Dubai Introduces 3-Day Weekend for Government Employees

Dubai has announced a new summer programme offering government employees a 3-day weekend and a 4-day workweek. The new schedule will start from July 1 and continue until September 12.

Under this system, employees will be divided into two groups:

• The first group will work 8 hours per day from Monday to Thursday and will enjoy Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as holidays.
• The second group will work 7 hours per day from Monday to Thursday, have a half-day on Friday, and will also get Saturday and Sunday off.

The aim of this programme is to improve employees’ quality of life and save government resources.

Dubai’s Human Resources Department launched this scheme as a trial last year and declared it successful. Based on positive results, the government has now extended the programme for another year.

It is worth mentioning that Sharjah has already implemented a 4-day workweek with a 3-day weekend, and similar work models around the world have shown improved employee productivity.