With the increase in digital nomads across the world, the UAE has taken another step towards welcoming hybrid work cultures with a new remote work system for public sector employees.
Now allowing them to work from abroad, the announcement was made on social media by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The remote work system will allow federal entities to carry out work from outside the UAE.
It is aimed towards attracting international talent to help the government become more efficient when completing major projects, studies and specialised tasks.
The new remote work system was announced following a cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi where the national government approved a number of other policies.
The UAE government also approved a national investment strategy for the next six years, strategic partnerships with other countries and national health and social affairs.
A government white paper published in January outlined the case in favour of remote work for both the private and public sectors.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, wrote the preface for the paper.
In the preface, the minister said that the argument in favour of a proactive policy that introduces remote work is “compelling”.
The paper looked towards examples of successful policies rolled out in other countries where remote work policies exist including the USA, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Taiwan and Turkey.
The move follows the announcement that select companies in Abu Dhabi will officially be able to hire remote employees from April 1, thanks to a set of fresh employment laws rolled out by the Registration Authority (RA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
In addition to the digital nomad visa introduced in the country as well as moves by the Dubai government advocating for more hybrid and remote work options – the country is slowly but steadily progressing towards flexible work cultures.