With 4.5 day working week, UAE becomes first Country in the world to do so

Dubai, Dec 07: The UAE government will implement a new four-and-a-half-day work week on January 1, 2022 and is aimed at improving work-life balance and economic competitiveness, state media said on Tuesday, according to AFP.

The change will affect federal government institutions and will be accompanied by new working hours, with Monday to Thursday workdays beginning at 7:30 a.m. and finishing at 3:30 p.m., and Friday work hours beginning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 12:00 pm.

Along with the change, Friday sermons and prayers will begin at 1:15 pm across the UAE.

Government employees will have the option of working from home on Fridays and scheduling their work hours on a flexi-time basis.

The United Arab Emirates is the first country in the world to implement a national work week that is shorter than the worldwide five-day week.

The "national working week" will be mandatory for government bodies from January and is aimed at improving work-life balance and economic competitiveness, state media said on Tuesday.

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

The UAE will become the only Gulf country with a Saturday-Sunday weekend, a move that brings it into line with most of the non-Arab world. The weekend will start at noon on Fridays, the day of prayer in Muslim countries.

"The extended weekend comes as part of the UAE government's efforts to boost work-life balance and enhance social wellbeing, while increasing performance to advance the UAE's economic competitiveness."