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.
Companies Switch to Du
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.
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.
Argue, but Obey
In December 1784, Immanuel Kant answered the question Was ist Aufklärung?, what is enlightenment, in the Berlinische Monatsschrift. From all sides he heard the cry: do not argue! Der Offizier sagt: räsonniert nicht, sondern exerziert! (The officer says: do not argue, drill!) Kant’s answer kept obedience and objection together. An officer who receives an order must obey it while on duty. But he cannot fairly be prevented, as a scholar, from writing about the errors in the military service and putting them before the public. A citizen cannot refuse to pay his taxes. He may still argue publicly against them. Kant quoted the one ruler who allowed this: räsonniert, so viel ihr wollt, und worüber ihr wollt; aber gehorcht! (Argue as much as you like, and about whatever you like, but obey!)
The Duty to Object
German civil servants carry die volle persönliche Verantwortung, the full personal responsibility, for the lawfulness of what they do in office. The law states what follows: Bedenken gegen die Rechtmäßigkeit dienstlicher Anordnungen haben Beamtinnen und Beamte unverzüglich bei der oder dem unmittelbaren Vorgesetzten geltend zu machen. (Civil servants must raise concerns about the lawfulness of official orders without delay with their immediate superior.) It is a duty, not a right. If the order stands and the doubts remain, the civil servant must go to the next superior above. If that superior confirms the order, the civil servant carries it out and is no longer personally responsible, unless the conduct ordered would violate human dignity, or is a criminal or administrative offense that the civil servant can recognize as such. This procedure is called Remonstration. The German Wikipedia adds that it is rarely used in everyday practice, because a civil servant who uses it often fears being labeled a Querulant, a troublemaker.