The United Arab Emirates will shift to a working week of four and half days with a Saturday-Sunday weekend from the start of next year.
The Gulf State government said the move is to better align its economy with global markets. Private companies, however, will be free to choose their own working week.
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UAE, which is a commercial, trade and tourism hub, currently has a Friday-Saturday weekend. From Jan. 1, however, the weekend will start on Friday afternoon, including for schools, a government circular said.
The government said work on Friday would end at 12 noon before Muslim prayers, which would be unified on Friday across the UAE.
It also said that the longer weekend would improve employees' work-life balance and noted that several majority-Muslim nations, such as Indonesia and Morocco, have Saturday-Sunday weekends.