On September 1, the UAE will turn to a Friday-Saturday weekened.
On that date, government departments and educational institutions will shift their weekend from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday. Many private companies are expected to follow suit.
What do you think of the Friday-Saturday weekend? Will it complement or clash with your personal and professional life?
Send your comments to feedback@gulfnews.com
A selection of your emails will be published on this page. We reserve the right to edit emails for length and clarity but comments will reflect the balance of opinion. Emails will not be published if no name is provided. If you wish to remain anonymous then please state this at the bottom of your comment.
This is a welcome gesture. As per international trading we are gaining one more day. I would like it to be implemented all over the UAE and for all institutions regardless if they are government or private
Padma
Sharjah
It is great news to hear about the Friday Saturday weekend. My Colleagues are also looking for the same two days weekend in a week, which would be more helpful for working women to look after their family.
Renga
Abu Dhabi
Having a Friday-Saturday weekend is not going to be a big problem. A two-day holiday has been working since ages in almost all countries and it can work well in the UAE also.
Krishna
By e-mail
Where I work I am currently getting a half-day holiday on Thursdays, and full day holiday on Fridays. But when it comes to a Friday-Saturday weekend, will that mean Fridays will be a full holiday, while Saturdays will be given as a half-day holiday?
Jisha Sumesh
Sharjah
Editor's note: The number of days off and when they fall is at the discretion of private sector employers.
I am working in an IT Company which operates six days a week. We are not lucky enough to have a two day weekend, so the new weekend does not make a diffrence to us. It's made me more jealous of not having a two day weekend!
Parveez
By email
Something is still very unclear. What will happen to the private sector? How is it possible, in the 21st century to have such discrimination between government and private sectors? But, what can I say? Nothing in this country amazes me anymore.
Alin
Dubai
Editor's note: The number of days off and when they fall is at the discretion of private sector employers.
It is great news to hear about the Friday-Saturday weekend. I am definitely looking forward to it, since most countries globally have Saturday-Sunday as weekend. Secondly, since the UAE is a major hub for many businesses, this one day is going a make a big difference.
Karthik
USA,Dubai
A Saturday holiday is only beneficial to those who work in the finance industry, it does not affect other industries eg. construction, hospitality, health, manufacturing and so many others. The finance industry is not the only important industry so why does everyone else have to abide to its whims?
Hashim
Dubai
A Friday-Saturday weekend is a great idea, especially for commercial establishments involved with foreign trade. The four day "cut off" with the western world is reduced to three days. A day saved means a lot for the commercial sector. This change will not be beneficial to a large portion of the employees of private sector. Very few private companies allow two days off. A lot of employees get a Friday holiday. A few are fortunate enough to have an additional half day
off on Thursdays. With this new Friday-Saturday off, they are surely going to lose the half day off. This change is not employee-friendly.
Panickar
Dubai
I won’t say that shifting to a Friday-Saturday weekend is a bad idea. I believe that it will affect everyone and problems may arise in the early stages.
Adnan
By email
