Project "Social Friday": The good man of construction

From Friday noon, many employees turn off, which is well known: they are no longer in the thing, in thoughts already in the weekend. When Fikret Zendeli, 35, read an article on the phenomenon last year, he thought: Why are not we busy ourselves with anything else at this time? With things that are new to all, that make sense in other ways than your own earning a living?

As a result, the successful chief of a civil engineering office started working on charitable projects with his staff on a Friday quarterly basis. Always in the afternoon just before the weekend, in the unproductive time.

The time used meaningfully, something meaningful done: "As an entrepreneur, I have a great deal of social responsibility," says Zendeli about his commitment. "How can I afford a yacht while my employees and my neighbors are doing badly?"

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After all, he knows what it's like to be short of cash. For example, when he takes a long drive on a snowy evening in December 2009 from Zurich, in his father's rickety Golf III. In front of itself 1700 kilometers through seven countries, in the back seat two PCs. On the way, the front license plate of the car falls off, but at the borders they let Zendeli pass out of compassion.

After twenty hours he arrives in Skopje, the capital of his native Macedonia, which he left with his family as a nine-year-old. Today, nine years later, Fikret Zendeli is a successful businessman in Skopje. He manages a construction and design engineering firm, employs ten people and is one of the few in the industry to work with the recent technology of three-dimensional building data modeling (BIM).

Zendeli's success story is not exhausted in the fact that he has brought it as a returnee in poorly poor Macedonia to economic success. He has become known beyond his industry by his social commitment. His "Social Friday" has caused quite a stir in Macedonia.

More than twice the Macedonian average wage

He also strives to provide good working conditions - while otherwise in Macedonia and generally in Southeastern Europe workers' rights are being undermined systematically by many domestic and Western companies. Zendeli's Breon company pays approximately € 1,000 gross for a 40-hour week, more than twice the Macedonian average wage, plus bonuses, leave and child benefits, and grants for recreational activities.

Zendeli comes from modest circumstances, he was born in the town of Gostivar in western Macedonia, where predominantly Albanians live. His father left school after eight years and went to Germany, later to Switzerland, where he worked as a painter. Fearing that the war in the former Yugoslavia could seize Macedonia, he brought his wife and three children to Switzerland in 1992.

The family lived in Langnau am Albis near Zurich, Fikret Zendeli tells us that they were received with immense help. "I am deeply grateful to Switzerland for this until today," he says.

To the horror of the family

He studied construction engineering in Zurich, graduated in business management and got the lucrative offer to work as a construction manager for a Swiss company. He refused - to the dismay of his family.

And went to Macedonia. It was not, as Zendeli says, less a search for his roots than a thirst for adventure, the desire to create something of his own, and the ambition to build a company in his country of birth whose work could also exist in Switzerland.

That seems to have worked out. At least, Breon is well booked, with a variety of projects, from building plans for office towers to the planning of alterations to historic buildings.

On "Social Friday" he and his staff plant trees, cook for the homeless or work with orphans and children from homes. For the Breon employees, it is paid working hours, as a business owner Zendeli also donates to the respective facilities. Participation is voluntary for employees, but so far almost everyone has participated each time.

"To do something socially useful is a good feeling and change your perspective, and it has brought us closer together in the company and improved the working environment," says Zendeli. In the future he wants to concentrate on one or two social projects for which he and his employees work regularly.

Not only that, he also wants to make his idea internationally known and recommend it to other companies for imitation. He recently set up the website socialfriday.org, ran a campaign video and sent social Friday sweaters with celebrity names to prominent politicians and entrepreneurs. The first successes: In Latvia, the cosmetic company Oriflame held its first Social Friday in August, as well as requests from Kosovo, Switzerland and Portugal.

Where did his mission awareness come from? Zendeli's explanation: "If it burns in the neighboring house, I must intervene, otherwise it will eventually burn with me." I wish many more entrepreneurs would understand that. "