We are proud to say that our company is switching to a 4-day work week.
The most convincing evidence yet for the shift to a four-day workweek comes from a six-month trial that began in February 2022 and was organized by 4 Day Week Global, the real-world experiment sought to see whether the employees could be just as productive in 80% of the time — all for the same pay.
The results were overwhelmingly positive: Companies in the program reported increased revenue and improved employee health and well-being and had a positive impact on the environment. And after the success, a hundred more companies are considering or are already implementing the same approach.
Make no mistake, the process of switching to a 4-day work week is challenging, and it starts with your decision – it is done with small steps and consistently until you reach the goal. Mr. Nebojsa Matic, CEO of MIKROE, started this challenge with our production department last year. And this is what he had to say about this process.
What was the biggest challenge?
Increasing productivity is a topic that concerns the joint effort of the entire team and boils down to what and how we can improve with existing resources. It starts with working hours. Finish all activities in 7 hours of work time instead of 8? How many minutes and in which part of the process can it be saved? Sometimes it is enough to save even 2 minutes, but these minutes add up cumulatively, and, in the end, we arrive at one hour of shorter work. We also apply this when it comes to the next hour. This process lasts more than 12 months and you should be ready for commitment and consistency.
How did we increase productivity?
Productivity is the hardest part. How to produce more in less time and with the same number of people? And this level of problem is being solved gradually. It is necessary to distinguish what and how to connect in the process itself, and what to avoid in order to save time. Step by step, initially 2% more, then 5% more, then 20% more, to finally reach the planned and desired 30%. Our production went through this entire process. It took us almost two years to complete the plan. It may seem long, but the effects were visible month after month until the goal is reached. Some time ago, we changed 5 working days with 6 working hours each to 4 working days with eight working hours, with Friday off. To some, this will sound illogical – production that works 4 days! It may be illogical at the moment, but in the near future all companies will switch to a 4-day work week. We call this project in our company "one more life."
It's unlikely for one CEO to be the one who supports a four-day work week, and yet you encourage it?
At MIKROE, the "unimaginable" has been domesticated for years. Today we are working on the process "how to write a book in 3 minutes" or "how to know and not read" or "how to look, touch and command in real time on another continent". This last process is something like emerging Netflix, VPN, and robots into one platform, thanks to which you manage something on another continent with a laptop. Many exciting ideas are ahead of us, and therefore I want to encourage you to think not only differently and not only "out of the box" but also unimaginable!
We continue to work towards automatization and bettering processes until every department in our company switches to a 4-day work week. And we will keep you updated on our progress.
Your MIKROE