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Friday Off Is Only the Beginning: Lessons from Nmbrs’ Four-Day Week
Future of Work
The 4-Day Workweek in a Software Company — What Nmbrs’ Rollout Teaches HR Teams
Giving everyone Friday off sounds simple. But if the meetings, deadlines and customer promises stay the same, you haven’t created a shorter week. You’ve created five days of work crammed into four.
The 60-Second Version
- A four-day week needs workflow changes: fewer meetings, managed dependencies, clear priorities and customer-service plans.
- Nmbrs, a payroll and HR software company, moved to a Monday-to-Thursday week in September 2022 across Amsterdam, Stockholm and Lisbon.
- Five phases: define the problem, review workflows, launch with a clear policy and pilot, measure outcomes, then learn and adjust.
- Success means stable delivery and manageable workloads, not just fewer days.
- Want to act now? Jump to the first steps.
The five-day week has long been the default for software companies, but changing employee expectations are pushing businesses to rethink how work is organized. For teams juggling product development, client requests, deadlines and support, a shorter week can improve work-life balance without losing sight of business goals, if the work itself changes too.
Real-world example: Nmbrs is a payroll and HR software company operating in the Netherlands and Sweden. In September 2022 it moved from Monday-to-Friday to Monday-to-Thursday across its Amsterdam, Stockholm and Lisbon teams. The details here come from the company’s own case study, so treat the results as one company’s reported experience, not a guarantee for yours.
Beyond an Extra Day Off
A four-day workweek means reviewing meetings, managing dependencies, prioritizing important tasks and setting clear customer-service expectations. Without those changes, employees end up trying to complete five days of work in four, which raises pressure instead of lowering it. Nmbrs’ experience offers lessons for any HR team considering the same step.
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offices in the Nmbrs rollout: Amsterdam, Stockholm, Lisbon
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phases in the rollout approach
1
shared day off: Friday, not staggered
The goal is not merely to work fewer days. It’s a model that supports employees and still delivers value to customers.
— The case study’s core lessonProductivity in software isn’t desk time. It’s code quality, milestones, resolved issues and collaboration.
Compressed Week vs. Genuinely Shorter Week
These models are not identical, so your policy should say which one you’re adopting.
Compressed
Same hours, fewer days
- Existing hours fit into four longer days
- Workdays can get longer and heavier
- May not deliver the same wellbeing benefits
- Easy to confuse with a reduction in work
Reduced hours
Fewer scheduled hours
- Total working time actually falls
- Meetings and processes are redesigned
- Pay and benefit terms stated up front
- Outcomes measured against a baseline
The 5 Phases of a Four-Day Rollout
1
Define the why
Identify the problem a shorter week should solve
According to its case study, Nmbrs wanted to attract talent while encouraging productivity and creativity. HR leaders should name their own driver, such as meeting overload, poor concentration, fatigue, recruitment challenges or work-life balance, because it determines the success measures. Also check the model against each role: developers, project managers, sales and customer support have different availability needs.
Spot differences early to avoid service gaps and uneven workloads.
2
Review workflows
Change how work gets done before changing the calendar
Nmbrs involved employees in reviewing practices, changing meetings, adjusting dependencies and updating schedules so everyone could take Friday off. Shorten, combine, replace with written updates or remove recurring meetings, protect uninterrupted focus time, and reduce waiting with clear ownership, documented decisions, realistic sprint planning and agreed response times.
Tell clients about revised hours and agree urgent-support arrangements in advance. Where continuous coverage is essential, staggered or team-based schedules may fit better.
3
Launch & pilot
Start with a clear policy, not informal promises
State which day is free, how hours change, whether pay and benefits stay unchanged, how leave is calculated and what happens when a public holiday falls on the non-working day. Explain whether hours are reduced or compressed. Run a pilot with an agreed period, baseline measures and regular reviews, and tell people how urgent requests are handled.
Managers should respect the day off, not routinely message or assign work on it.
4
Measure
Judge outcomes, not attendance
Track sprint delivery, defect rates, support-ticket resolution time, project delays, customer satisfaction and work quality against a pre-pilot baseline. Nmbrs reported that the transition did not negatively affect customer service and that customers didn’t notice a change in its working hours, after an adjustment period of employee feedback and refinement. Ask employees about rest, workload, collaboration and pressure to work faster or off the clock. HR and finance can also watch staffing costs, retention, absenteeism, overtime and missed deadlines.
Assess over time, not just in the first few weeks, and read results together.
5
Learn & improve
Decide: continue, adjust, expand or stop
If delivery and service hold while workloads feel manageable, there is a strong case to continue. If problems appear, find the cause instead of blaming the schedule: excessive meetings, unclear responsibilities, slow approvals or unrealistic commitments. If coverage is the issue, consider staggered days off or a support rota. Where teams run different schedules, explain why and make sure no one is disadvantaged in pay, benefits, development or workload.
Document the lessons and communicate the decision clearly.
A successful pilot should become a sustainable operating model, not just a popular perk.
4 Lessons for HR Teams
Key takeaways
What every HR team considering a shorter week can use
01Fix the work first
Review workflows and involve employees before removing a day.
02Write the policy
Make the model, pay, leave and availability explicit.
03Pilot and measure
Use baselines, honest feedback and regular reviews.
04Stay fair and flexible
Not every role needs the same day off.
How to Start: 3 Steps
1
Write down the problem you want a shorter week to solve
Then choose success measures that match it.
2
Audit one team’s recurring meetings and dependencies
Cut, shorten or replace what doesn’t serve a clear objective.
3
Record a baseline and draft a pilot policy
Cover delivery, quality, customer service, overtime and employee feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a four-day workweek?
An arrangement where employees are scheduled to work four days instead of five. It may reduce total weekly hours or compress the same hours into four longer days. Define the model and its terms clearly in company policy.
Can a software company maintain productivity with a four-day workweek?
It can be possible, but it depends on workflow, workload, team coordination and customer requirements. Reviewing meetings, reducing delays, setting priorities and measuring delivery quality show whether it works for your teams.
How should HR measure the success of a four-day pilot?
Compare pre- and post-pilot project delivery, work quality, customer satisfaction, overtime, absenteeism, employee feedback and retention, and review them together to confirm people aren’t cramming unsustainable work into fewer days.
Should every employee receive the same day off?
Not necessarily. A shared day off simplifies coordination, but teams handling ongoing customer support or critical systems may need staggered schedules. Choose a model that balances rest with operational needs and treats employees fairly.
Final Thoughts
A four-day week can help software companies rethink productivity, employee experience and how teams organize their work. Nmbrs’ experience shows why reviewing workflows, involving employees, adjusting schedules and monitoring customer service matter more than simply removing a day.
Plan around measurable outcomes and sustainable workloads. A well-designed pilot, a clear policy, honest feedback and regular reviews will show whether a shorter week fits your people and business.
Start this week: list the recurring meetings one team could cut or replace.
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