What happened after the UAE changed their working week

What happened after the UAE changed their working week

The United Arab Emirates shifted their working week in early 2022 to better align with the rest of the world. The government’s goal was to improve the work-life balance for citizens and to consolidate Dubai’s position as the economic center of the Middle East. But do residents think the change has worked?

With just three and a half weeks’ notice, the UAE government changed the country’s working week. Government employees began working Monday through Friday, with a flexible half-day on Friday, a change from the previous Sunday to Thursday workweek.

Although the decision came suddenly, it came as no surprise. It was one of many initiatives by authorities aimed at boosting the UAE’s economy in the wake of the pandemic and helping it differentiate itself from its neighbours.

It’s not the first time the country has changed its weekend either. The UAE introduced Friday as a weekly public holiday as early as 1971 and did not add Thursday until 1999, making it a two-day weekend. Then the 2006 weekend was changed to Friday and Saturday.

Steven Valentino is CEO and Founder of The London Project, a brunch specialty restaurant in Dubai. Friday brunch was popular with champagne-popping tourists and a mainstay for the city’s “work hard, play hard” residents, but it has now been pushed to Saturday.

“When I speak to people who have been here a long time, they have trouble adjusting. You can feel the change, but I really think everyone adjusted pretty quickly,” said Valentino.

So how many private companies are embracing the change? How does this affect the UAE’s relationship with the rest of the region? Watch our video above to learn more.