The four-day working week is gaining traction in small sections of the UAE, offering a glimpse into what could become the new normal.
In Dubai, both government and private companies are testing the waters on reducing working hours, with many employees reporting better work-life balance and increased productivity as a result.
The four-day week is being tested in segments of Dubai's public sector by a government-led pilot programme that finishes at the end of the month. Meanwhile, private businesses such as UAE-based digital marketers Active have already made the transition.
But doubters still wonder if some sectors of the economy can adapt to a reduced work week without compromising service quality or corporate expansion.
To find out more, The National spoke to employers and employees across the country who have adopted the model.
For many, the decision to switch to a four-day week came about as a way to get staff back into the office after the pandemic. Active's managing partner, Louay Al Samarrai, said that after working remotely from home during Covid, the company needed to find something that worked for everyone.
“We were looking at what we can do that combines the element of work-life balance, but at the same time has that element of people being in the office,” he said. “I have never been a fan of just working remotely, from the mental health point of view, with people being cut off from colleagues and not having that interaction in the office."
Mackenzie Jones
Mr Al Samarri discovered a compromise when it came to getting staff back in the office. “We then hit upon the idea that this [four-day week] was a happy medium, and gives our team the kind of work-life balance they need, because they get Friday, Saturday and Sunday to themselves.” The only caveat was the four working days had to be spent on site, not working remotely from home.
The switch to the new model was initially met with scepticism by Active's staff members, admitted Mr Al Samarrai. There were concerns that working one fewer day a week would lead to salary reductions.
“We told them the salary would be the same,” he said. “The only change was we were working for four days instead of five. We started half an hour earlier in the morning, at 8.30am, and finished half an hour later, at 6.30pm.”
Trying to compress five days' work into four understandably came with a few challenges, conceded Mr Al Samarrai. However, it didn't take long for staff to adapt, he added.
“Now, there are no issues with it. People are more than capable of adapting to it and we love our three-day weekends. There's no way we would go back.”
A 2021 survey by Henley Business School in the UK found that a four-day working week helped employers attract and retain staff. Research in 2019 had found the biggest barrier to businesses implementing a four-day week was concern about being available for customers. However, since the pandemic the number of business owners with this fear had fallen from 82 per cent to 75 per cent.
No going back
One employment expert who recently made the switch to a four-day working week is Claire Donnelly, a senior consultant at Mike Hoff Consulting. She made the permanent move from a five-day working week earlier this year, and now cannot see any way she would welcome a return to the traditional working week.
“It did take a little while to get myself used to only working four days a week, but there's no way you can go back to working five days once you get used to it,” she said. “You just have to make sure you're focused and disciplined to get your work done in the time you have. You will have less downtime during the four days because of the need to be more focused.”
As far as Ms Donnelly is concerned, a four-day working week is not just a trend – it is going to become the norm in years to come across the board. Not only will it be productive, she said, but it would also make a firm more appealing to potential employees.
“I don't think it's all that far away from happening across the private sector. I don't think it's many years away,” she said. “I'm forever saying to my clients, 'if I can give you one piece of advice, you need to start thinking about it, because it's going to happen'.”
One firm considering trialling a shorter working week is BLS Lad chartered accountants in Dubai. The company's associate manager Parimal Lad told The National that staff are being surveyed on their response to a four-day week.
“We're considering adopting it for a two to three-month period and at the end of that we'll see how our productivity has been affected and how our staff have taken to it,” he said. “We're talking internally at the minute and then we'll speak to clients to see how it might affect their needs.”
On trial
Dubai’s trial of a four-day working week for select government staff has the potential to boost productivity and encourage the private sector to follow suit, according to employment experts in the UAE.
The pilot scheme, called Our Flexible Summer and launched by the Dubai Government Human Resources Department, has seen work suspended on Fridays and the working day reduced to seven hours across 15 government organisations from August 12 to September 30.
Several trials have taken place across the world, including parts of the UAE in recent years. In 2022, Sharjah implemented a permanent four-day working week when the UAE switched to a four-and-a-half-day week that January.
The National spoke to government workers in Dubai who are currently working on the four-day model. They said they were able to achieve similar results to their previously typical schedule, despite tighter deadlines created by working one fewer day a week.
Roudha Al Qahtani, a business support officer at Dubai Customs, said the initiative enabled her to achieve more than she expected in only four days.
“Well-planned tasks that are fixed within a time frame help me achieve the same in the four days,” Ms Al Qahtani told The National. “These four days can actually make me focused and not postpone any achievable tasks to the week after or to Friday, as it used to be.” She also said she found her weekends more relaxing and returned to work on Monday with more drive.
Mohamed Al Ansaari, who works at Dragon Oil, a subsidiary of Dubai-owned Enoc, still does a half a day on Fridays but only works for seven hours, rather than eight and a half, from Monday to Thursday.
Mr Al Ansaari says his work-life balance has never been better, and told The National: “I prefer to work this way. On Fridays, we can start preparing for the next week.”
He said he has more time to pursue hobbies and spend time with his family, and generally feels more rested and able to work when required. He added that he always felt tired working his regular hours and the reduction significantly improved that, enabling him to work more efficiently.
Sarah Al Hathboor, a human resources officer with Dubai Courts, said that immediately after the initiative took effect, many employees reported feeling more balanced and focused at work.
“There has been a clear and positive difference in staff,” said Ms Al Hathboor. “There's a noticeable increase in overall morale, with staff appearing less stressed and more balanced. This has led to improved collaboration, better communication, and higher engagement in team projects.”
She also said employees felt less burnt out and were more determined to get their daily tasks done, which has improved individual and team performance. She said that “the overall atmosphere has become more positive and productive”.
Unconvinced
Not everyone is sure a four-day working environment would be practical, given that many sectors face a burgeoning workload. One such person is David Mackenzie, group managing director of Dubai-based recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones.
“The reality is, if people think they can do their job in four days a week, then brilliant,” he said. “But I would say, in my industry we are constantly on the go. What's going to happen to candidates who want to speak to [staff] on a Friday? Do they not answer the phone to clients?”
Mr Mackenzie said Dubai attracts some of the hardest working talent available, so compressing a working week by 20 per cent seems infeasible. “There are companies here that need to survive and need to grow and build. Doing four days a week will only restrict them. People are already working really hard here, more so than anywhere else in the world.”
