MPs are now pushing for a three-day weekend, stretching from Friday to Sunday, as they have put aside their differences.

A proposal by five MPs, led by Dr Ali Al Nuaimi, to change the weekend to Saturday and Sunday with Fridays as a half working day, has now been adjusted to become a complete three-day weekend.

Five legislators, led by Mohammed Al Olaiwi, had followed up the original call with their own suggestion for a three-day weekend. However, Parliament’s legislative and legal affairs committee said it could not review the second proposal due to parliamentary rules that state the first one would need to be withdrawn.

Dr Al Nuaimi has now changed his proposal to meet what he described as ‘public demand’ to implement the neighbouring ‘Sharjah-model’. Employees of the government of Sharjah work four-days-a-week from Monday to Thursday, starting at 7.30am and clocking off at 3.30pm. The official weekend is for three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“Technology has played a major role in increasing employee productivity, to the point that most employees probably don’t need to work as many hours as previous generations,” said Dr Al Nuaimi.

“Many companies are testing the four-day workweek with promising results, even if the employees aren’t working a full 40 hours over those four days. Some pilot studies in Europe showed companies who tried the four-day solution had lower turnover rates and less absenteeism,” he added.

“Employees who work 32 hours a week instead of 40 have reported feeling happier and are more likely to manage their stress, sleep and exercise more, and spend more quality time with loved ones.

“I always want to push ahead with what’s applicable and if the three-day is easier to implement than my original two-an-half weekend as recommended to me – then I am certainly in favour of it and that’s what I did when I adjusted the original proposal.”

Another cited example in the new modified proposal, which comes from Iceland, employees who worked fewer hours experienced more than better work-life balance and overall health.

“According to one study in Iceland, the employees increased productivity and the quality of their services following the shift,” said Dr Al Nuaimi.

“Employees who get ample rest between shifts and disconnect from work tend to have higher productivity and creativity levels.

“They’re also more likely to provide better quality work, including improved customer service and innovation.”

Three political societies earlier deplored the proposal to change the current Bahrain weekend of Friday and Saturday.

The National Unity Gathering Society, Asala Islamic Society and Al Menber National Islamic Society said that the proposal reflected a ‘lack of understanding’ and was ‘based on false arguments’.

MPs Jameel Hassan and Abdulhakim Al Shino also called for an immediate withdrawal of the original proposal. They said the majority of Bahraini people were against the proposal and that His Majesty King Hamad had ‘on many occasions stressed the importance of respecting and protecting the national, Arab and Islamic identity’.

The GDN had reported in July 2022 that more than 40 per cent of people in Bahrain interviewed for a survey said they would like the two-day weekend to continue, rather than switch to a four-and-a-half-day working week.

In the same year, the UAE shifted its working week (for the public sector) to four-and-a-half days from Monday until Friday midday with a Saturday-Sunday weekend (including for schools). The work on Friday would end at noon before the prayers, with private companies being free to choose their own working week.

Multiple reports in the UAE media have stated that workers feel more productive and relaxed with the new arrangements, with employers noticing an improvement in staff attendance.

“We are set to invite all relevant ministries, government bodies, civil societies and businessmen for feedback over the three-day proposal,” said legislative and legal affairs committee vice-chairman Mahmood Fardan.

“Let’s see what happens, we could hear a ‘go-ahead’, and that means the government has done its homework over the past few months, and that it wants to adopt the Sharjah model,” he added.

“It could be ‘no’ and then we will have to enter into negotiations on how to make the proposal more acceptable.

“For us, we are clearly seeking the three-day weekend suggestion and will push to have it become a reality.”

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