When less becomes more…

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 UAE had a Friday-Saturday weekend, which is common in many Muslim-majority countries. Adopting this policy will enhance its global competitiveness across economic and business sectors. From Monday to Thursday, employees need to work an eight-hour day, but on Friday, they are only expected to work for 4.5 hours. So total working hour reduced to 36.5 hours from 40 hours. From January 1, 2022, all federal government offices in the UAE will switch to the new weekend.

In many mostly Muslim countries, Friday is a weekly holiday. According to the announcement, Friday working hours for government institutions will conclude at 12 p.m., ahead of Friday sermons and prayers, under the new work week.

Around 85 percent of Icelandic workers are working four days a week instead of five. And, despite the fact that they are working fewer hours, their compensation has not decreased (Nova, 2021). But it was a trials not official rule. The results of the study included happier and more loyal employees, as well as a decreased turnover rate, which resulted in cheaper labor expenditures for the organization

This isn't the first time the UAE's work week has been altered. The country enjoyed a Thursday and Friday weekend from 1999 to 2006 before switching to a Friday-Saturday weekend. While the transition will improve business links throughout the world, it will mean the UAE is no longer in sync with its neighbors, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. (Salem & Azeez, 2021).

It will facilitate stronger international business relations and opportunities for thousands of UAE-based and global enterprises by ensuring easy financial, trade, and economic activities with nations that follow a Saturday/Sunday weekend. Work only four days a week yet be paid for five. Countries and companies that crack the four-day week code first may gain a competitive advantage if they can execute it in a way that maximizes the long-term benefits while reducing the short-term increases in labor and operational costs. This system's discussion isn't about cultural shifts toward flexible working, even though some evidence says it's beneficial to business (Suri,2019)

France introduced a work-hour reduction about 20 years ago in order to achieve a better work-life balance for the country. The measure is still being discussed, with proponents claiming that it created jobs and preserved work-life balance, while critics claim that it diminishes French enterprises' competitiveness (laker and Roulet, 2019) .

Reference

Laker, B., & Roulet, T. (2019). Will the 4-day workweek take hold in Europe. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr. org/2019/08/will-the-4-day-workweek-take-hold-in-europe.

Nova, A. (2021). A 4-day workweek is the norm in Iceland. Could the same become true in the U.S.?. Retrieved 9 December 2021, from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/12/a-4-day-workweek-is-the-norm-in-iceland-could-the-us-follow-.html.

Salem, M., & Azeez, W. (2021). Dubai is switching its work week to align with global markets. CNN. Retrieved 9 December 2021, from https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/07/business/uae-working-week-change-mon-fri/index.html.

Suri, S. (2019). A 4-day workweek. Think India Journal, 22(34), 1-3.