Crafts in the upswing: tedious successes despite times of crisis!

Crafts in the upswing: tedious successes despite times of crisis!

In times when many companies are fighting with challenges, there are gratifying examples of entrepreneurs who break new ground with creativity and operational readiness. Such a success story comes from Norman Dittmann, who opened a car workshop in Neuruppin two years ago. This facility was created during a wave of rising company insolvencies, but Dittmann is passionate about a team of four employees in the workshop. He emphasizes that it is important to work with "dirty hands". The satisfied customer, whose Mercedes got a new gear there, speaks for the quality of the work that is done there. ZDF.Reportage shows that people actively act here instead of waiting.

In Munich, three fathers also left their professional positions behind to found a cheese manual factory. Divor Franz Stuffer enthusiastically reports of the high demand for the products on the Viktualienmarkt. It is not an easy way because cheese production requires a lot of commitment, even on weekends. But the customer's encouragement rewarded their hard work.

The future of working hours

Another example that concerns the realignment in the world of work is Schliessungs-gmbh in Mühlhausen. The company receives large orders from the United States, which despite customs fees that the American client bears, guarantee safe operation with 200 jobs in Thuringia. This shows that orders and companies can grow even in the current economic world if the right decisions are made.

More and more companies are relying on new working time models, including the four-day week. Wenzel Messtechnik GmbH in the Spessart introduced this model three years ago and recorded a noticeable improvement in productivity and mood among the employees. The fitters now work nine hours a day to realize the new work structure.

Another example comes from Nersingen in middle Swabia, where Gabi Christ's car workshop switched to a four-day week. The employees now enjoy complete wage compensation for a 32-hour week, which brings more time to the family. André Monteiro, a master in the workshop, emphasizes the positive aspects of the new regulation, but Christ also notices a slight decline in sales and the need to remain productive on the four days. Experts like Horst Ott from IG Metall see the four-day week as the key to attractiveness in the recruitment of specialists, while others, like Matthias Bechtold, look at this skeptically in order not to endanger competitiveness. BR continues to report on a study by the University of Münster, which illuminates the topic of efficiency and stress when switching to the four-day week.

Finally, it can be said that in a rapidly changing world of work, creative approaches and the willingness to change remain extremely important. The region shows that it is also possible in times of crisis to create new things and be successful. Halving a working week could be the key to more satisfied employees and good business, but it remains to be seen how these concepts develop in practice.