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The 'Our Summer is Flexible' initiative aims to reduce work timings for employees and enhance quality of life, says Dubai officials
8 August 2024
| Last updated on 8 August 2024
Reduced work days and working hours will begin on Monday August 12.
In a bid to boost employees' quality of life and enhance the flexibility of Dubai's work environment, public sector workers in the emirate can look forward to 4-day work weeks starting from August 12, 2024, under the new 'Our Summer is Flexible' initiative.
From Monday onwards, work timings will be cut down to seven hours and Fridays will also be a day-off, meaning a 3-day weekend for employees.
The pilot launch of the initiative was announced by the Dubai Government Human Resources Department (DGHR), and will involve 15 federal entities taking part in the trials.
What about private sector employees?
While the 4-day work week trials in Dubai were confirmed for government employees, there's no word yet if it'll also be extended to the private sector.
Dubai will be the next emirate to implement reduced work days after Sharjah.
The neighbouring state introduced the 4-day work week to government employees back in 2022, following a study carried out by the Sharjah Executive Council and approved under the directives of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.
Will this affect government services to the public?
One of the biggest worries for both the private and public sector is what this might mean for productivity levels.
UAE residents and federal entities may wonder if a 4-day work week might impact the productivity levels and availability of government services.
Studies from other countries' trials
This is a reasonable concern as employees will be working much less hours, however previous experiments in other countries found that fewer work hours had little impact on productivity levels, and in other places such as Spain and the UK have seen overwhelmingly positive results from their trials.
Some key differences though is that other countries' trials for a 4-day work week were conducted in a mix of public and private companies, whereas the UAE will be trialing it for their government employees only.
Abdullah Ali bin Zayed Al Falasi, Director General of the DGHR told Khaleej Times in an interview: "The launch will also further our vision to empower human resources by developing smart solutions and innovative policies to uplift Dubai’s competitiveness. The initiative aims to enhance employees’ quality of life and promote sustainable use of government resources, positioning Dubai as the ideal city for a superior lifestyle."
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