A job where you get to hire your own boss

Talking about utopian work culture, this is probably the most extreme. And of all places, the company is in Brazil. And what do you get to do? Choose or sack your boss. No kidding!

The CEO is Ricardo Semler; the place is Sao Paulo, Brazil. And the Company is Semco, and what do they do? (Taken from positivesharing.com)

• Employees set their own working hours
• Employees choose their own salaries
• All meetings are voluntary and open to everyone
• Employees hire their own bosses
• HR has been almost abolished, because leaders need to be able to treat their employees right themselves
• All employees rate their bosses twice a year and all ratings are published
• Employees choose which leader they want to work under
• Employees choose which Semco office they want to work out off
• Employees can take early retirement, meaning they get one day a week off in return for working one day a week after they retire.

I mean, is these actually possible and happening in the real world, a real company? We are talking about not only flexible hours and self-determined salary (though I doubt they will give in if your request to too absurd), but the best part is, you get to hire your own boss and rate them. Perhaps there is some logic behind these reverse-boss concepts. Worker are the main productive force of the company (value creation), while the boss’s job is to provide an optimum environment for optimum productivity. If the boss can make the workers happy and motivate them well, then it should increase productivity. So, the worker gets to choose a boss who they are happy with to get better productivity. Solve the problem of complaining how sucks the pointy hair manager is ;)

Another interesting question, “If you can work on weekends, why can’t go to the movies on weekday morning?” And people at Semco get to do just that.

Again it is stated, management’s most important task is not to do anything, do not interfere. Trust the process, trust the people, and just make sure things aren’t go awry wrong. So, it is good to see your boss not doing anything but playing golf? Yes, and only if he is aware of what is actually happening and everything is under control.

The next time you complaint about how sucks your boss or your company is, write in to Semco and you might just get lucky.

Ricardo Semler says: "The purpose of work is not to make money. The purpose of work is to make the workers, whether working stiffs or top executives, feel good about life."