All 700 AFAS Software employees will move to four-day work week for same pay

Dutch software firm AFAS announced plans to move all of its employees to a four-day work week starting next year. The roughly 700 employees will continue to receive the same wages, bonuses, benefits, and vacation time, and their workday will remain at eight hours, the company in Leusden, Utrecht announced on Wednesday.

"From January 1, 2025, the office will close on Fridays and everyone who works for AFAS will have a 'development day,'" the company said. This development day is not meant for improving skills at the workplace, but rather for employees to relax, spend time with their families, provide care for relatives, volunteer, or take part in any activity as they see fit.

"Employees who already work four days will be compensated. The software company does not plan to recruit more people as a result of this introduction," the company said.

AFAS claims to be the first large employer in the Netherlands to implement a four-day work week, and hopes to inspire other businesses to do the same. The company stressed that they will still have customer service teams available for their clients on Fridays. The company generates annual revenue of nearly 290 million euros from just over 13,000 clients. Their software generates payslips for millions of people in the Netherlands.

For three years in a row, AFAS has won the Great Place to Work prize as the best employer in the Netherlands among businesses with over 250 staff members. Last year, it also won the title of best employer in Europe. AFAS currently employees 681 people at its four offices in Leusden and the Belgian city of Kontich, Willemstad on Curaçao, and Oranjestad on Aruba.

"We are the first large company in the Netherlands to introduce the four-day working week in this way, and we naturally realize that this is not feasible for every company. But we hope this is the start of a movement. This is about a great work-life balance, about being an attractive employer and about a new vision on work," said AFAS CEO Bas van der Veldt in a statement.

The software firm brags that sick leave levels were below 2.5 percent last year, with employees at an average age of 35. The firm's workforce is currently made up primarily of men, with women accounting for a third of the workforce. The company said it is working towards a goal of even gender representation.

"Time is a scarce resource for everyone. We seem to be in a rat race and don't always get to what really matters in life. By introducing this day, there is more time for this," said Van der Veldt. "Work can be so much more fun and better, and with more attention to society. It is important for us that we automate administrative work, so that work becomes more enjoyable, and there is more time left."