Few things in life qualify as breaking news and this is one of them. The Dubai Government Human Resources department has announced an ‘Our Summer Is Flexible’ scheme that offers some government employees a four-day work week starting August 12, 2024.
The new flexible working initiative will include a three-day weekend. Fridays will no longer be a working day and the total number of working hours in a day will be reduced to 7 hours. Only 15 Dubai government entities are participating in this pilot programme.
Launched with the objective to improve employees’ quality of life and boost productivity and performance, this trial phase will end on September 30, 2024.
UAE’s flexible working hours policy
The ‘Our Summer Is Flexible’ programme was developed by the Dubai Government Human Resources based on feedback from government employees. A survey conducted about reduced summer working hours received great support, state news agency Wam reported.
In 2022, UAE’s public sector adopted a four and ½ day workweek, with Fridays being a work-from-home day and overall flexibility with working hours. This federal mandate saw Dubai’s public sector workplaces follow suit. It also made the UAE the world’s first country to implement a national working week that’s less than 5 days.
The four-day work week was first adopted in the UAE by the emirate of Sharjah back in January 2022. The trendsetting emirate’s government staff and schools have been enjoying a three-day weekend with Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays off.
Do private sector employees get a four-day work week?
There’s no good news on that front, yet, dear readers. Private sector employers aren’t obliged to practice the public sector’s working week rules as per the UAE labour law. However, the private sector has in the past adopted the public sector’s switch to the new Monday-Friday workweek. So we’d say stay hopeful.