---
title: "Running a wellbeing programme through Ramadan: working hours, sleep and pace in the UAE"
description: "Ramadan working hours in the UAE drop by two a day in the private sector. How to plan meetings, rest and wellbeing around suhoor, iftar and shorter nights."
canonical: https://www.sisly.ai/en/blog/wellbeing-programme-through-ramadan/
published: 2026-09-08
updated: 2026-09-29
language: en
---

# Running a wellbeing programme through Ramadan: working hours, sleep and pace in the UAE

Ramadan working hours in the UAE fall by two hours a day for private sector employees, under MOHRE's annual announcement. Sleep also shortens, by about an hour a night on average. A wellbeing programme that works through Ramadan plans around that: fewer late meetings, flexible start times, quiet afternoons and no pressure to perform.

- MOHRE reduces private sector working hours by two hours a day during Ramadan, and allows flexible or remote arrangements within those hours.
- Research across 24 studies found sleep fell from about 7.2 to 6.4 hours a night during Ramadan.
- The strongest levers an employer holds are timing ones: when meetings happen, when deadlines fall and how late messages arrive.
- Activity during the month is best kept light to moderate, and the Dubai Health Authority suggests one to two hours after iftar for most exercise.
- Wellbeing data belongs to the person it describes; a programme works when nobody else sees it.
## What are Ramadan working hours in the UAE?

During Ramadan, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, or MOHRE, reduces normal working hours for private sector employees by two hours a day. The reduction is announced each year under the implementing regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the regulation of employment relationships.

The same announcement allows private sector companies to use flexible working or remote work within the reduced daily hours, where the business and the role allow it. Federal and local government entities publish their own Ramadan hours separately.

Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February 2027, according to projections from the UAE's Astronomy Centre, with the date confirmed by the moon sighting. That puts the planning window for most HR teams in January.

Shorter hours are the start of a Ramadan plan, not the whole of it. The bigger change is what happens to people's nights.

## Why does Ramadan change how people work?

Because the day and night are rebuilt around iftar at sunset and suhoor before dawn. For a month, many colleagues eat later, sleep later and sleep in two blocks rather than one.

A 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis in Sleep and Breathing pooled 24 studies and found that total sleep time fell from 7.2 hours a night before Ramadan to 6.4 hours during it. Daytime sleepiness rose slightly.

A 2017 review by Qasrawi, Pandi-Perumal and BaHammam adds a useful detail for employers. When studies held sleep times, light and activity steady, fasting did not increase daytime sleepiness or change cognitive function. In everyday life, bedtimes and wake times moved sharply later. The tiredness people bring to work comes mostly from timing, which is the part a workplace can help with.

We explain the night itself in [how Ramadan changes your sleep](https://www.sisly.ai/en/blog/how-ramadan-changes-your-sleep/).

## What does a wellbeing programme through Ramadan need to do?

It needs to take things away rather than add them. During the rest of the year, a programme might offer sessions, challenges and talks. During Ramadan, the most useful thing it can do is protect time, rest and privacy.

In practice that means three jobs:

- **Protect the edges of the day.** No calls that run into iftar, no messages that land before suhoor.
- **Make the hours flexible.** Let people choose where the reduced hours fall, within what the work allows.
- **Lower the pressure.** Pause anything that ranks, scores or compares people.

## How do you plan the month, step by step?

1. Confirm the reduced working hours for the year as soon as MOHRE announces them, and share them with every team.
2. Agree core hours of three to four hours in the middle of the working day, when most meetings can happen.
3. Move recurring meetings out of the hour before sunset, and shorten any that remain.
4. Set a message curfew from late afternoon until the next working morning, for managers first.
5. Move deadlines that fall in the last ten days of the month, when many people are also preparing for Eid.
6. Pause step challenges, leaderboards and wellbeing competitions until after Eid.
7. Offer a quiet room for rest or prayer, if the office has space.
8. Share general guidance from a health authority, such as the Dubai Health Authority's Ramadan Health Guide, rather than writing your own health advice.
9. Plan the return after Eid, with a lighter first week.

## How can meetings and deadlines fit the month?

Meetings are where a Ramadan plan succeeds or fails. The day has a shape, and energy does not stay level across it.

| Part of the working day | What tends to happen | What to schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Early morning | Many people have slept a short second block after suhoor | Focused solo work, flexible start |
| Late morning | Usually the steadiest part of the day | Decisions, reviews, the meetings that matter |
| Early afternoon | Energy starts to dip | Short check-ins, admin |
| Last hour before leaving | People are travelling home for iftar | Nothing that cannot move |

Keep meetings to 30 minutes where you can. Put decisions early. Cancel anything that exists out of habit. A month of lighter calendars is often remembered longer than any wellbeing session.

## What about colleagues who are not fasting?

Treat the month as a change of pace for the whole team. Colleagues who are not fasting still work reduced hours in the private sector, still feel the quieter evenings and may be covering more.

A few habits help everyone:

- Keep food and drink out of shared meeting rooms during fasting hours.
- Offer the same flexibility to everyone, fasting or not.
- Do not quietly move work onto the people who seem less tired.
- Share the plan openly, so nobody has to ask for an exception.

## Should a wellbeing programme change activity during Ramadan?

Yes, and mostly by stepping back. The Dubai Health Authority's Ramadan Health Guide 2026 suggests keeping most activity light to moderate during Ramadan, especially during fasting hours. It points to one to two hours after iftar as the best time for most exercise, and to light walking or stretching only in the 30 to 60 minutes before iftar.

The guide describes walking as the simplest option for most people: a five-minute warm-up, 15 to 30 minutes at a moderate pace and a few minutes of slow walking to finish. It also advises anyone with a medical condition to ask their doctor about the timing, intensity and type of exercise.

For a workplace, that means lunchtime runs and step leaderboards can wait. If you offer anything, offer something optional after iftar, with no scores. Our guide to [steps and calories](https://www.sisly.ai/en/blog/steps-and-calories/) explains why a daily step count is a personal figure, not a team one.

## How do you keep health data private in a Ramadan programme?

By not collecting it. A month of changed sleep, meals and energy is exactly the kind of information people do not want seen by their employer, even in a summary.

A few rules keep a programme trustworthy:

- Never ask employees to share sleep, heart or activity readings.
- Never report individual or team wellbeing figures to managers.
- Measure the programme by what the company does, such as meetings moved and hours kept, not by what employees' bodies do.

We explain the reasoning in [why nobody should see your team's health data](https://www.sisly.ai/en/blog/why-nobody-should-see-your-teams-health-data/).

## What are common mistakes in a Ramadan wellbeing programme?

- **Adding sessions.** A lunchtime talk during fasting hours asks for energy people do not have.
- **Late calls with other time zones.** A call at eight in the evening lands in the middle of the family evening and taraweeh.
- **Treating it as a slow month.** Reduced hours do not mean reduced expectations unless someone plans for it.
- **Forgetting the last ten days.** The end of the month often brings the latest nights and Eid preparations.
- **An abrupt return.** Going straight from Ramadan hours to a full week of deadlines after Eid.

## What happens after Eid?

After Eid al-Fitr, working hours return to normal, but sleep takes longer. Many people spend the holiday on late nights with family, and the body clock moves back to an earlier pattern gradually.

A lighter first week helps: fewer early meetings, deadlines set for the second week, and the same message curfew for a few more days. The same thinking applies to the hottest months of the year, which we cover in [wellbeing at work through a Gulf summer](https://www.sisly.ai/en/blog/wellbeing-at-work-gulf-summer/).

## Where Sisly fits

Sisly is a titanium ring or band that reads sleep, energy, stress, heart rate variability, activity and skin temperature against the wearer's own normal. It is AED 999, paid once, with no subscription, readings hosted in the UAE and an app in Arabic and English. For teams, more is on the [business page](https://www.sisly.ai/en/business/teams/).



## FAQ

**What are Ramadan working hours in the UAE for the private sector?**

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation reduces normal working hours for private sector employees by two hours a day during Ramadan. The announcement is made each year, and it also allows companies to use flexible or remote working within the reduced daily hours where the work allows. Check MOHRE's announcement for the current year before you set your own Ramadan schedule.

**Do reduced Ramadan working hours apply to employees who are not fasting?**

Yes, in the private sector. MOHRE's announcement applies the reduction to private sector employees, and Gulf News, explaining Cabinet Decision No. 1 of 2022, describes it as applying to all of them regardless of religion, role or job category. Shift-based and continuity roles are handled differently. If you are unsure how it applies to your team, ask your HR or legal adviser rather than relying on a general guide.

**When is the best time to hold meetings during Ramadan?**

Late morning and early afternoon usually work best. Early mornings follow a short second night block after suhoor, and the hours just before iftar are when energy and patience tend to run lowest. Keep meetings short, put decisions earlier in the day, and avoid scheduling anything that runs close to sunset, when people are travelling home to break the fast with family.

**Should a company run a fitness or step challenge in Ramadan?**

It is kinder to pause competitive challenges for the month. The Dubai Health Authority suggests keeping most activity light to moderate during Ramadan, especially during fasting hours, and points to one to two hours after iftar as the best time for most people. A leaderboard pushes people to do more at exactly the time their bodies are asking for less.

**How can managers support people who are not fasting?**

Treat the month as a shared change of pace rather than something that only affects some of the team. Colleagues who are not fasting may still be covering more work, adjusting to new hours or eating discreetly. Keep the same flexibility for everyone, keep food out of shared meeting rooms during the day, and make sure deadlines are not quietly shifted onto whoever seems less tired.

**What should a Ramadan wellbeing programme avoid?**

Avoid anything that measures, ranks or compares people during a month when their sleep, meals and energy all move. That includes step leaderboards, productivity scores and requests to share health readings with the company. Avoid late calls after iftar and messages before suhoor. The programme that works is the one people barely notice, because it removes friction rather than adding tasks.