# Long working hours in Dubai - Is that common?



## Sean2008

Is it common for the official working hours in an office in Dubai to be from 8 AM to 6 PM and even 7 PM? What time do you guys start work? 

When I go in the morning to work the parking lot is almost empty so I was wondering if we were the only ones who start work so early.


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## bubble_boy

My wife starts at 8 and leaves at 6. An hour lunch in between. I work 10-7, but I don't normally take lunch. From my friends and stories I have heard, it is common to work those long hours. Its what the law here states you should work. 9 hours and 1 hour lunch for 5 days workweek, and i think if 6 days 8 hours, not sure if lunch is included in that.  From what ive read, the work hours in a week should normally be 48hours. Depending on the kind of work you do as well.


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## DesertStranded

The normal work week here is 48 hours as it's normal in muslim countries to only get Friday off. Most local companies here only give Friday off. Some give a half day on Thurs. and then all day Friday off. It's usually western companies that give a full two day weekend, usually on Fri. & Sat. Most people seem to work from around 9am-6pm or so. And you spend alot more of your time stuck in traffic to get to and from work as well.

In the states I was used to working 7.5 hrs a day, 5 days a week and then I moved to Germany and then N


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## Maz25

Long hours are very common here. My official working hours are 8am to 5pm but I've done a few 12 hour days as well. Read the small print in your contract - there is something in there about doing hours over and above your contracted hours, as required by the task at hand!

To put it bluntly, you will be made to earn every last penny of your pay!


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## Pasanada

I was working from 8am till 11pm most days (inc days off!) and once did a full 25 hour stretch!! When I mentioned this to my employer, his response was "Oh well...." I'm so glad I told him where to stick his job, it was bloody killing me!!!! Oh, and I was never financially rewarded for the extra hours worked.....nor did he sort out my visa......now I'm wiser.


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## Maz25

Pasanada said:


> I was working from 8am till 11pm most days (inc days off!) and once did a full 25 hour stretch!! When I mentioned this to my employer, his response was "Oh well...." I'm so glad I told him where to stick his job, it was bloody killing me!!!! Oh, and I was never financially rewarded for the extra hours worked.....nor did he sort out my visa......now I'm wiser.



Same here - all overtime hours are unpaid and I worked on my 2 days off this week! Mind you, the project is quite prestigious so maybe, I do not mind as much as I would have done had it been some horrible project. I'm sure I will get rewarded next time I decide to dust my CV! At least, my boss said thank you!


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## Pasanada

My boss only saw it that if you suceeded on one project, it just meant heaping MORE work on you.....and "danke" was never part of his vocabulary! Grrrrrrrrrrrrr Mind you, it gave me the ME experience I wanted so onwards and upwards!


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## DesertStranded

But that's not actually how ME People work. They may be on the clock from 9-6 but they'll only actually put in about 3 hours of work while just goofing off and chatting the rest of the time. That goes for both Persians and Arabs. That's partly why employers here don't want to pay living wages. They don't feel their employees deserve it. They figure you're going to rip them off so they try to rip you off first by offering as low a salary as possible that you will have to negotiate over like a used car salesman.

It's just the foreigners they expect to actually work the full shift.


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## Monalisa

I don't know what you are talking about, but most of the Arabs I know,including me, do work the whole shift.
I worked with a lot of nationalities and I've seen a wide range of dedication.
Does it mean that wherever you are from, you have seen all the same dedication that you have? of course not.


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## tiffclark1

My husband works for an investment bank and he works from about 9 in the morning and the eariest he gets home is about midnight, though last week he got home at 7 am the next morning. I guess it depends on where you are working and what you are doing


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## ExPatrick

Is it normal to work 12 hours almost everyday in Dubai when the official hours are from 8 to 6?


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## crazymazy1980

ExPatrick said:


> Is it normal to work 12 hours almost everyday in Dubai when the official hours are from 8 to 6?


Depends what you do and what the deadlines are, it's not uncommon and that's why you're paid what you're paid. 

My boss said one of the reasons he hired me over equally (if not more) qualified people was that I never asked what the working hours were.

If you enjoy what you do (as I do) then it doesn't matter how long you work. If you're dedicated to getting the job done on time the same. If you're just here for an easy life then you may want to think again.

HTH


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## Maz25

crazymazy1980 said:


> Depends what you do and what the deadlines are, it's not uncommon and that's why you're paid what you're paid.
> 
> My boss said one of the reasons he hired me over equally (if not more) qualified people was that I never asked what the working hours were.
> 
> If you enjoy what you do (as I do) then it doesn't matter how long you work. If you're dedicated to getting the job done on time the same. If you're just here for an easy life then you may want to think again.
> 
> HTH


Very true! I'm even working on public holidays, though I do get given days off in lieu at a later date. 

The reality of the matter is that you will have to earn every single penny that you are paid. Overtime is common and unpaid (for us expats at least considering that most of us come in as managers or better!). You have to get the work done, especially in this current climate, so long hours are common. I work in construction and I've lost track of the number of times I've taken work home, after working until late! My longest day so far was 16hrs but I know people who've done more!!


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## ExPatrick

Good for you man. I don't have a problem working long hours when it's warranted but at my company it seems that it's expected of people to work 12 hours every day just to show senior people that our team is "hard working". 



crazymazy1980 said:


> If you're just here for an easy life then you may want to think again.HTH


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## Maz25

ExPatrick said:


> Good for you man. I don't have a problem working long hours when it's warranted but at my company it seems that it's expected of people to work 12 hours every day just to show senior people that our team is "hard working".


I think you'll find that this culture exists everywhere - not just Dubai! It was the same when I was in London. My boss put pressure on us to work long hours so that she would be seen as an excellent team leader and get a big bonus!! It really didn't matter that we were all unhappy as long as she looked good in the eyes of the big bosses!


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## DesertStranded

ExPatrick said:


> Good for you man. I don't have a problem working long hours when it's warranted but at my company it seems that it's expected of people to work 12 hours every day just to show senior people that our team is "hard working".


Geez Louise, and people say Americans live to work! I feel for you. I guess the drop in quality of life isn't something people take into consideration before moving here. People just come here believing all the hype and thinking they'll get rich quick from not paying taxes.

I find the level of worker's rights and quality of life his higher in northern mainland Europe and Scandinavia. The only problem is that if you ever live and work in Scandinavia you'll be useless for anywhere else.


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## Spellbound

I'm averaging 16hr days, and haven't had a day off since I arrived. Things are incredibly busy, and I work on global stuff, so have to operate across lots of time zones.

I know of plenty of people who just do their contractual hours though, and are very well paid.


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## bubble_boy

I am sorry. If i had to work 12-16 hours days most of the time, I would look for another job. I do not live to work. I work to live. I guess everyone has their different priorities, but I don't want to look back in years to come and only have work to look back on. 

I firmly believe you should be happy in life, if that is from working then great for you, really! Luckily my company also understands this, and when it comes to me having to work a weekend or a few late nights, I am more happy to do it.


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## Spellbound

Doing constant long hours of work is not a sustainable work pattern, and it isn't a healthy way to live. I'm very conscious of that.

Quality of life is important, as is rest and relaxation.


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## Maz25

bubbles said:


> I am sorry. If i had to work 12-16 hours days most of the time, I would look for another job. I do not live to work. I work to live. I guess everyone has their different priorities, but I don't want to look back in years to come and only have work to look back on.
> 
> I firmly believe you should be happy in life, if that is from working then great for you, really! Luckily my company also understands this, and when it comes to me having to work a weekend or a few late nights, I am more happy to do it.


Very true but if you look at construction right now, if you choose to be a choosy beggar, it won't take long for you to turn into an unemployed beggar! I don't think that we will have to work those manic hours forever but it's safe to say that for the next 6 months, we all have to pull our weight, at least until things improve - first thing I'll be doing then is jump on a plane to Seychelles and spend the next month sunning myself on the beach!


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## ExPatrick

The manic hours have nothing to do with the financial meltdown. It's how my company culture is. They expect an employee to show "allegiance" by working until 8-9 PM . I was just wondering if it's the same at every company in Dubai before I bother looking for another job...



Maz25 said:


> I don't think that we will have to work those manic hours forever but it's safe to say that for the next 6 months, we all have to pull our weight, at least until things improve


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## flossie

I certainly wouldn't be coming to Dubai if your sole reason is to work less hours. Most of the people I know work like the clappers. I guess it depends to an extent what industry you are in and what level you are at. My husband is middle/senior management in the oil industry and due to it being 24/7 operation and the weekends here being Fri/Sat and the the rest of the world being open on a Friday, he spends all weekend on his freaking blackberry no matter what time or day it is.


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## Maz25

flossie said:


> I certainly wouldn't be coming to Dubai if your sole reason is to work less hours. Most of the people I know work like the clappers. I guess it depends to an extent what industry you are in and what level you are at. My husband is middle/senior management in the oil industry and due to it being 24/7 operation and the weekends here being Fri/Sat and the the rest of the world being open on a Friday, he spends all weekend on his freaking blackberry no matter what time or day it is.



I totally agree with you. Like I said in my earlier post, you will find this culture everywhere and considering the high salaries that a lot of expats are on, I'm sure that it must have been obvious what would be expected - in this place, you have to earn every penny that you make, nothing is free. Considering the current climate, the choice is either to work or be fired! I enjoy my work which is part of the reason that I do not complain about the long hours (which I was well used to in London - do an extra 2 hours in the office and then another 3 or so at home!) but there is also the fact that there are plenty of unemployed people waiting to step in your shoes, so I do whatever it takes to keep my job!


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## karendee

flossie said:


> I certainly wouldn't be coming to Dubai if your sole reason is to work less hours. Most of the people I know work like the clappers. I guess it depends to an extent what industry you are in and what level you are at. My husband is middle/senior management in the oil industry and due to it being 24/7 operation and the weekends here being Fri/Sat and the the rest of the world being open on a Friday, he spends all weekend on his freaking blackberry no matter what time or day it is.


haha yeah that sounds about right! Most of my clients are in the oil field industry all over the Middle East. Oil rigs are never *closed*. While work for them progresses on a shift basis, we are expected to cater to their requirements 24/7. So I'm pretty much married to my cell phone/email until I find another job that pays as much


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## flossie

karendee said:


> haha yeah that sounds about right! Most of my clients are in the oil field industry all over the Middle East. Oil rigs are never *closed*. While work for them progresses on a shift basis, we are expected to cater to their requirements 24/7. So I'm pretty much married to my cell phone/email until I find another job that pays as much


That's it. I know we all go on about 'quality of life' and 'work/life balance' and stuff. But as my husband says, we're all basically 'wh*res'. Once they show you the money, you'll do it.


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## Maz25

flossie said:


> That's it. I know we all go on about 'quality of life' and 'work/life balance' and stuff. But as my husband says, we're all basically 'wh*res'. Once they show you the money, you'll do it.


You totally crack me up but you are also very right!!! Couldn't have put it better myself!!!


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