New weekly work system in the UAE
This letter is about the latest progress of the UAE government on the new working days for employees, to be implemented from January 01 ("UAE weekend change: All you need to know", Gulf News, December 07). Public sectors will be working four and half days per week, which will undoubtedly increase the employees' productivity, with stress-free work. Private sectors can follow this concept depending on whether they want to follow this pattern. Earlier, UAE was planning four days a week, and now this new concept is perfect and flexible for the employees. The UAE always focuses on the latest developments, technology or work culture. Uae is always looking to explore new horizons, setting an example for other nations. For example, the current Expo 2020 Dubai has significantly impacted the international arena, and people have widely pronounced UAE's name with pride and admiration. Kudos to UAE for this concept.
From Mr K Ragavan
Bengaluru, India
A welcome change
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us many lessons - from valuing our health to the times we took for granted in our life (“UAE weekend change: How the decision benefits work-life balance”, Gulf News, December 07). Taking on from these lessons, UAE has become the first-ever country to implement a plan to create a perfect work-life balance. It is definitely a welcome move. The two and half-day weekend will create an opportunity for people to indulge in various fun activities and regular weekend activities. People can use the half-day to finish their grocery shopping and the next day for sports and hang out with friends and Sunday for relaxing and rejuvenating their energy for the upcoming week.
Also, I love the consideration taken in for the Friday prayer - to make it at 1:15 pm to preserve the culture and heritage of the land. The four and half day week plan will be linked to more workplace productivity and render people happier and healthier. I am looking forward to the change and taking steps alongside UAE ahead.
From Ms Faatimah Maryam Muzammil
Dubai
UAE weekend change
I work in a logistics company as a pricing and international networking manager (“UAE weekend change: Is there any flexibility for the federal authorities in implementing the new work system?”, Gulf News, December 07). I have been in UAE since 1995 and have gotten more than accustomed to Sunday being the first working day of the week. I hope the private sectors will eventually benefit from the new development in the UAE weekend change from the new year. I find it comfortable in many ways because Sunday, being worldwide off, gives a breathing room to organise and plan a schedule for the next four busy workdays. In addition, I communicate regularly with overseas clients/suppliers/business partners who follow standard weekends, Saturday and Sunday. However, business-wise, we lose three days with overseas agents. It is because we close on Fridays and Saturdays. Moreover, with US partners, we lose almost four days as they open on Monday after office hours in UAE; this creates hindrance and delays in business-related matters. So, once we are synchronised same as their weekends, there would be more ease of business. So, for sure, it's going to benefit us in many ways.
From Ms Anjali Ramchandani
Dubai, UAE
Remembering Vinod Dua
It's always a daunting challenge to encompass in words the personality and contributions of a man such as the veteran pioneer television journalist Vinod Dua, who passed away recently (“Veteran Indian journalist Vinod Dua dies at 67”, Gulf News, December 04). He was one of India's most popular and influential news broadcasters, who will be best remembered as the doyen of Indian television journalism. He worked at India's two most reputed channels, Doordarshan and NDTV. Unfortunately, his wife Chinna Dua preceded him due to COVID-19 complications. He was also the host of the top-rated food show "Zaika India Ka" for NDTV that saw him exploring distinct food cultures of different cities and towns in India. For his excellence in journalism, Veteran journalist Vinod Dua was honoured with several awards, including India's fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri by the government of India. He was also the first electronic media journalist who was awarded the coveted Ramnath Goenka award for Excellence in Journalism in 1996. He will always be remembered as a towering figure in Indian journalism and with his demise ends an era leaving behind a legacy of excellence.
From Ramesh G Jethwani
Bangalore, India
