"UAE announces today that it will transition to a four and a half-day working week, with Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday forming the new weekend. All Federal government departments will move to the new weekend from January 1, 2022," the Emirates announced the development in a tweet and its official website on Tuesday.

"The move applies to Federal government entities and comes alongside new working hours, with Monday to Thursday workdays now starting at 7:30 am and ending at 3:30 pm, and Friday working hours from 7:30 am - 12:00 pm," it added.

The new working week is expected to bring the UAE’s financial sector into closer alignment with global real-time trading and communications-based transactions such as those driving global stock markets, banks and financial institutions.