award at Vivian. Indika, who is Vivian’s pharmaceutical warehouse supervisor has been working at Vivian for the past year.

One might find this occurrence intriguing. Others may easily brush this off as a mere coincidence. However, the notion that non-Maltese workers tend to work more and harder is there.

So, the questions that need to be asked are: What makes non-Maltese workers seem more spirited and resilient in their work? Is it perhaps because they depend more upon their job if they want to remain in Malta? Does this make them more willing to work harder to retain their employment? On the other hand, does it also mean that Maltese workers tend to take it easier because they take their employment more for granted?

For sure, this argument also prompts questions about the dynamics of the local workforce and the potential implications of this trend. If anything, the recognition of foreign talent in Maltese workplaces encourages us to ponder the evolving nature of employment dynamics in Malta.

Are these instances indicative of a broader trend, suggesting that foreign workers may be outshining their Maltese counterparts in terms of performance and dedication?

Or do they signify a strategic shift in organisational priorities where companies are making an extra effort to embrace diversity and foster a merit-based culture?

For Godfrey Baldacchino, Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology at the University of Malta, the fact that two non-Maltese employees have been awarded such an award comes as no surprise.

“There are over 100,000 workers in Malta who were not born here. So, surely, it would make sense to expect one or more of them to eventually be recognised for their work with such awards, and regularly too,” said Prof Baldacchino pointing out that the ‘Non-Maltese’ reference remains somewhat unclear given that there are many non-Malta-born residents who have been living in Malta for many years.

“In principle, this effectively covers over 190 countries in the world, of which over 160 outside the EU and these include the Filipino nurse, the Serbian waitress, the Indian delivery guy and the South African game developer. Some of them can speak Maltese better than most. What ‘gives them away’ is their name.”

“At Vivian, we have always believed in equality, and we constantly seek to promote multiculturalism and integration at our company. Indika gave us a beautiful opportunity to learn more about his culture and about how different cultures can effectively enrich the workplace,” said Vivian’s managing director Denise Borg Manche

Describing him as “a very beautiful person who laughs a lot and is always wearing a smile on his face,” Borg Manche added that “Indika is very loved because he is always full of initiative and so ready to help, very meticulous in his job. that our teams found it very easy to vote for him as Vivian’s employee of the year.”

Prof Baldacchino feels that people who find themselves in a foreign country seek to compensate for this in various ways.

“These include an extra motivation and drive to succeed and to prove to oneself, and to others, that the move to a foreign country was indeed a correct one, and therefore justified,” he added.

“At GO, the Employee of the Year award is based on performance and the embodiment of the company’s values such as team spirit, obsessing about our customers and acting like owners and encourage our people to praise their colleagues on particular jobs they undertake and whenever they feel the individual would have gone above and beyond their call of duty,” said Mandy Calleja, Head of Corporate Communications at GO.

“Through the Rewards and Recognition programme we adopt, our Network Solutions Technician Slavcho Ilievski, got the most recognitions thus being awarded GO’s Employee of the Year award.”

“We are proud to be a multi-cultural employer with a workforce of people from all over the world. This strengthens us a purpose-led organisation which drives culture and values every single day. After all, it is our values that determine our behaviour at the workplace,” added Calleja.

“What’s definite is that the diverse workplace with its diverse organisational culture is upon us. We should look at the multicultural fabric that is contemporary Malta as an opportunity,” concluded Professor Baldacchino.