The majority of private sector companies in the UAE are keen to adopt the new working week that the public sector will launch on January 1, according to a new survey.
Mercer Middle East launched a New UAE Work Weekend Survey to ascertain the private sector response, which showed that the majority of more than 190 firms that responded are embracing the shift to the Saturday and Sunday weekend model, regardless of industry.
The survey, which received 97 percent of responses from the private sector, showed that 57 percent have a preference to adopt the new UAE weekend model.
An average satisfaction score of 3.8 out of 5 reflected a robust support for and alignment to the vision of the government of the UAE, Mercer said in a statement.
However, the private sector is reluctant to follow the proposed 4.5 day working week, with only 23 percent of respondents likely to adopt a half-day work policy on Fridays.
The overwhelming majority said they are set to amend the weekend model to align to their operating models, workforce composition and industrial needs, with the majority of those following a Saturday-Sunday weekend operating on a hybrid basis and a workforce composing of a mix of office and field workers.
Ted Raffoul, Mercer’s career and workforce products business leader, MENA, said: “Employers in the UAE must continue to offer staff flexibility, particularly for parents given that schools will operate a half-day on Friday, and to accommodate religious needs. Offering staff the choice to work from home, or to work flexible days and or hours, will support talent attraction and retention.
“Overall, the shift to the new working weekend in the UAE has strong support from the private sector, but the companies that will thrive as employers of choice will be those that continue to stay attuned to the needs of their diverse workforces.”
The survey findings showed that 84 percent of firms believe that the new weekend will have a positive impact on transacting internationally, bringing benefit to business outside of the region.
However, 37 percent of firms are unsure of the impact of the new weekend on business activities within the Middle East. This uncertainty is marked by the fact that less than 40 percent of respondents stated that they believe the change in weekend will have a positive impact on transacting within the Middle East.
For the firms that are choosing to fully align to the government’s half day Friday, Saturday-Sunday weekend, two out of three employers said that working hours will not be increased, nor will remuneration be affected, in order to compensate for the reduced working hours.
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