Across the Middle East, the immediate sense of crisis that defined the earlier stages of regional disruption has eased, but it has not been replaced by stability. Instead, many organizations are operating in an environment that remains fluid, difficult to predict, and resistant to long-term planning assumptions.
The urgency of evacuations and rapid response has given way to a more complex set of questions about where employees should be located, how long interim arrangements can continue, and what “normal” mobility looks like in practice. This shift is significant. The challenge is no longer primarily about managing a short-term event, but about navigating an extended period of uncertainty where temporary measures begin to take on a more permanent character.
We call this a state of “permacrisis.” Remote work arrangements continue beyond their original intent, employees and employers weigh whether to return to the region, and business operations adapt to a workforce that is more geographically dispersed than before.
What is a permacrisis?
Permacrisis is a situation where disruption neither escalates nor fully resolves, but instead becomes an ongoing feature of the operating environment. In this context, the concept is increasingly relevant for multinational employers. Mobility frameworks are typically designed either for stable, policy-driven assignments or for clearly defined crisis interventions. What they are less equipped to handle is a prolonged middle ground where decisions need to be both flexible and sustained over time.
What compliance risks emerge when remote work becomes permanent?
One of the clearest manifestations of this tension is the persistence of remote work. What organizations initially put into place as a necessary and temporary solution has, in many cases, extended to the point where it begins to brush up against regulatory thresholds. Immigration status may no longer align with an employee’s actual place of work or be compatible with a change in work activities, while tax residence and social security obligations can shift in ways that are not immediately visible. As we highlighted in a recent blog post about returning to the Middle East, the complexity often arises outside the Middle East itself, where continued personal and economic ties can trigger ongoing tax exposure despite a formal return to the region.
At the same time, the prospect of returning to the Middle East is not as straightforward as it may appear. Time spent abroad can create tax residency elsewhere; reversing that position requires more than simply relocating back. Immigration permissions may have lapsed or require reactivation, and local compliance frameworks may have evolved during the period of absence. As a result, decisions that appear operational on the surface often carry longer-term implications that only become apparent later.
How does permacrisis complicate workforce decisions?
The way decisions get made adds another layer of complexity. In an environment characterized by uncertainty, employees are often making location choices based on personal circumstances, sometimes quickly and without a clear picture of the longer-term risks. Without a coordinated framework, organizations can find themselves responding to these decisions after the fact, rather than guiding them in advance. This increases the likelihood of inconsistent outcomes and makes it more difficult to maintain oversight of immigration, tax, and social security exposure.
Taken together, these factors underscore how global work may need to be managed differently than before. The experience of recent months has demonstrated that responding effectively to disruption requires more than ad hoc decision-making or short-term fixes. There is a growing need for structured preparedness that can operate across different scenarios and over a longer time horizon.
What should a mobility crisis playbook include?
In practice, this is where having a mobility crisis policy or playbook becomes increasingly important. In a permacrisis environment, such a framework is not limited to emergency response, but serves as a foundation for ongoing decision-making. It enables organizations to define how and when alternative work location arrangements should be reassessed, to establish clear lines of responsibility across mobility, tax, and HR functions, and to ensure that employees receive consistent guidance even as circumstances evolve. Just as importantly, it creates a mechanism for anticipating different scenarios, rather than reacting to them as they arise.
Permacrisis requires a mindset shift, not just a policy
Developing a crisis policy or playbook may not be a solution in itself, but should reflect a broader shift in mindset. Rather than viewing disruption as a temporary deviation from normal operations, organizations increasingly need to incorporate uncertainty into their baseline assumptions. This means treating flexibility as a core component of mobility policy, embedding cross-functional coordination as standard practice, and recognizing that where employees work is no longer a given—it’s something organizations need to actively manage.
Planning across 30-, 60-, and 90-day horizons
Organizations may benefit from a deliberate approach to scenario planning, with clearly defined triggers that prompt reassessment as circumstances evolve. This includes considering how decisions would change if conditions were to deteriorate, as well as what processes are in place if risks subside and employees need to return to the region and to office-based working. Viewing these scenarios over different timeframes—such as 30, 60, or 90 days, and then over six months or longer—can help organizations monitor and reassess immigration and tax exposure as temporary arrangements extend and begin to feel more permanent.
What’s the outlook for global work in the Middle East?
The Middle East continues to offer clear advantages for multinational organizations, particularly from a tax perspective and as a regional hub for business operations. Gulf Cooperation Council countries—including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—have shown confidence in a return to more normal operating conditions, with the end of concessions for residents with expired permits to re-enter and calls in countries such as Qatar for schools and the private sector to resume operations. Some organizations are already encouraging a return to the region, while continuing to operate cautiously, for example by allowing voluntary office returns and supporting ongoing remote working arrangements.
However, accessing these benefits in the current environment depends on a more deliberate and proactive approach to employee mobility and global work. Organizations best positioned to succeed are those that can balance flexibility with structure, and that invest in the frameworks needed to manage ongoing change.
In this sense, permacrisis is not simply a description of the current situation, but a prompt to rethink how organizations approach mobility more broadly. The focus is shifting from response to readiness, and from short-term solutions to resilient and sustainable models that can withstand continued uncertainty.
Is your organization ready for permacrisis?
The shift from response to readiness starts with understanding where your organization stands today. Our short self-assessment helps mobility leaders assess preparedness across six dimensions, from how well you plan ahead to how you’d keep up with compliance requirements. It only takes a minute, and your results offer a clear view of where to focus next.
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