Oman considers 4-day week

The Ministry of Labour is studying the possibility of increasing weekends to three consecutive days, says the Oman Observer quoting a report in Arabic language daily Oman.

Salem Al Busaidi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Labour, told Oman newspaper that the ministry could look at impact any weekend change would have.

Oman mulls weekend change

Potential changes would need to be approved by the Shura and State Consultative Council.

“Oman, if the rule is approved to be a new law, will join many countries around the world which have already implemented a four working day system or are considering to do it,” said Oman Television.

A Ministry of Labour official quoted in the Times of Oman said: “Officials from the Ministry of Labour have made it clear that the decision on this issue falls under the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers, and there is no objection to studying this proposal and putting it up for discussion.”

Belgium and Iceland in Europe and Sharjah in the UAE have all adopted four-day working weeks.

In 2022 Sharjah adopted a four-day working week for government agencies. The move was approved by the Sharjah Executive Council.

The UAE was the first country in the world to introduce a four and a half-day working week.

Studies claim that switching to a four-day working week can have no negative impact on productivity. The first large-scale study of a four-day workweek has come to a startling close: Not one of the 33 participating companies is returning to a standard five-day schedule.

Data released last month shows the organisations involved registered gains in revenue and employee productivity, as well as drops in absenteeism and turnover. Workers on a four-day schedule also were more inclined to work from the office than home.

“This is important because the two-day weekend is not working for people,” said lead researcher Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College who partnered with counterparts at University College Dublin and Cambridge University.