The United Arab Emirates moved its work week into early 2022 to better align with the rest of the world. The government’s aim is to improve the work-life balance for its residents and strengthen Dubai’s position as a business hub of the Middle East. But do its residents think the change has worked?
With just three and a half weeks’ notice, the United Arab Emirates government changed the country’s work week. Government employees start working Monday through Friday, with a flexible half-day on Fridays, a change from the previous Sunday-to-Thursday workweek.
Although the decision was sudden, it was not a surprise. It is one of many initiatives by the authorities to boost the UAE’s post-pandemic economy and help it stand out among its neighbours.
This is also not the first time the country has changed the date of the weekend. The UAE adopted Friday as a weekly holiday in 1971 and did not add a Thursday to make it a two-day weekend until 1999. Then, in 2006, the weekend was changed to Friday and Saturday.
Steven Valentino is the CEO and founder of The London Project, a restaurant in Dubai that specializes in lunches. The Friday brunch is hugely popular with tourists popping a bottle of champagne and a staple meal for the city’s “hard-working, play-hard” residents, but it’s now moved on to Fridays. Seven.
“When I talk to people who have been here a long time, they have a hard time adjusting. You notice the change, but I think really, everyone adapts pretty quickly,” Valentino said.
So how many private businesses are going with the change? How does it affect the UAE’s relationship with the rest of the region? Watch our video above to learn more.
