Expert Proposes a “Three-Day Weekend” for These Reasons

Al-Taj News –

The President of the Public Service and Administration Commission, Engineer Fayez Al-Nahar, confirmed that the government has not issued any decision regarding the adoption of an official three-day holiday starting this month.

Meanwhile, the former Secretary-General of the Ministry of Public Sector Development and public administration and policy expert, Dr. Abdullah Mohammad Al-Qudah, presented a proposal to adopt a four-day government workweek in exchange for a three-day weekend, considering it worthy of study as part of the public administration modernization process, provided that it is implemented according to an integrated vision focused on productivity and results, rather than the number of hours spent at work.

Al-Qudah said that the proposal is not limited to reducing one working day, but requires reorganizing time, resources, and government operations, and employing technology to improve services, thereby achieving a better balance for employees without compromising citizens’ right to receive services efficiently and continuously.

He explained that the standard for government performance should be linked to the volume of achievements, service quality, and citizens’ satisfaction, rather than the number of hours an employee spends in their office. He called for reengineering procedures, reducing unnecessary meetings and correspondence, simplifying transactions, and linking employee performance to measurable goals and indicators, such as the speed of completing transactions, the rate of compliance with specified deadlines, the level of satisfaction among service recipients, and rates of errors and delays.

He stressed that implementing the proposal should not lead to an increase in daily working hours or impose additional burdens on employees; rather, it should be based on improving procedures, digitalization, and time management.