At the end of 2021, the United Arab Emirates announced it was changing its work week,
giving just three and a half weeks notice.
Starting on January 1st 2022, government employees began working Monday to Friday,
with a flexible half day on Fridays, a change from the previous Sunday to Thursday work week.
Schools followed suit, and so did several businesses in the private sector,
despite no specific instructions to do so.
The change, according to the government,
would boost work-life balance and better align the country with global markets.
And while the decision was sudden, it wasn’t a surprise.
It was one of the many initiatives from authorities aiming to boost the
UAE’s post-pandemic economy, and help it stand out amongst its neighbors.
The Friday brunch scene in Dubai was a bit of an institution, but since the change of weekend,
restaurants like this one have had to adapt quickly, much like the rest of the region.
Brunch is a huge part of the Dubai lifestyle, whether it's for expat residents,
or the millions of visitors that come to Dubai every year, brunch is a big part of the scene.
Steven Valentino is CEO and founder of the London Project,
a restaurant that specializes in brunches.
We have very Instagrammable cocktails, amazing entertainment.
And then we have a beautiful setting. It's all about creating moments and memories.
And I think that's what Dubai brunch is really all about.
There were fears that changing the weekend would see the end of Dubai’s legendary Friday brunches.
These extravagant all-you-can-eat and drink parties, are popular with champagne bottle-popping tourists
and a mainstay for the city’s work hard/play hard residents.
All anyone talks about is brunch. You have to go to brunch, let’s go to brunch.
The goal of the workweek shift was to better align
the emirate’s businesses with the rest of the world,
but for many, it was the change to their weekend they were most focused on.
And tell me a little bit about that change in the weekend from Friday to Saturday,
Saturday to Sunday, because that's a big, big thing?
I'm a teacher, so my whole week shifted. It took a while to get used to, but it's quite easy.
Everyone’s a bit confused with the days. Saturday brunch feels weird to them.
And when there is a significant change to people’s downtime,
the leisure and hospitality industries are sure to follow suit. But has it been good for business?
The Friday brunch has been a bit of an institution in Dubai, but that is no longer.
So we've moved our Friday brunch to Saturday, but we do have half day off on Friday here.
But they only gave you sort of three weeks between
the announcement that the weekend was going to change to implementing that change.
We welcomed the change, we actually benefited from the change.
And I think in the hospitality scene, it was a really good move.
When I speak to people that have been here for a long period of time, they have had trouble adjusting.
You do notice the change, but I think really, everyone's adapted quite quickly.
A study of 100 of the world’s major cities revealed that Dubai
had the most overworked population,
with more full-time employees working 48-hour weeks than any other city.
A four-and-a-half-day work week could help remedy that.
But it will take more than government and school employees to shift Dubai’s workaholic culture.
While 79% of organizations in the UAE say they have made the switch to the
new Monday to Friday workweek, less than half of these have taken up a half day on Friday.
Most of the businesses sticking to the new five-day plus workweek are in the private sector.
Ahmed Ismail is CEO of Fluid Finance, a tech and crypto company based in Dubai.
As a start-up and as a business that's growing quickly, I work seven days a week anyway.
If you're dealing with like government entities, yeah, four-and-a-half-day week works.
You have to be flexible, but for me, it doesn't make any difference,
It’s one of those government policies, which is aligning itself to the West.
Is that the takeaway you get from that?
Yeah, it's a great, great change for us. Because if you're based here,
you have to work Friday, and you have to work Sunday, so you get one day off.
I think Saturday/Sunday meant that you align yourself with all your partners around the world.
Also, it shows how the leadership here in the UAE is forward-thinking and wants to grow.
And it's progressive. It's not stuck in the past.
Of course, Dubai's past is steeped in tradition and faith. Friday is a sacred day for Muslims,
with worshippers gathering in the afternoon for prayer.
The new four-and-a-half-day week allows for this.
Friday sermons across the UAE have been pushed back to 1:15pm,
and government employees are allowed to work from home.
But this is more difficult for those expected to work the full day.
CNBC reached out to local religious leaders for comment but did not hear back.
There are other adjustments to be made as well. While the UAE’s businesses
are better coordinated with the world’s work week, they have fallen out of step with the region.
And because not all of the population has made the shift,
it’s created confusion for some families whose weekends are no longer aligned.
Still, Dubai is known for its ability to tackle change, especially around its working week.
The UAE adopted Friday as a weekly holiday back in 1971
and didn't add Thursday to make it a two-day weekend until 1999.
Then in 2006, the weekend was changed to Friday and Saturday.
James Angle has been living in the country since he was a child.
Tell us a little bit about how the weekend has shifted since you've been in Dubai?
Oh, I mean, I believe in my early days here, that weekend was Thursday, Friday,
and it then shifted to Friday, Saturday, obviously now it's Saturday, Sunday.
People have just taken it in their stride. And I think people in Dubai do adapt to change.
And that's why they're out here in the first place,
because they were able to take that step to come out here.
And most locals seem to agree,
with 61% of UAE residents saying they’re happy with the new work week policy.
Next, we explore District 2020.
This new urban oasis hosted the international exhibition, Expo 2020 Dubai.
Now, it’s being transformed into a city of the future.
But will people want to live and work there?
That’s coming up in the next episode of From Crisis to Recovery.