UAE private sector more convinced by flexible hours than four-day week

Companies say productivity improves but there are drawbacks

Experts says there are pros and cons to a four-day working week in the private sector. Photo: Alamy

The four-day week is firmly established in parts of the UAE public sector, raising the question: could it also become more common in the private sector?

The desire to attract or retain staff by offering a better work-life balance could encourage companies to shorten the working week, but doing so can have pitfalls.

“There’s definitely curiosity” in the UAE private sector over a four or four-and-a-half-day week, said Nikhil D’Souza, a general manager at Dubai HR consultancy Nathan and Nathan.

“The public sector made a bold move in 2022 when it shifted to a four-and-a-half-day work week, and that put the idea on the radar for private employers,” Mr D’Souza said.

The 2022 changeover, made in response to the transition from a Friday to Saturday weekend to a Saturday to Sunday one, saw public sector staff typically have Friday afternoon and all of Saturday and Sunday off.

Things went a step further in Sharjah, with a three-day weekend of Friday, Saturday and Sunday introduced for public sector employees. Research shows the policy in Sharjah has made a significant positive impact on employee well-being. There has been a 90 per cent increase in job satisfaction, 87 per cent improvement in mental health and an 86 per cent boost in productivity, according to the emirate’s Department of Statistics and Community Development.

Some other parts of the UAE public sector have followed suit for part of the year. The Dubai government recently concluded its Our Summer is Flexible programme, with a four-day week from the beginning of July to September 12. This followed a successful trial the previous summer.

Sharjah has reported a significant positive impact on employee well-being after implementing a four-day working week. Reem Mohammed / The National

Global question

Changes in the UAE have been paralleled by developments elsewhere. In Belgium, for example, the right to ask for a four-day week – albeit without an overall cut in hours – was introduced in 2022.

An argument in favour of the shift is that with a four-day week, employees can get just as much done because productivity improves.

This is the view of Prof Brendan Burchell, of the University of Cambridge, who has been involved with many four-day week trials, including one at South Cambridgeshire District Council in the UK. The hours from the additional day off were cut from the working week, rather than being spread over the remaining four days.

He said nearly all of the 24 metrics used by the authority to measure its performance improved or stayed the same, and council services for residents got better.

Staff turnover declined, Prof Burchell said, which reduced costs by cutting the need for agency staff. The council made the change permanent in July.

Not all four-day weeks involve reductions in working hours. An alternative is the “compressed” four-day week, where the working day is extended to compensate for cutting a day.

Dr Joseph Lyons, an assistant professor at Western University in Canada, analysed the results of such a programme in Zorra township in Ontario.

The reaction from employees was “for the most part” positive, he said, and staff did not have to work overly long days when their 35 hours were spread over four days instead of five.

Employees were encouraged to deal with personal issues, such as dental appointments, on their extra day off, cutting the distractions during the days when they were on duty.

“They took the time to design it in a way that worked for their organisation and their employees. That’s a really important lesson,” Dr Lyons said.

Mr D’Souza said “focus” was the big advantage of compressing the working week from five days to four or four-and-a-half.

“When people know they have fewer working days, they tend to prioritise better … which can lift productivity,” he said. “It also improves work–life balance, which helps with retention and employer branding.”

However, the Zorra township trial had drawbacks. For example, once commuting time was taken into account, some employees had to find childcare for 10 hours a day, which was too long for some providers.

Increased childcare needs because of longer days were an issue for some staff when Nishe, a Dubai accountancy and professional services company, adopted a compressed four-day week in summer 2024.

Nasheeda CC said her firm, Nishe, has no plans to repeat the four-day week it tried out last year. Photo: Nasheeda CC

Trial and error

Nasheeda CC, founder and managing director of the all-female firm, which has 15 staff, said that instead of eight hours a day, five days a week, office hours changed to 10 hours a day, four days a week, as long as staff could maintain commitments to clients. The company did not bring back the four-day week this summer.

“This year we didn’t miss it much,” she said. “There didn’t seem to be much expectation [that it would return]. I don’t think it made much impact. If your clients are working five days, we cannot say: ‘We’re not available on the fifth day.’”

Mr D’Souza also said that with many industries in the UAE having customer and client demands across the full week, changes to the working week must “be carefully thought through”. The system works best, he said, when “the whole ecosystem”, such as clients, suppliers and teams, is aligned.

“Not every organisation can compress five days of client commitments into four,” he said. “Some may find it increases stress on the days people are in, or pushes work into the evenings.”

De Montfort University (DMU) Dubai describes the four-day week as being "of real interest", as it would improve the work-life balance of staff and allow students to balance work with other commitments.

"Thanks to our block delivery model, where one subject is studied at a time, we are able to organise timetables more flexibly," said Simon Bradbury, the university's pro vice chancellor international.

"This means we could condense teaching into four days, ensuring the approach benefits staff, supports learners and creates extra space for adult students to continue their development.

"We are well positioned to adapt if a shorter week become more widely adopted."

For the moment, Mr D’Souza said, some UAE private sector companies are trialling shorter working weeks in certain departments, rather than making permanent changes.

Some roles, especially those where outcomes are easily measurable and time spent at the desk is less important, are more suited to the four-day week or flexible working.

Mr D’Souza cited jobs that were “knowledge-based, project-driven and tech-enabled”, which include some IT and back-office functions. Frontline customer service, hospitality and healthcare roles adapt less easily.

“That’s why, in practice, many UAE companies are leaning more towards flexible arrangements rather than a strict four-day work week, because flexibility can be tailored to different functions without disrupting the business,” he said.

Flexible working, which may offer a choice over which hours are worked, or working from home on some days helps to attract and keep talent, especially younger professionals, said Mr D’Souza.

“It also lets companies tap into a wider pool of talent, such as parents or people living in other emirates,” he added.

Creating balance

Government organisations such as Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority have highlighted the benefits of flexible working, because less rigid start times and some working from home could cut rush-hour congestion.

At DMU Dubai, staff are typically able to work from home for one day a week.

"It's about giving our team the flexibility they need while maintaining the collaborative spirit that makes our campus community special," Mr Bradbury said.

Aster DM Healthcare, a Dubai-headquartered company that runs 15 hospitals and 120 clinics in the Gulf region, introduced a flexible work policy last year.

“You can choose your day and hours based on your preferences,” said Jacob Jacob, its group chief human resources officer.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. [Working from home] works best for corporate, administrative and project-based roles, while for our clinical and frontline teams, flexibility is provided in other ways, such as staggered schedules and shifts, since patient care is about outcomes and clinical results.”

Mr Jacob said the policy had improved work-life balance and cut commuting stress. This in turn had helped to improve retention and morale. It also, he said, made the company an “employer of choice”.