According to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Birgit Steinborn is Germany’s most powerful female executive. She heads up the works council at Siemens, and was recently appointed deputy chairwoman of its supervisory board. Who is Birgit Steinborn? How did she become such a high-flier? And how does she feel about the company’s plans to slash jobs?
Negotiations with the Works Council
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.
Jobsicherheit vs. Gehalt
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?
Quit Your Day Job and Live Out Your Dreams
YouTube comments:
“I met a retired salesman in his 60’s finishing up his history degree. His dream was to be a history teacher. When most folks are retiring he was starting something new. I never forgot him.”
“When you’re 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you’re 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you’re 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place.”
“Thanks for the advice. I’m 52 and quit the manufacturing world after 29 years. I got so tired of the corporate puppets coming down and acting like tyrants I turned walk in and handed in my 30 day notice. I worked as a supervisor but it turned into a supervisor, manager, HR and Safety manager job and expected us to work 12 hour days seven days a week. I decided screw that paid everything off I own. I now make knives and jewelry as my hobby and help my kids out with their business. Best thing I could of done.”
“From somebody who’s done this: There is a difference between fear of failure and fear of homelessness. When I got five mortgage payments behind, I was no longer focusing my creative energy on writing, I was losing sleep because I was about to lose my house. For a novelist anyway, I think the idea of quitting your day job is really bad advice. I have found it easier to be creative when I don’t have to worry about where my next house payment is coming from. I’ve written six novels, one of them while unemployed and “chasing my dream.” Lemme tell you – financial desperation does not improve your odds. I can still produce 10,000 words a week just fine as somebody who gets a paycheck. And my books still don’t sell. That problem is not solved by adding the anxiety of having no income. .02 from somebody who tried it and lost.”
Better a secure job than a great career
Although the unemployment rate is lower than it has been for a long time, a secure job is the most important thing for German citizens. Good career opportunities, on the other hand, are far down the list of priorities.
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A secure and permanent job is most important to Germans – even before nice colleagues and an attractive salary. This was the result of a survey on the quality of work in Germany commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Labor among around 5,000 employees.
Work in Germany. 5 Reasons.
Germany has some of the strictest labour laws in Europe. The country has gone to great lengths to try to ensure that workers rights are enshrined in law. This makes it a particularly attractive place to live and work in.
YouTube comments:
“Bildungsurlaub” / educational vacation is limited to 5 days per work-year, but you can combine the educational days of two years to a total of 10 days. In most cases you will have to book a surveyed course to profitize on this regulation. Sick leave with payment through your employer is limited to 7 weeks, after that you will receive “Krankengeld / sick-leave-payment” through your health-insurance which is only 70% of your salary.”
“There are laws for everything. I work for myself. Imagine you earn 200k in a year. More than 40% is going to the gouverment. You also have to pay more for health insurance if you earn more. Same thing with investments like rental objects. And 1000 other things. And now? Energy, food almost everything is getting more expensive. life was good a few years ago.”
Why the Germans don’t want a career
According to a study, the human element in the job has a high priority for Germans. Nowhere else is corporate loyalty so great. But the Germans also see room for improvement at the employer.
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Money and a career are important to Germans – but not nearly as important as family and friends. This is shown by an international study by Nielsen market research on the preferences and tendencies of the population in different countries. The study shows how Germans live, eat, work and get information.
Why most people never succeed
Make a career, become a boss, rise to the top of a manager – the impression is often given that professional success takes precedence over everything else. But why do most people never have a career, never become managers?
What is preventing you from advancing to a boss or managerial position? Career consultant Martin Wehrle shows what causes most people to fail when making a career. The range of reasons extends from a conscious decision against a career to vague goals and a lack of vitamin B (relationship). At the same time, he gives tips on how to make a career and rise to the rank of manager.
YouTube comments:
“Performance is important and comes second. It doesn’t work without performance either. But the primary factor is whether or not the person or persons deciding whether you move up just likes you. If he doesn’t like you you don’t stand a chance.”
“The most important statement is the first! It is so crucial to know what I want and then I have to carry it through to the end. For me, family comes first, so I’m just becoming a simple but happy worker without overblown and unrealistic handouts.”
“I finished with the career topic. Better to earn less and be happy than ruin your life for a little more money. You always have to take one thing into account: With every higher step on the career ladder, the pressure also increases, life satisfaction decreases dramatically from an individual level, this loss of quality of life cannot be compensated for with money. My employer would appreciate it if I did my master’s certificate in order to replace my supervisor (retired) in about a year. But as soon as I have to fill in for him at his post, I would like to confess to the ‘Kennedy murder’ just to be relieved of the pressure, so why would I voluntarily pursue this post permanently?”
“I also decided to work as an engineer, but without a managerial position because my private life is also much more important to me. I still earn very well and never come home stressed. So I’m always in a good mood after work.”
Career Made in Germany
Nowadays, careers rarely follow a linear path. People expect to change jobs and even industries throughout their lives. The traditional career ladder no longer applies. We look at how ‘making it’ is being redefined in Germany.