Sharjah stands as the third largest and third most populous city of the seven that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its strides across the sectors of industry, tourism, education, healthcare, and more recently, agriculture, have been admired by cities and nations around the world.

These accomplishments have been admired not only for Sharjah’s consistent GDP growth and its creation of new opportunities in emerging and diverse sectors, but the admiration has followed the Emirate’s unique human approach to attaining economic prosperity. Human-centric ethos form the core of Sharjah’s vision strategies and execution of sustainable development.

The future of work in terms of job opportunities for youth, the question of the labour force in aging societies, and economic productivity are key components for a long-term strategy in many societies. In recent years, the Government of Sharjah has invested heavily and in diverse ways to improve working conditions for employees. From increasing salaries and benefits annually, ensuring a balanced work-life lifestyle, to establishing a retirement fund for Sharjah Government employees, the Emirate’s leadership has always circled back to its human-centric ethos to continually design a more sustainable and fulfilling work environment for its professionals.

The idea: Turning adversity into opportunity

In January 2022, Sharjah Government implemented a 4 day week scheme, after witnessing the tangible and measurable rise in productivity and wellness levels of its employees when, in the wake of Covid-19, some individual government entities adopted the 4 day week principle to ensure the health and safety of its staff.

The Emirate announcing this as a city-wide requirement for all its public offices was an unprecedented move, making Sharjah the first local government in the country to shorten the work week to Monday through Thursday.

After many public servants across Sharjah started to informally express the myriad of benefits they experienced since the implementation of the 4 day week scheme, namely, increased productivity, decreased stress and fatigue, improved health, more cohesive family and community life, a stronger feeling of gender parity for working mothers, and so on, the Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD) undertook a comprehensive survey to measure employee satisfaction levels and quantify the real and tangible impact of Sharjah Government’s decision to transition to reduced working hours.

The impact: 90% report increase in job satisfaction

In terms of productivity levels, the study found that 86% of all respondents demonstrated higher productivity, and that 89.6% of respondents achieved a higher work performance. About 90% of respondents agreed that their job satisfaction increased. With a higher overall satisfaction rate at work, employees are guaranteed to perform better.

An important outcome of the shortened workweek was the way in which longer weekends positively affect employees’ well-being.

The study found that 85% of respondents enjoyed better work-life balance. In terms of participating in social events, 69.7% respondents noted that they had more time to do so, which enabled them to actively foster social and familial relationships. The study also found that 61.8% of respondents had picked up new hobbies or finally found the time to reignite long-cherished hobbies they put on the backburner to cope with the pressures of work and life.

Similarly, 87.3% respondents found that their mental health was positively impacted by working shorter weeks. Another aspect of well-being the respondents linked to their improved mental health was an elevated standard of living. The shorter work week allowed 43% respondents to open small businesses. More people have been able to invest their time and finances in starting businesses, which has boosted Sharjah’s entrepreneurial environment.

While there haven’t been any major challenges with implementing the new work week in the Emirate, the diverse nature of employment in Sharjah and their demands meant that some private and even public entities had to function on Fridays. In order to standardise the 4 day week for all, the Government of Sharjah has increased one working hour every day so that other sectors do not lose a whole day in terms of their dealings with the government. This has also encouraged companies to give employees the option to work from home on Fridays, or do half a day of work.

A good investment

The decision to shorten the work week is not an easy one to make. Companies operating on a global scale will face challenges and risks, especially in terms of profit and the rate of efficiency of services provided. As companies become more globalised, customers look for round-the-clock services. Nevertheless, the 4 day week is not only about shortening working days, it is also about flexibility and giving employees the space to enhance their personal lives. Flexibility is an essential part of the work culture which ensures a work-life balance.

After Sharjah’s success in implementing a shorter workweek, we have seen how investing in employees yields advantageous outcomes in terms of a more engaged workforce and a generally happier and less stressed employee. After all, investing in people is a step towards building a sustainable vision for both the future of work and for human development.

This article was prepared by the Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD) in the Government of Sharjah. DSCD is responsible for collecting and analysing data, and for conducting studies on prevalent social issues in the Emirate.