Introduction The United Arab Emirates has experienced tremendous changes in the last five decades since the discovery of oil and its related resources. From a poor desert country in the Middle East, it has grown to feature in the top thirty richest nations in terms of Gross Domestic Product and among the top ten nations that have the highest per capita income. Within this period, private and public sector organisations have grown tremendously after employing both domestic and foreign workers in large numbers. One of the most notable characteristics of the labour force in the UAE is that foreign workers take the better share of it (85%). With its tolerable welcoming of other cultures and nationalities, the nation has attracted over 200 nationalities (Northhouse 2013). For this reason, the country’s economy that is fuelled by oil money and facilitated by the development of the internet and the associated technologies has emerged as a dynamic global financial system that is characterises by an influx of foreign ideas and practices (Dyer 2006). This global economy indicates the influence of global trends that touch on many areas of the social, economic, and political aspects of the Middle East nations. Looking at the private and governmental organisations in the UAE, global influences on people management practices are evident. In this case, based on the global trends, the private and public organisations are grappling with a myriad of issues on areas that touch on human resource management, performance management, and psychological contract issues. It is a known fact that, unlike other Gulf Nations, the UAE is more westernised. The country is viewed as the light through which the Middle East nations will emerge from different challenges that have been surrounding democracy and other repressive aspects that hinder its full potential into becoming a wholly globalised and liberal region. However, despite these successes, the UAE’s private and public organisations are lagging behind in various areas of people management. These areas need to be updated to cope with increasing demand for localised workforce. Therefore, this paper critically analyses the statement that public and private sector organisations in the UAE region will have to change their people management practices to cope with the increasing demand for localisation of the workforce. Understanding the Problem In the last decade, Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCCs) have experienced exponential growth in their economies. The growth has put them in the map of the world’s richest countries. The enormous wealth of these nations such as the UAE has come at an advantage, with billions of dollars going to the development of excellent transport systems and infrastructure, hotels, cities, and other major developments. In this rapid development of various sectors, the United Arab Emirates and its neighbours have relied heavily on expatriate labour, which makes up 85% of the nation’s population and workforce (Northhouse 2013). In the recent times, such a situation has become a major concern since it is untenable and that any disruptions to the labour market on the foreigners can easily leave the nation crippled. L