Ministry of Labor's proposal to make a two-day weekend compulsory in the private sector has cheered up millions of employees. Local media reports quoted Labor Minister Adel Fakieh as saying that the ministry was considering a proposal under which private sector workers will have two days off instead of the one-day rest they currently have. Public sector employees already have two days off, Thursday and Friday, and the new proposal is expected to boost job satisfaction in the private sector and make it more attractive for job seekers. A tripartite committee with representatives from the Labor Ministry, the private sector and the chambers of commerce will discuss the proposal, Fakieh was quoted by media reports as saying. The ministry had advised companies and establishments to grant their employees a two-day break, and it gave them the choice to determine the days, the reports said. The call for the longer weekly break was included in a study that concluded that the one-day off in the private sector had caused several people to seek employment in the public sector or to launch business initiatives. The study also referred to absenteeism in the private sector. Mark L. Pocock, brand manager at Aston Martin in Jeddah, welcomed the move. “Fantastic! I think our employees will love it. In general people need some more time off to themselves, to be able to think.” He said it was a shame the weekends in the Kingdom do not coincide with the rest of the world. “Here we have Thursdays and Fridays off whereas the rest of the world takes a weekend on Saturday and Sunday. This only gives us three working days.” Khalid Alkhudair, founder of Glowork.net (a website for women empowerment), was supportive of the move. “The Ministry of Labor is doing a great job in encouraging Saudization in the job market by passing such legislation. This will affect the perception of Saudis about the private sector and it will also increase the retention and attraction of talent in the market.” Tarek Al-Hadi, a 24-year-old Saudi working for Al-Hokair group, told Saudi Gazette, he was relieved and felt the change has come at the right time. “I work six days a week. It leaves no time for family and for myself. I am so tense on Fridays thinking about work and preparing for the upcoming week that I lose the sense of a weekend.” __
