At home with changed weekend, one year on

Dubai: On September 2 last year, thousands of government and private sector employees switched off their alarm clocks and enjoyed the first official Saturday weekend in recent memory.

Offices and government departments were closed, as the UAE's official weekend changed from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday, to fall in line with regional and international trends.

But it was not only government employees who were affected by the change, with businesses, shops, cinemas and the UAE's social scene seeing patterns and schedules shaken up by the switchover. Few aspects of weekly life in the UAE remained unaffected.

One year on, the Friday-Saturday weekend is now firmly entrenched, and many residents report being pleased with the change, particularly from a lifestyle perspective, hailing it as particularly good for families who now have the same weekends.

Since the change, the days we relax and the days we work changed. There is an impact even on the routes we use to get to work. For people who had earmarked their favourite day to go to the beach or the mall, suddenly a flood of people joined them on the sand and in the aisles.

Pushing back the weekend gave businesses an extra day for transactions, and gave the clubbing generation an extra night out. Many malls and retail outlets have witnessed increased business on Saturdays, and the flow of traffic eased in some areas for those still having to work on a Saturday.