4-Day Work Week Soon a Reality in Dubai?
Will workers have to venture out in the hot sun less now?
Along with the UAE government’s initiatives for employee stress-reduction and more rights as well as creating parent-friendly office environments, authorities in Dubai are now considering a 4-day work week. The Dubai Government Human Resource Department (DGHR) is taking a leaf out of the book of neighbouring Shahjah to help resident workers in government agencies beat the summer heat and let off some steam with a three-day weekend.
Officials’ plans to set the “Our Flexible Summer” scheme in motion are based on a survey to gauge which governmental entities are amenable to it. According to the initiative, Dubai governmental agencies’ half day of work on Friday will be extended to the full day, along with the usual Saturday and Sunday. In so doing, Dubai is drawing inspiration from Sharjah, whose three-day weekly break has been yielding benefits and advantages for all involved.
These plussed all around include:
1) Increase in work productivity of employees (88 per cent to be exact).
2) 90 per cent increase in job satisfaction.
3) 94 per cent increase in customer service contentment.
4) A significant decrease in electricity and water consumption at work places.
5) An enhanced quality of family life and work-life balance.
However, the DGHR is yet to identify which government departments, offices and agencies to experiment its appealing initiative on. Also, what kind of flexibility of work shifts and hours is required for optimum results? And will over-worked employees in Dubai’s private firms feel left out? After all those reeling under UAE’s scorching summer sun need viable options to cool off.
