Global companies choosing to set up shop in the UAE is always a good sign, and the latest addition is especially interesting. The new Workday Dubai office, based at Dubai Internet City, marks the US enterprise software company’s official launch of operations in the UAE, backed by expanded local leadership. This Workday Dubai office launch is a thoughtful, well-timed move, paired with research that offers a refreshingly honest look at how AI is actually being used in local workplaces.
Why the Workday Dubai Office Matters
The launch of the Workday Dubai office comes at a moment when the UAE is clearly a priority market for global tech companies. According to Angelique De Vries-Schipperijn, President EMEA at Workday, the UAE is a key part of the company’s wider growth strategy. That is a meaningful vote of confidence, especially coming from a company with real global scale.
Workday itself serves more than 11,500 organisations worldwide, including over 65%of the Fortune 500, so its decision to invest directly in the UAE says a lot about where the company sees opportunity ahead.
A Genuinely Useful Piece of Research
Alongside the Workday Dubai office launch, the company released new research titled “Beyond Productivity: Measuring the Real Value of AI in the UAE.” The findings paint a detailed, balanced picture of how AI is really being used day to day:
- 90% of UAE employees use AI at least weekly
- 58% use AI multiple times a week
- 18% use AI every single working day
- More than half of directors and C-suite executives use AI weekly
These numbers show just how deeply AI has already become part of everyday working life across the UAE.
The Honest Part: Time Saved Isn’t Always Time Kept
What makes this research especially appreciated is its honesty. UAE employees reportedly save an average of 3.6 hours a week through AI productivity gains, a figure the Workday Dubai office team highlighted as genuinely meaningful. However, they also spend an average of 3.4 hours a week clarifying, correcting, or rewriting low-quality AI-generated output, almost cancelling out those AI productivity savings entirely.
This finding is a genuinely useful reminder that AI still depends heavily on human oversight rather than running completely unsupervised, and that human oversight remains just as important as the technology itself. Rather than overselling AI’s impact, this kind of transparent reporting gives businesses a much more realistic picture to plan around.
What Organisations Are Doing With the Time They Save
Encouragingly, the research also shows that many UAE organisations are using their AI-enabled efficiencies thoughtfully rather than purely for cost-cutting:
- 33% are using these AI-enabled efficiencies to handle greater workloads without increasing headcount
- 32% are redirecting savings toward training, upskilling, and reskilling staff
- Another 32% are channelling efficiencies into workload management, workplace flexibility, and employee wellbeing
- Only 24% say savings are used primarily for cost reduction
This kind of balanced reinvestment, rather than simply cutting jobs or costs, reflects a genuinely people-focused approach to AI adoption.
Confidence in AI’s Value Remains High
Perhaps most reassuring of all, just 0.2% of respondents said AI has not generated meaningful time or cost savings for their organisation. Even with the correction-time challenge clearly highlighted, confidence in AI’s overall value remains strong across the UAE workforce.
Why This Launch Deserves Appreciation
The Workday Dubai office launch deserves appreciation for several reasons:
- It brings a major global company’s full operations and leadership to Dubai Internet City
- It pairs a business launch with genuinely transparent, useful research
- It highlights real challenges, like correction time, rather than only celebrating headline numbers
- It shows UAE organisations reinvesting AI gains into people, not just cutting costs
Conclusion
The opening of the Workday Dubai office is a welcome addition to the UAE’s growing technology landscape, and the research released alongside it offers a genuinely balanced view of where AI adoption truly stands today. By acknowledging both the real time savings and the ongoing need for human review, this launch encourages businesses to approach AI thoughtfully rather than with unrealistic expectations.
If your organisation wants guidance on getting real, measurable value from AI, Horizontal8 is here to help. Reach out to Horizontal8 today, and let’s talk about building a thoughtful AI strategy together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the new Workday Dubai office located?Â
It is based at Dubai Internet City, marking Workday’s official launch of operations in the UAE.
How many UAE employees use AI weekly, according to the research?Â
90% of UAE employees use AI at least weekly, with 18% using it every working day.
Does AI actually save employees time?Â
Employees save an average of 3.6 hours a week through AI, but spend close to the same amount of time, 3.4 hours, correcting or rewriting low-quality AI output.
What are UAE organisations doing with the time AI saves them?Â
Most are reinvesting it into training, workload management, or employee wellbeing, with only 24% using savings primarily for cost reduction.
How large is Workday as a company?Â
Workday serves more than 11,500 organisations worldwide, including over 65% of the Fortune 500.