A four-day working week could be a success in the UAE, according to leading industry experts.
The entire world has undergone something of a work revolution as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, with phrases such as remote working, hybrid working and working from home now common place.
Thibault Werlé (pictured below), managing director and partner, technology, media & telecommunications – emerging technologies at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), said at the recent AB Technology Forum that companies which refuse to adapt to the new way of working, particularly in a post-Covid world, will experience a negative impact on their balance sheets.
He said: “I think for some, the natural reaction is to go back to the previous ways of working. I don’t think it will work, so I don’t think the companies that are not adapting to the new ways of working will be performing as well as the one embracing them.”
But employees and companies alike are now turning their attention to the potential of reducing the working week from five days down to four.
And according to Nancy W Gleason (pictured below), an associate professor of Practice, Political Science, and director of the Hilary Ballon Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at New York University Abu Dhabi, such a move would be a success, particularly in the UAE.
She told Arabian Business: “There is a very strong business case for a four-day, 35-hour working week. Studies have demonstrated productivity rises, while the mass adoption of a four-day week would mean companies hiring additional workers to fill vacated time-slots. This could plug the gaps resulting from Covid-19 related job losses, and in the coming years it could help counter a dramatic rise in job losses resulting from automation in multiple sectors.
“There would also be business gains from internationally homogenised Monday-Thursday working weeks, with efficiencies gained across time zones – especially in a global hub such as the UAE.”
Trials of a four-day working week in Iceland, over a four-year period, were hailed an “overwhelming success” earlier this year. Conducted between 2015 and 2019, it revealed that productivity remained the same or improved among the majority of the 2,500+ workers taking part.
The trial saw many drop from a 40-hour week to a 35 or 36-hour week, with researchers from UK think tank Autonomy and the Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda) saying earlier this year that 86 percent of Iceland’s workforce had either moved to shorter hours on the same pay or will have the right to do so.
Four-day weeks have also been piloted further across countries in Europe, the US and New Zealand.
Justin McGuire (pictured below), co-founder of international recruitment firm DMCG Global, told Arabian Business: “Covid has massively increased candidates pushing for flexibility and clients accepting that. Many employers were forced to trust their employees as Covid gave them no choice, most were pleasantly surprised by the results and now happy to look at flexible options.”
Although he said such a change to the working week could work in the UAE, he stressed that “with days of the week that are slightly out of kilter with the rest of the world, it may be hard for those who need to be plugged into the rest of the world”.
UAE-based Active Digital Marketing Communications announced last month that, from September 1, it would be shifting to a four-day week to promote a better work-life balance, with salaries remaining untouched.
“We are so pleased to be one of the pioneers in this region, in our industry and with our team to implement this,” Sawsan Ghanem, the agency’s owner and managing director, wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Dubai-based TishTash Marketing employed a four-and-a-half-day week some seven weeks ago and Polly Williams (pictured above), managing director, told Arabian Business, employees had since reported increased productivity, creativity and a greater appetite to return to work on a Sunday morning.
She said: “Our industry is not 9-5pm and most of my team work way past 5.30pm, answering WhatsApps from clients and attending events. Our new working week is designed to give back to those who make our agency successful.”
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