- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Spinoff: Why Germans work less but produce more
Posted on 11/16/14 at 8:52 pm
Posted on 11/16/14 at 8:52 pm
LINK
OTOH, my SO's ex is German, and is pretty fricked up in the head, which my SO attributes in part to the German culture, and in part to being raised by parents who survived Nazism and WWII.
quote:
In German business culture, when an employee is at work, they should not be doing anything other than their work. Facebook, office gossip with co-workers, trolling Reddit for hours, and pulling up a fake spreadsheet when your boss walks by are socially unacceptable behaviors. Obviously, in the United States these behaviors are frowned up on by management. But in Germany, there is zero tolerance among peers for such frivolous activities.
quote:
German business culture is one of intense focus and direct communication. While Americans tend to value small talk and maintaining an upbeat atmosphere, Germans rarely beat around the bush. German workers will directly speak to a manager about performance reviews, launch into a business meeting without any ‘icebreakers’, and use commanding language without softening the directives with polite phrases.Whereas an American would say, “It would be great if you could get this to me by 3pm,” a German would say, “I need this by 3pm”.
When a German is at work, they are focused and diligent, which in turn leads to higher productivity in a shorter period of time
quote:
Germans work hard and play hard. Since the working day is focused on delivering efficient productivity, the off hours are truly off hours. Because of the focused atmosphere and formal environment of German businesses, employees don’t necessarily hang out together after work. Germans generally value a separation between private life and working life.
The German government is currently considering a ban on work-related emails after 6pm, to counter the accessibility that smartphones and constant connectivity give employers to their employees. Can you imagine President Obama enacting such a policy in the United States?
To occupy their plentiful Freizeit, most Germans are involved in Verein (clubs); regularly meeting others with shared interests in their community. Common interests in Germany include Sportvereine (sports clubs), Gesangvereine (choirs or singing clubs), Musikvereine (music clubs), Wandervereine (hiking clubs), Tierzuchtvereine (animal breeding clubs – generally rabbits/pigeons) and collectors’ clubs of all stripes. Even the smallest village in Germany will have several active Vereinen to accommodate residents’ interests. Rather than settling in for a night of TV after work, most Germans socialize with others in their community and cultivate themselves as people.
Germans also enjoy a high number of paid vacation days, with many salaried employees receiving 25-30 paid days (the law requires 20). Extended holidays mean families can enjoy up to a month together, renting an apartment by the seaside or taking a long trip to a new, exciting city.
quote:
Germany’s system of Elternzeit (“parent time” or parental leave) is the stuff of fantasy for most working Americans. The United States does not currently have laws requiring maternity leave, while Germany has some of the most extensive parental protection policies in the developed world. The downside of these maternity leave benefits is that employers may avoid hiring women (with the fear that they will take advantage of the extensive benefits), and German boardrooms are consistently male-dominated at a higher rate than other developed nations, although the government is working to eradicate this trend. The financial benefits of staying home (from both Elternzeit and Elterngeld or parents’ money programs) are often too good to pass up for German mothers, and can lead to stagnant or non-existent careers.
Since “at will” employment does not exist in Germany, all employees have contracts with their employer. Parents who have been gainfully employed for the previous 12 months are eligible for Elternzeit benefits, which include up to three years of unpaid leave with a “sleeping” contract. The employee is eligible to work part-time up to 30 hours while on leave, and must be offered full-time employment at the conclusion of the parental leave. Parents may also choose to postpone up to one year of their leave until the child’s 8th birthday. Either parent is eligible for parental leave, and many couples make the choice based on financial considerations.
In addition to the preservation of the employee’s contract, the state will pay up 67% of the employee’s salary (with a cap of 1800 Euros per month) for 14 months. Parents may split the 14 months however they choose. These benefits apply equally to same-sex couples.
OTOH, my SO's ex is German, and is pretty fricked up in the head, which my SO attributes in part to the German culture, and in part to being raised by parents who survived Nazism and WWII.
Posted on 11/16/14 at 8:53 pm to Jim Rockford
quote:For some reason I read this as Canadians
Why Germans work less
Posted on 11/16/14 at 8:54 pm to Jim Rockford
If TIGRLEE was here he could give us the TRUTH that the liberal lamestream media won't tell us.
Posted on 11/16/14 at 8:56 pm to Jim Rockford
you VILL produce MORE
Today inventory overstock, tomorrow ze VORLD
Today inventory overstock, tomorrow ze VORLD
Posted on 11/16/14 at 9:14 pm to Jim Rockford
The American white collar corporate culture is one of the most pathetic things I have ever encountered. Jerkoffs value the process, rather than results.
Posted on 11/16/14 at 9:18 pm to CaptainPanic
quote:
For some reason I read this as Canadians
you know better than to put work and canadian in same sentence
Posted on 11/16/14 at 9:19 pm to Jim Rockford
I know plenty of people who get zero vacation days or 5 days. They should find a better job? More easier said then done for many people.
Posted on 11/16/14 at 9:25 pm to Jim Rockford
As productivity goes, I've read somewhere that in addition to Germany, Norway and some other country I can't recall, have some of the lowest work hours/highest productivity ratios in the world. I'm on my cell so I'm not looking for the article.
At any rate, murica, Frick yeah. Frick the haters
At any rate, murica, Frick yeah. Frick the haters
Posted on 11/16/14 at 9:41 pm to Jim Rockford
In the US there's always more to do and rarely do you get to just leave early because you have done your work. So why not just shoot the shite from time to time
Posted on 11/16/14 at 9:47 pm to Jim Rockford
They're not? Our economy is 40% of the worlds economy. And we do it with less than 100 million people working. We out work everyone. It is not even close.
Posted on 11/16/14 at 9:55 pm to AUCE05
But we work less efficiently, as has been pointed out many times.
Posted on 11/16/14 at 10:00 pm to Jim Rockford
A lot of times that inefficiency stems from the companies not investing in better technology and resources. In my lab, we work with instruments from the 1980s. Multi billion dollar company limping along and then giving raises that barely keep up with inflation. If you make a job more worker friendly, they will produce better.
/rant
/rant
Posted on 11/16/14 at 10:32 pm to Jim Rockford
This article is the truth. There is no grab-arse in my office. My colleagues get in, work, have a coffee break (that is when they chit chat), work, lunch, work, coffee break, work, leave. So, a 9 hr day is about 7.5-8 hrs of real work.
No night emails. No facebook. No amazon. No TD. No discussing the week's football games. The only exception was after the world cup. I think there was about 30-45 min of talk about the world cup final.
However, Germans are less efficient in some manners. They are less entrepreneurial and take too long to make decisions. They are more averse to making mistakes, which prohibits creativity.
After working in both cultures, I really feel like Americans work way too many hours. Not because of excess work, but because they are inefficient, and spend more time bitching about their lack of work-life balance than they do working.
Either way, I still prefer living in Murika.
No night emails. No facebook. No amazon. No TD. No discussing the week's football games. The only exception was after the world cup. I think there was about 30-45 min of talk about the world cup final.
However, Germans are less efficient in some manners. They are less entrepreneurial and take too long to make decisions. They are more averse to making mistakes, which prohibits creativity.
After working in both cultures, I really feel like Americans work way too many hours. Not because of excess work, but because they are inefficient, and spend more time bitching about their lack of work-life balance than they do working.
Either way, I still prefer living in Murika.
This post was edited on 11/16/14 at 10:38 pm
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News