As of next January, international companies will have a headache less. United Arab Emirates, one of the Near East countries most connected with global trade, will end with the work week that it has established Friday and Saturday as days of Library, in order to facilitate Friday enjoyment, consecrated to Islamic prayer . The official media defend the change as a step towards greater productivity and a better reconciliation of working life and staff.
With the new changes, which will come into force on the first day of the incoming year, the employees of the federal entities will work from Monday to Friday. However, on Friday there will only be half a day, so that at noon the work week finishes so that those faithful who wish they can go to the mosque. In total, then, the working week Emiratí will have four and a half days. As in most Western countries, rest days will be Saturday and Sunday.
This step is, however, the culmination of a gradual process of adaptation to the calendar of the main economic powers. Until the end of the last century, numerous Muslim countries had on Thursday and Friday as days of rest, and their work week began on Saturday. As of 2000, Jordan was the first country to take the step to a model from Sunday to Thursday. Many countries in the region followed him. Currently, only Iran maintains this model, although a change has been discussed.
In the case of Emirates, it was not until 2006 that it was passed to the model that will stop applying at the end of this month, and that takes place shortly after the half century of the formation of the small nation. The decision, in addition, has the addition of which it will convert EAU in the first country in the world to apply, officially, a working day under five days, due to the reduction of Friday. The government expects private companies to join this change quickly.
"The adoption of an agile work system will allow the United Arab Emirates to respond quickly to emerging changes and improve well-being at workplace," the state WAM news agency argues. "From an economic perspective, the new work week will better align the United Arab Emirates with global markets, reflecting the strategic state of the country on the global economic map," she adds.
Not in vain, Emirates is the country of preference for a large number of international companies to establish its operating base in the key region of the Middle East. The rich oil monarchy is, in addition, well connected with reference trade routes, and offers more moderate legislation with respect to the foreign population. It is estimated that 88.5% of 9.99 million people living in Emirates are residents of foreign origin.
Date Of Update: 07 December 2021, 08:15
