Hi All,

I'm Egyptian and currently working in Austria under a work permit which is restricted for 4 months, which is the length of the contract, if they are happy with me they will prolong it. I have just started the job 3 weeks ago, and was doing good some kind of electronic circuit design and embedded software. The direct manager was happy, and told me wow so fast for some task, and some very good words.

I had meeting with the ceo two days ago, and he told my how do you like the work ? I told him its good, I like the manager, the enviroment,..etc. Then he said you have to push your self more, you are just working by 70-80% percentage, I was shocked, and very sad by these words, he said also I know that you have a lot of knowledge, I also asked the direct manager to give you lots of work packages!!!

I'm really sad and that would affect my living in Austria and dont want to come back to Egypt ; (

In my experience, it's typical of a ceo or director to say stuff like that to make you work harder.
They may very well appreciate your work, but often, they see that they can "unlock some potential" by giving a little pep talk while sounding concerned.

It's not that you shouldn't believe them, but they probably still like the effort you put into your work,
and won't fire you if they express gratitude in the workplace.

Another aspect is that a ceo in a large coorperation can be about as insightful to an individual employee as a real-life santa claus to a single kid. -Does he really know how hard you work, or did he miss it because he's had too many meetings before you talk to him?

Just keep doing your very best. Push it further if you will, but no-one should expect more from you than that.
Then it's abuse of "cheap"(?) labor. I've had a couple of family members working abroad, and they were all, sadly, mistreated because their employer knew that the alternative was a much lower pay, even poor living conditions and problems feeding the children.
Not uncommon, but I hope you've found a humane employer, and I hope you realize what they're worth to you as well as the other way around.

-Best of luck.

You are correct, its a buse of cheap labor. He knows the my soul is in his hands to renew my work permit, that's why he is doing that to me.

You are correct, its a buse of cheap labor. He knows the my soul is in his hands to renew my work permit, that's why he is doing that to me.

If your CEO is a genuine prick, there's nothing I can say here that can help you guard yourself against his decisions.
If your manager is an average manager, he will know once you put effort into your job, and he will tell his superior when there's a problem. I say you try not to worry so much about it (I know it's easier said than done, too!), and keep doing the best you can.
I don't think a good person will fire you if you try your best.

He's probably just trying to motivate everyone. I don't know why he would think that telling people they aren't doing their best is a good motivator but I've heard worse.

Work hard and look for another job in the same field. When you eventually leave, you might have an exit interview, then is your chance to tell them why your leaving.

RivieraKid, but that was very depressing for me : (

Supervga, I'm really worried. I declare that I have accepted a lower salary so that I can get the work permit, but that's very bad if he is using me in that way. I thought european will be different..

Supervga, I'm really worried. I declare that I have accepted a lower salary so that I can get the work permit, but that's very bad if he is using me in that way. I thought european will be different..

It's likely that it is different and you have nothing to worry about.
As Bacterius and I said, it's normal to ask an employee to push himself, it doesn't need to be a bad thing.
Try to keep at it, stay bright. -are the working hours ok?

The working hours are normally I do from 8:10 and some days 9:00 , he commented about that, that I do 8:10, 8:20.. I didn't know what did he want ? do you want more than this ?! is this what he meant by pushing more ??

The working hours are normally I do from 8:10 and some days 9:00 , he commented about that, that I do 8:10, 8:20.. I didn't know what did he want ? do you want more than this ?! is this what he meant by pushing more ??

Nah, I meant to ask about the length of your workday. Also, make sure you understand what he wants. Like solving a problem, satisfactory work relies on understanding the problem. It's not that you're supposed to check in at 8, but arrive at late, is it? Maybe he wants specific tasks executed on 10 and 20 minutes past 8?