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Sitting in traffic on the way to work may give you time to catch up on your favorite podcast, but it can also give you a headache, as many workers in the middle east have been experiencing.
Where in the world? Dubai’s population has exploded in recent years, growing by 400,000 since 2020 to 3.8 million in 2024. The city has grappled with accommodating the roughly 3.4 million cars on the road during commuting hours. In response, its government is encouraging public and private employers to allow more employees to work remotely, Wired reported.
The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, and Dubai Government Human Resources Department, released a report in November examining flexible hours for 332,000 public and private sector workers. It found that while just 32% of private companies offer remote work options, 58% are considering more, and 31% have flexible start times.
The report contends that wider adoption of these policies could lead to up to 30% less congested streets. It recommends that employers offer remote work up to five days a week and a two-hour flexible start time.
“Remote work and flexible working hours are among the traffic demand management policies aimed at achieving balance and integration in the transport system by reducing or redistributing demand across time and place while promoting sustainable transport options,” Mattar Al Tayer, Dubai’s commissioner general for infrastructure, urban planning, and well-being, said in a statement. “Additionally, they support public transport use for employees and encourage carpooling.”
Satellite view. Dubai isn’t the first government to try to influence HR policies, and likely won’t be the last. As Covid-19 eased in 2022, several US mayors asked employers to bring workers back to the office to help revitalize downtown areas.
Research on the relationship between remote work and reduced traffic has been mixed, at least in the US, Fortune reported last November. At the height of Covid-19 in 2020, when most office workers were working remotely, traffic in Los Angeles decreased by just 6%. However, a 2024 study from Coworking Cafe found that traffic during the pandemic diminished in some states, such as California, while increasing in others, like Arizona.