The United Arab Emirates are once again leading the way as pioneers in the other countries of the Arab world.

With the start of the new year, they introduce Saturday and Sunday as the days off of the week.

So far, Friday and Saturday have been the weekend.

With the changeover, the Emirates have another innovation: Since the weekend already starts on Friday at twelve o'clock, they are also introducing a working week of 4.5 days with a weekly working time of 36.5 hours.

The employees can use flexible working hours and the option of working from home.

Rainer Hermann

Editor in politics.

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The regulation initially affects the authorities of the federal government, the public service of several emirates and the schools.

However, the government expects that many private companies will follow suit, if not as soon as January 1, 2022. The companies would act as they improve their position, said Abdulrahman al-Awar, the minister for human resources and emirisation the creation of jobs for the citizens of the Emirates.

He expects that the alignment of the weekend with that of the most important trading partners will have a positive effect on the competitiveness and economic performance of the United Arab Emirates.

However, the benefits to the private sector are not that obvious.

It is uncertain whether they will adapt to the shortened working week for cost reasons. Many companies have a seven-day week, for example in retail and in the important tourism and hotel industries.

For many, Saudi Arabia is also the most important economic partner, the weekend of which is Friday and Saturday, as has been the case in the Emirates, so that in future they would have to work six days a week if they were to change over.

Because of the time difference of three hours to Europe and nine hours to New York, half the day off on Friday doesn't do much good.

A remarkable step

Until 1999, the Emirates had a six-day week with Friday as the only free weekday.

Then there was an extension to Thursday, since 2006 Friday and Saturday have been the days off.

The Emirates were pioneers back then, too.

The move is noteworthy for another reason.

The Emirates follow some countries with a Muslim population, in which, like Turkey, Lebanon and Tunisia, the weekend has long been Saturday and Sunday.

However, the Friday prayer in the Emirates will no longer vary depending on the length of the day, but will generally begin at 1.15 a.m., which is unique in the Islamic world and should still cause discussions.

If the Emirates wanted something, it could happen very quickly, commented the local press on the changeover.

It also said that the 40-hour week dates back to Henry Ford's time. To increase productivity today, however, you have to be more flexible and respond more to the needs of workers.