Working in GERMANY vs USA

Work culture in the United States and Germany couldn't be more different.

#work #usa #germany

[RadicalLiving]

I wonder when the government will start paying me for promoting socialism.

[edgarmichael]

As an American who just got denied 1 week vacation avfter working for 22 years for same company...this feels true.

[vampiricagorist]

I used to work for a German company in the US, and I miss it everyday. German businesses actually treat workers like human beings rather than replaceable parts for a giant corporate megastructure.

[arnodobler]

When a boss tells you we're a family, run as fast as you can!

[leanakayvlogs]

As an American now living and working in Norway I can tell you this is so sadly accurate. :( We do get two weeks paid vacation in America but its like a fight to get them to let you take it. you're expected to let them know far in advance most places. Its frowned upon to take a sick day and some places don't give you sick leave. Many give you only seven days to use. Also not so good to be late (which I understand that), Some bosses are cool others are total dick heads on some sort of power trip. Zero work life balance unless you work for yourself or you just happen to get lucky and land a job at a nice company. They are too few. Some states are right to work states which means they can fire you for almost any reason although there is some paper trail involved. Europe is far nicer in these regards. Norway allows at least four weeks often times five weeks vacation and they aggressively encourage that you take it. You also get plenty of sick leave and other benefits like a year of maternity/paternity leave. More rights for workers. I hope the US can become more progressive in this kind of thinking. Its a great country which I still love very much. Just needs some work.

[Anunnaki-zi]

This is so true. As an American and former boss, I can relate. My boss once told us in a meeting that the only valid excuse not to come in to work was that you died and then it was your family's responsibility to bring you in.

[wg]

The best thing about this is Germany is able to achieve a strong economy with good labour protection.

[yuppers]

American here. Yes this can happen. My boss fired my coworker for not being reachable over Christmas break. He thought she wasn't dedicated to the company. You can get fired for practically anything here.

[mistshaw]

In America your boss can make or break your working experience. I was in management for many years and because I love to travel I never had a problem letting people go on vacation for two weeks straight because I understood the importance of it. But I know many other managers that would never let that happen, because besides the occasional Caribbean cruise, they never traveled. We are so brainwashed here to put the company ahead of everything else.

[runaway]

Never lived in the US, but I spent all my working age in the UK where you could get sacked for being sick twice a year or being late at work for being late at work more than twice a year. Now I live in Portugal. People are getting sick leaves pretty much every month and if you’re late at work, you just simply need to compensate this time by staying late at work which is more than fair enough.

[youdj_app]

I lived in Germany, I was shocked how serious they are with their work, it is all their live. They don't even take a 2 hour lunch break like in my country (France). great video man! thxxx

[jeffafa]

"a whole month" is actually mandatory for companies in the EU. 20 days off each year are a must, and companies often offer more than that. And if you don't use up those days, your boss will call you out on it, stimulating you to use these days. However, abusing the system like dear Hans is doing here, can most certainly get you fired. It's a hassle for companies to do this, but it's definitely possible.

[datamonster]

"Friends are a luxury for the poor" 🤣🤣

[christianebrown]

I once had a boss who actually bragged about how she came in to work in a wheel chair and hooked up to an IV after an accident she'd had. She thought it showed how dedicated and tough she was when it came to her job. I just thought it made her sound insane and a little stupid. But trust me, so many other Americans would be applauding her "work ethic".

[falkjanen]

Mixing weekends, public holidays (about 15) and paid vacation days to get the longest continuous vacations is an art form in Germany. And you have to tell your boss early of course before someone else does.

[dado]

golden rule that Ive heard from old German people- 8 hours sleeping, 8 hours working, 8 hours free time. Ive worked there for 10 years. People do take sick leave although they are not sick, but not that much. A week or two. And you combine that with holidays, 30 days vacation days and it ends up with you working less then 10 months per year and recieving 12 full paychecks plus 13. paycheck and vacation bonus. Two weeks skiing in january plus two weeks swiming in the sea in july/august is practically mandatory. Not to mention weekends, you can sometimes buy plane tickets from Germany to Spain for 10 euros so you can release yourself from the stress and in monday you are back at work complaining that you are under stress

[victoriabui]

I used to work in Germany, and aslo worked for an American company in Asia. The bosses at that American company were actually quite nice but still it was really hard to really take holidays without having to be bothered by work. I meant it was like the work just comes and you will still be contacted. You could avoid replying, but there will be something happening so if you are a responsible employee, it would be hard to do so anyway.

My previous German boss was different. He was very nice, respected to his employees, I could call in sick when I felt unwell (I didn't know that when I first worked in Germany). He also avoided contacting me at weekends. There was one time, he needed to contact me for something very briefly at weekend, and he continuously politely said sorry for that. I actually feel very grateful to him. Even though I did't work there too long, I still remember how kind they were to me 😊.

[cadencecha]

US worker. I lost my grandmother (she passed away overseas)and took a a few days off, … and got fired the next week. If i had known i was so valueless to the company, i would have quit my job earlier and spent the last 3 months of her life with her. Job is just a job, i am a fool for having feared to lose it. There are many jobs out there, but family is irreplaceable. Now i live with the regret of not being able to bid my granny fairwell.

[kaliah]

As an American who moved to Germany, the first thing my colleagues did was rid me of my American work brain washing.

Even my boss was encouraging me to take more vacations. I was blown away.

[spacedog_]

That bottle of beer next to pretzel pillow is the perfect German nest though. 😆