Government workers in the UAE have been adapting to a new working week. Since 1 January, public sector employees have been able to enjoy an extended weekend that now stretches from Friday afternoon through to Monday morning.
‘The UAE has always been very open and welcoming, but recently it has seen some challenges in this area from Saudi Arabia’
This new four-and-a-half-day week has been introduced to bring the working week more into line with Western schedules by shifting the weekend to Saturday and Sunday, but also to allow for the continuation of Friday prayers, an integral part of the Muslim week, which have been moved back to 1.15pm.
The move is part of the UAE’s vision to enhance its global competitiveness, as well as an attempt to boost work/life balance. However, to create the extra half day on a Friday, the working day has been extended by one hour from Monday to Thursday.
Making the transition
Big Four accountancy firm Deloitte was quick to announce that it would introduce the new working arrangement in UAE to support its public sector clients and ‘facilitate stronger international business links and services for UAE-based and multinational firms in the country’.
The firm had previously introduced a ‘HybridWorks’ policy in the UAE and wider Middle East region that gave employees the opportunity to manage when and how they work. ‘Under HybridWorks we provide flexibility for our employees and respect their own time. They are responsible for their own work, but where appropriate we will encourage people to reschedule meetings away from prayer times,’ says Padmanabbha Acharya, Deloitte’s head of audit in the UAE.
Acharya adds that although the firm allowed flexible working prior to the pandemic, there had been little uptake. ‘But when the pandemic came we saw these alternative ways of working. With our clients we made sure all parts of the ecosystem were joined up; people saw that we could be more efficient and able to bring in expertise from around the international firm.’
International focus
Acharya also recognises the importance to UAE of having an international outlook, a view shared by other consultants.
‘UAE is very internationally focused, and we have seen a lot of changes in support of this, especially in the last two years, for example changes in visa rules and company ownership regulations,’ says Nasheeda Cc FCCA, founder of Nishe, a Dubai-based accounting, tax and consulting firm. ‘So this move will be seen as another way of attracting more people and businesses into the country.
‘The UAE has always been very open and welcoming, but recently it has seen some challenges in this area from Saudi Arabia, which is opening up more, while also requiring multinationals to base their regional headquarters there from 2023 if they want to win government business.’
Cc sees two aspects of the UAE working week change – the moving of the weekend and the shortening of the working week. However, while this is mandatory in the public sector, private sector companies can choose different models, and indeed already did so prior to these latest changes – for some, Friday was the only day off during the week.
Competing in the region
According to Cc, the Friday/Saturday weekend was always a challenge for companies wanting to do business with other countries as there was effectively a three-day weekend.
‘Employers in the UAE must continue to offer flexibility to staff’
Of her own firm’s experience, she says: ‘I feel we have transitioned very smoothly. We are an all-women firm, so already had a hybrid model – we are in the office three days a week typically. We decided to have Monday to Thursday as office days, and then it is up to the individuals to choose when they work their fifth day. It could be Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or spread between them.’
Cc makes the observation that her team now feels more rested from having two full days for a weekend, while incorporating prayers on the Friday. That said, those with international dealings elsewhere in the Middle East region still find themselves having to respond to client questions on Sundays because the rest of the region has not changed. ‘If a client in Saudi Arabia wants an answer on a Sunday it gets an answer on a Sunday because, to them, it is not the weekend,’ she says.
Flexibility is key
The key seems to be flexibility in adapting to the new working week. As Charlotte Lockhart, co-founder of 4-Day Week Global (see box) says: ‘You can experiment, see what the problems are, look at the solutions, and then translate that to a global context. Keep reviewing it, be iterative. Companies in the Middle East are looking at this, and there will be more. It is something that can transcend borders.’
According to consultants Mercer, while a majority of companies (57%) in the UAE private sector supported the move to the new weekend, only 23% said they were likely to adopt the 4.5-day working week by adopting a half-day work policy for Fridays.
Ted Raffoul, Mercer’s career and workforce products business leader in the Middle East and North Africa, says: ‘Employers in the UAE must continue to offer flexibility to staff, particularly parents given that schools will operate a half-day on Friday, and to accommodate religious needs. Giving staff the choice to work from home, or to work flexible days and/or hours, will support talent attraction and retention.
‘Overall, the shift to the new working weekend in the UAE has strong support from the private sector, but the companies that will thrive as employers of choice will be those that continue to stay attuned to the needs of their diverse workforces.’
New ways of working
The UAE move comes amid growing global interest in shorter working weeks. Studies are currently underway in countries such as the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Conducted by 4 Day Week Global, they will look at how companies can improve productivity and working practices so that the same amount is achieved in less time but for the same salary.
See also the AB article ‘Four-day week becomes reality’.
‘The companies that will thrive will be those that continue to stay attuned to the needs of their diverse workforces’
The survey findings showed that 84% of firms believe that the new weekend will have a positive impact on transacting internationally, bringing benefit to business outside the region. However, 37% are unsure of the impact of the new weekend on business activities within the Middle East. This uncertainty is marked by the fact that less than 40% of respondents stated that they believe the change in weekend will have a positive impact on transacting within the Middle East.
Importantly, the survey found that two out of three of those firms that have chosen to fully align to the government’s half-day Friday/Saturday-Sunday weekend said working hours will not be increased, nor will pay be affected in response to the reduced working hours.
It remains to be seen how individual entities, in both the private and public sectors, choose to embrace this new working week, but as an attempt to increase the UAE’s global competitiveness and facilitate doing business within the region and internationally, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
