In September 2002 IKEA launched its advertising campaign Wohnst du noch oder lebst du schon? Are you still just living somewhere, or are you really living? In 2016 the Schwarz Group, which runs the Lidl and Kaufland chains, ended the formal Sie. In the same year the head of the Otto Group, Hans-Otto Schrader, offered the du to some 53,000 employees, as a verbal starting signal for a culture-change project. Wer die Vorstände duzen will, der kann das tun. Whoever wants to say du to the board members can do so. Since 2020, Aldi Süd has addressed its customers with du. At the HypoVereinsbank in Munich, the du is optional. Employees who welcome it add #gernperDu to their e-mail signature.
Du With Colleagues, Sie With the Boss
In a YouGov survey of 1,035 employed people in Germany in September 2019, 69 percent said they address their colleagues with du. Only a quarter said du to their superior. Among those aged 55 and over, 17 percent said du to their superior, and 12 percent said du to no one at work.
Who Offers the Du
Traditionally, German colleagues begin with Sie, the formal you. Moving to du, the familiar you, is a step that one side offers. The German Knigge Society, which advises on manners, gives the rule. Der Vorgesetzte bietet dem Untergebenen das „Du“ an. The superior offers the du to the subordinate. Among equals, the older may offer it to the younger. The Society for the German Language observed in 2020 that Germans use du more often now. But it added that the du does not mean the hierarchy has gone.