People over Process.

Montag. Du wachst auf, schaust in deinen Kalender und sagst: „Heute nicht.“ Keine Krankmeldung, keine Erklärungspflicht. Einfach: Heute nicht. Die „Maybe-Days“ polarisieren – Tage, an denen Mitarbeitende spontan entscheiden können, nicht zu arbeiten.

A concept that is currently receiving more attention in the media—most recently in a report by 20 Minuten about an entrepreneur from Thuringia who allows his team:

“Don’t feel like working? Then stay home.”

There are supposed to be four such days per year. For some, it sounds like freedom. For others, like a loss of control.

Maybe-days are not an “add-on” to vacation. They are a test of culture. Do we trust people—or only systems? People over process. That’s something Netflix often emphasizes as well.

There, a single sentence replaces entire rulebooks: “Act in Netflix’s best interest.”

That’s their expense policy—it consists of just five words. Nothing more. This “(Almost) no rules rule” is not chaos. It is an expression of self-leadership and expectation.

No rulebook. No permissioning. No micromanagement. Netflix trusts that people, when given the right information, will make the best decisions on their own—for the company and for themselves.

Research clearly supports this approach: autonomy is one of the strongest drivers of motivation, creativity, and commitment. But not every organization is ready for it. Not every team can handle it. And not every leader has learned how to enable freedom without losing responsibility.

In the practical example of the entrepreneur “Rocco” from Thuringia, the results were positive: fewer sick days and more orders.

In a culture of fear, maybe-days become an escape.

In a mature culture, they become a signal: we see the person—not just the role.

The crucial question with all these new approaches is not: “Do they work?”

Rather: which kind of culture allows them to work?