Last month, Iran’s education minister said he intends to create a two-week "winter holiday" before the new Iranian school year starts this fall. In exchange, students will start their academic year two weeks earlier. The goal is to create a new holiday period that could boost local tourism at a time of year when business is usually slow.

If implemented, the move will particularly benefit Iran's southern provinces, as families will be incentivized to visit the warmer climates in winter rather than make later trips to the more popular Caspian Sea provinces in the north. It would also bring a much-needed boost to employment and production in the south.

However, the scheme is but a small portion of what needs to be done to address challenges created by the country's calendar. The re-imposition of tough US sanctions following President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal has provided an added and strong incentive to boost efficiency in the economy, including steps to more closely align Iran with international work-week norms.

Many if not most Iranians believe that Iran has more holidays compared to other countries, especially given the large number of pre-Islamic as well as religious holidays. However, this is a major misperception. Iran has 24 official holidays — higher than China's 18 and 20 in more than 50 countries across Europe and the Americas. However, since only Fridays are considered an official weekend, Iranians have a total of 76 days off every year. In comparison, two-day weekends — the norm in most developed economies — add up to 104 days off per year, in addition to official holidays.