The Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) has rejected the Shoura Council's, a formal advisory board that can suggest things but not pass actual laws, proposal of a two-day weekend and a 40-hour working week for private sector workers. Their arguments were that: 1. It would negatively affect the economy by increasing business and labour costs, since 58% of the GDP comes from the private sector, 2. It would not make the private sector more appealing for jobseekers, and other more effective ways to do that are providing training and strengthening job security3. Businesses would lose money, having to pay more workers for overtime to meet deadlines, increasing wage costs by 30%, 4. It would increase the prices of goods and services locally, 5. The 48-hour and 1-day weekend have already helped expand and complete project and create jobs, and 6. The kingdom's exports would be less competitive.
This debate over a 1 or 2 day weekend and a 40 or 48 hour is very interesting, because it has strong arguments on both sides. My basic prior knowledge of working weeks is that the United States and many other countries (such as Japan, the UK, and Mexico) all typically have 40-hour weeks, with a maximum of 48 hours that usually isn't expected of employees. Most Saudis actually want to have a 40-hour week and 2-day weekend, because that is what most employees want and may make them more committed and more productive, helping with the already existing fierce competitiveness in the country. Government employees already gets more benefits (like a 40-hour week and 2-day weekend), though people working for private companies don't tend to. Even though the articles I read were neutral, most opinions in the articles and comments on them were in favour of the 2-day and 40-hour. One woman said that she might quit her job if not allowed to spend more time with her family, and that people aren't machines. Personally, I can't imagine having only one day of "rest", though I can see how it would affect productivity, since most Saudis work in companies following the 48-hour system, and if that were changed, business would have to redo tons of contracts. One person suggested reducing weeks to 45 hours, since "things should not be considered in haste", and I agree. I often wish the world wouldn't move so fast, because you have to give up a lot to keep up, and I hope the system changes in Saudi Arabia, because though it may not be as "productive", when you look at the big picture, being with family and friends is much more important in life.
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/news/521396 , & http://www.arabnews.com/news/519816
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