Vacation, taking sick days, maternity leave…work-life balance is really different in Germany & the USA.
So my question for you is: How do you feel about work-life balance? Is there anyone out there who prefers the way that it’s done in the U.S.? And people with children, what’s the parental leave been like where you’ve lived?
March 2020. Currently, the country has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, hovering around 3-4%. Having one of the most diversified economies in the world, Germany offers jobs in almost any sector.
Salaries in Germany are also quite high for global standards. The average net salary in Frankfurt is 2700 EUR per month. In Berlin, the average net wage is 2500 EUR per month.
Some economic sectors in Germany have a greater demand for foreign workers than others. Notably, health care and tech are among the sectors with the highest demand for foreigners.
Salary is still the top priority for Germans when choosing a job. More than two thirds of those surveyed (67 percent) see remuneration as a top employer characteristic. This is the result of a nationwide, representative survey by the opinion research institute Innofact on behalf of TARGOBANK.
This means that the topic of salary has gained even more importance compared to 2017 (2017: 61 percent) when the survey was first carried out. Job security came in second place among the most important employer characteristics this year – half of those surveyed stated that this was of great importance to them.
In 2017, however, it was even more important to those surveyed at 60 percent. The location of the company is also very relevant to those surveyed: around a third attach great importance to this when choosing an employer. Awareness or the size of the company, on the other hand, still do not play a major role (around 4 percent each).
How important is sustainability in the workplace to people? The Bertelsmann Foundation had this examined and found out something amazing: The younger employees are, the more important they are about classic values such as job security, salary and collegiality. Environmental and climate protection, on the other hand, play a rather subordinate role.
Young workers in Germany take a more pragmatic view of their jobs than is often assumed. In a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, for which 1,200 employees from various sectors were asked about what they considered to be the most important aspects of their work and their employer, 18 to 24-year-olds named job security most frequently, followed by salary and collegiality.
Many people are moving to Germany because the working conditions and salary are often much better than in their home country. See how much money you can expect to earn and get some insights from a German.
YouTube comments:
“After working in Germany for several years in different cities and PhD in STEM, I can tell you that salaries are not that high as people imagine. After considering expensive rents and high tax, your disposable income isn’t much. The benefits come from social benefits, usually nice working hours, paid holidays, healthcare, great cheap alcohol and peaceful country. If you seek making a lot of money, Germany isn’t your country. In Europe you probably have look north for higher salaries and Switzerland, in Asia, some highly developed countries like Singapore. If you have a high level of education and work for a good company in the USA and even sometimes in Latin America, are better places to make great money. But hey money isn’t everything, you need to evaluate pros- and cons.”
“While average income in Germany was relatively high in 2019 with ~€3500 as mentioned in the video, the median was much lower with just €2500 (gross income). That means that 50% of the German population earn less than €2500 (~€1700 after taxes and insurances). It’s also worth mentioning that you’re considered upper class with a net income of around €5500 gross income, but you have to pay the property tax with just a monthly income of around €4500 gross income. If you plan to buy real estate in Germany: Forget it.”
“I work in a big car company in Germany as Engineer… and I can tell you the salaries are not high compared to the very high rent (or apartment prices), taxes and high prices of Energy and Benzin in Germany. I really wonder how people here are able to live who get lower salaries. And at some point you have to save to buy a house or an apartment (with something like half a million Euro) because after geting retired, your income gets 60% lower and then you will not even afford the rent of your apartment. I saw retired people who had to move to smaller worse apartments or ask for social housing or shelters. I think life here is not as rosy as people in the third world think. What is worse is: I think the government and politicians in Germany do not care much about this problem, or act as if there is no poor people in Germany at all. Politicians in Germany are rather busy with saving the Earth, recycling and cutting CO2 as their main mission… helping the poor or the middle class in Germany comes as second priority.”
“From the US here and about to start my first job out of college in Germany. I’m going there for the quality of life, I don’t care that I can make more here — if I die tomorrow the extra savings means nothing, but a strong welfare/healthcare system, fewer stupid people, better infrastructure, lower crime rates, better work culture, decent politicians, beautiful nature and architecture, etc. will have made me enjoy my life every day. I want that peace of mind and I can’t get that here. Everything is fundamentally messed up here and nothing will change in a meaningful way anytime soon.”
How to negotiate with the works council? Preparation is key! Practical action plan: 1. Establish the right team. 2. Know your business case. 3. Set specific goals. This video is the second episode of the German Labor Law video series. In this video – Negotiations with the Works Council – Dr. Gerlind Wisskirchen will explain the key principles you should abide by when negotiating with the works council.
The estimated total pay for a Engineer is €67,886 per year in the Germany area, with an average salary of €62,886 per year. These numbers represent the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users.
The estimated additional pay is €5,000 per year. Additional pay could include cash bonus, commission, tips, and profit sharing. The “Most Likely Range” represents values that exist within the 25th and 75th percentile of all pay data available for this role.
Do you want to pay your employees a bonus? Beware, this might not be a good idea: Studies show that extra money can hurt employee motivation and job satisfaction.
What is the ideal salary? Even if funds were unlimited, pinpointing the ideal salary would be difficult. The first intuition is: the higher the salary, the better the work results. But studies show that the connection between compensation, motivation and performance is much more complex. In fact, there is some evidence that people would not be happier in their jobs if they had control over their salary.
Some graduates or applicants eventually reach the point where a decision has to be made: Am I looking for a job that is secure? Or one with a great salary?
Classic factors of employee motivation continue to play an important role. A new study shows that every second employee attaches great importance to a secure job. However, only around a third of those surveyed are willing to make sacrifices for this.
Job security is an important motivating factor for every second employee: 52 percent of women and 58 percent of men attach great importance to it, according to the results of the study “The future of work: A journey to 2022”. For the study, the consulting company PWC asked around 2,000 employees in Germany about their ideas about the future of work, 46 percent of whom were male and 54 percent female.
According to the study, however, only around a third of those surveyed are willing to sacrifice their work-life balance for a secure job: 36 percent of the male and only 32 percent of the female respondents say they would be permanent for the prospect of a secure job available to your employer.