‘Dubai hustle’ forces more workers to put in 6 days a week

• Cost of living and business activity rise
• Events industry particularly affected
• Doctors warn of health impacts

More Dubai workers are clocking up six days a week in the office as business activity accelerates and the cost of living climbs, according to the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai.

The S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a nine-month high of 54.8 in November, signalling an improvement in the country’s non-oil private sector. New orders expanded at their fastest pace since January and nearly a third of the companies surveyed reported higher output.

The business environment is placing a strain on staff, however. While six-day weeks are the norm in sectors such as hospitality and healthcare, they are now spreading to other settings.

The events industry has been particularly affected, said Katy Holmes, CEO of the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai.  

“November has been an intensely busy period. It’s the same every year – and yet for many of our members it’s felt more of a struggle this events season,” she said. 

“From the event organiser side it’s a competitive market for people’s time and attention, and from those on the invitation side, there are more invites as the market and competition grows. 

“The Dubai hustle makes it hard to say no for fear of missing an opportunity.”

Dan Bolton, founder of Dubai-based events agency BE Creative, said he had not had a day off since March. “It’s so competitive. The minute you take your foot off the gas, somebody else has taken that job.

“You don’t have the luxury of switching off your phone and not being available. If I don’t answer the phone, then they’ve already called somebody else.”

For many Dubai residents, surging living costs have left them little choice but to work more. 

Dubai and Tel Aviv were named as the most costly cities in the Middle East for international employees in a survey last year by US consultancy Mercer, which covered expenses such as restaurant dining, rent, power and transport. 

UAE inflation, measured via the consumer price index, is expected to settle at 1.6 percent this year, edging up toward 2 percent in 2026 and 2027, according to the International Monetary Fund.

“With rents rising so high and with schooling becoming ridiculously expensive and everything else doubling in price, as a family man or even as an individual you have to work extra to be able to live in this city,” said Zaid Alhiali, executive director of recruitment company Marc Ellis.

“The expense of living just a normal life has become so difficult. People are almost forced to work six days a week.”

Further reading:

• UAE businesses slow hiring despite positive outlook
• Insurers prosper from rise in UAE population
• Dubai economy expands on diversified growth

Doctors warn that the trend is unsustainable. A six-day working week “acts as a powerful accelerant of ageing and disease”, said Dr Hasan Alogaily of King’s College Hospital London in the UAE. Sleep and exercise are the first casualties of extended working hours, he added.

The pressure persists despite Gulf governments mandating shorter official work weeks. The UAE shifted its public sector to a 4.5-day week in 2022, while Saudi Arabia and others have standardised five-day schedules. 

Six-day weeks remain entrenched in retail, hospitality, construction and healthcare – and continue to dominate among labour-intensive expatriate roles, according to George Hanna, Mena regional director for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

“It’s a strategic priority for the Gulf to modernise its labour markets. But six-day work patterns remain deeply embedded across large parts of the economy.”