UAE government moves to 4.5 day working week, weekends to be on Saturdays, Sundays

UAE government moves to 4.5 day working week, weekends to be on Saturdays, Sundays

The United Arab Emirates has announced that it is to move to a 4.5 day working week, with weekends to transition to Saturdays and Sundays.

The new system will apply to federal government entities, the country’s media office announced on Tuesday, with Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday forming the new weekend.

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From Monday to Thursday, official working hours will be between 7:30 am until 3:30 pm.

Fridays will be a 4.5-hour day, from 7:30 am until 12 pm.

Alongside the move, Friday sermons and prayers across the UAE will be held from 1:15 pm.

The media office said it would also allow the possibility of flexible wokring hours and work-from-home options on Fridays.

It said the longer weekends would help boost productivity and improve work-life balance.

All federal government departments will move to the new weekend from January 1.

The UAE is the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week, state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday.

It said: “Adopting an agile working system wll enable the UAE to rapidly respond to emerging changes and enhance wellbeing in the workplace.”

“From an economic perspective, the new