RIYADH — Companies, businesses, and other establishments in the private sector hire expatriate employees who are ready to work up to 18 hours a day. I believe this contributes to creating a work environment which cannot accommodate all employees, as job opportunities become limited to those who are willing to work up to 18 hours a day. While the aforementioned establishments may prefer hiring those who are willing to work that many hours in a day, there are various advantages to establishing regular nine-to-five timings and days off during the weekend for employees. An important advantage to a regular work schedule is its role in saving electricity. If work hours at stores, for example, do not exceed nine hours a day, up to six hours of electricity may be saved. Another advantage would be the effect this change would have on an employee's social life. Families will have more time to spend together, a commodity which has been increasingly scarce in the modern age. There is an indisputable need to set a cap on work hours, in order to promote a healthy work environment for the people in this society, and to help prevent wasting limited resources such as electricity. The Ministry of Labor and Commerce should coordinate with each other in order to compel companies and businesses in the private sector to set fewer work hours, and allow their employees regular weekends off.
