The federal government of Dubai has formally carried out a short lived four-day work week for all its public sector staff. That may very well be us, however you playin’.
Dubai’s new shorter work week will now contain all authorities staff, who can be divided into two teams. The primary will work eight hours per day, however get Fridays fully off. The second will nonetheless work for 4.5 hours on Friday, however will solely must be on for seven hours on different days.
Microsoft Japan’s 4-day work week boosted productiveness by 40 p.c
Such modifications can be in impact from July 1 to September 12, at which level Dubai’s authorities staff will presumably be obliged to return to their common five-day schedules. The four-day work week is a part of Dubai’s 2025 Our Versatile Summer season initiative.
“This initiative demonstrates our agency dedication to enhancing the federal government work setting, making it extra adaptable and aware of the wants of staff and the neighborhood,” stated Abdullah Ali bin Zayed Al Falasi, director basic of the Dubai authorities’s human sources division. “This helps Dubai’s aspirations to steer in delivering versatile, sustainable, and people-centric authorities providers.”
Dubai’s four-day work week follows a trial it carried out in 2024 involving 21 authorities entities. This experiment resulted in total worker satisfaction rising by 98 p.c, with staff experiencing enhanced productiveness and happiness. But regardless of these outcomes, in addition to optimistic outcomes from earlier experiments by different organisations, it appears Dubai’s authorities nonetheless is not fairly able to decide to a extra everlasting change.
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Is the four-day work week the longer term?
Quite a few organisations throughout the globe have tried out shorter work weeks through the years, which have repeatedly reported optimistic outcomes. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders additionally reiterated his ongoing help for a four-day work week final month, arguing that there is no motive staff should not get a four-day work week if synthetic intelligence is enhancing staff’ productiveness as its advocates declare.
“[A four-day work week is] not a radical concept,” stated Sanders. “There are firms world wide which can be doing it, with some success.”
Firms which have tried it embody Microsoft Japan, which introduced in 2019 that its four-day work week trial had elevated productiveness by 40 p.c. New Zealand agency Perpetual Guardian noticed productiveness improve by 20 p.c throughout their very own trial, prompting them to modify to a everlasting four-day work week in 2018. Each organisations noticed financial savings in diminished electrical energy prices as nicely.
Iceland ran a four-day work week trial between from 2015 to 2019, and located that the just about 3,000 staff concerned had been happier, more healthy, and extra productive. The same 2022 UK trial produced beneficial outcomes as nicely, with the overwhelming majority of taking part organisations nonetheless working on a four-day work week one yr after the research’s publication. Belgium additionally accepted a four-day work week in 2022, enabling staff to request longer 10-hour days in alternate for someday off, whereas Japanese electronics producer Panasonic launched an non-compulsory four-day work week.
But regardless of years of trials spanning the globe, leading to mountains of proof demonstrating advantages to employers in addition to staff, the four-day work week nonetheless stays a uncommon mannequin. Although it is fashionable for firms to painting themselves as ahead considering and on the cutting-edge, it appears few are keen to truly comply with by way of and apply broadly examined and scientifically-backed modifications with clear confirmed advantages.
