Dutch software firm AFAS Software has announced that it will introduce a four-day working week for its employees as of 1 January 2025.
From next year, its office will close on Fridays and members of staff will have a development day. Their employment conditions, such as their salary, pension, holiday pay and contracted eight working hours a day, will not be affected. It does not plan to recruit more people as a result.
According to the firm, the four-day working week should also have a positive outcome for customers, as it will pay more attention to innovation and efficiency in order to provide a better service. A service team will be available on Fridays as part of its support department, through which they will monitor customers’ use of the software and offer help at an early stage to prevent incidents.
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Bas van der Veldt, chief executive officer of AFAS, said: “AFAS wants to encourage employees to pay extra attention to themselves, informal care, children, volunteer work and others who need it. That is why AFAS calls it a development day. 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.
“For AFAS, this introduction is another example of its mission. 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 fun and there is more time left. This is about a great work-life balance, about being an attractive employer and about a new vision on work. Rigorous and innovative. And the most important thing: about doing what makes you happy as a person and makes others happy.”