UAE workers see rising workloads with AI, Dubai reports high happiness from flexible summer hours

A Robert Walters study of UAE professionals found that 79% say their roles have expanded unofficially over the past year, creating "shadow workloads". Almost half (49%) are spending longer hours at work, 25% are delegating tasks, and only 17% have discussed the increase with managers. Meanwhile, 73% of respondents rely on artificial intelligence to manage the growing workload.

In Dubai, the government’s "Our Flexible Summer" 2026 initiative introduced reduced summer working hours for more than 24,000 employees across 49 entities. A survey showed 98% of participants reported higher happiness, 97% said productivity was maintained, and 96% felt service quality remained high. Director General Abdulla Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi said the flexible model enhances performance and supports a modern, agile public sector.