Every year the polling company Gallup asks employees in Germany about their bond with their employer. In the 2024 survey of 1,700 employees, 78 percent had a low emotional bond. Gallup’s German press release describes them simply as people die Dienst nach Vorschrift machen, who work to rule. Only 9 percent had a high bond. In the survey for 2025 the figures were 10 percent high, 77 percent low and 13 percent none. In this use, the term describes a lasting state of mind, not a protest.
business
Who Plans the Work
In 2018, 64 percent of employees in Germany said they could often plan and organize their own work. In 2006 the figure had been 68 percent. Only 29 percent said they often had influence on the amount of work assigned to them. The figures come from a large employment survey by two federal institutes, the BIBB for vocational training and the BAuA for occupational safety and health. The federal government reported them in 2019 in reply to a question from members of the Bundestag.
Where the Stores Decide
Götz Werner and three partners founded the drugstore chain dm in 1973. Werner’s first store was in Karlsruhe. He gave his stores great independence. The store managers could decide on the product range and the staff schedules, and in part on pay. In a 2018 interview Werner said that a leader today must no longer be a Direktor but an Evokator, one who calls forth. Der Direktor weiß alles besser, gibt die Direktiven. The director knows everything better and gives the directives. Die Kollegin schaut nicht zum Vorgesetzten, sondern zum Kunden. The employee looks not to the superior, but to the customer. Werner died in February 2022, at the age of 78.
What Job Ads Ask For
In 2022 the Bertelsmann Stiftung analyzed more than 48 million online job advertisements in Germany. Einsatzbereitschaft, commitment, was required in nearly half of them. Teamfähigkeit, the ability to work in a team, appeared in just under a third. Selbstständigkeit, independence, appeared in a quarter. The same word returns when the job ends. A very good German work reference says: Er arbeitete stets sehr selbstständig, zuverlässig und verantwortungsbewusst. He always worked very independently, reliably and responsibly.
The Du From the Christmas Party
In December 2010 the Tagesspiegel answered a reader’s question. The boss had offered the du at the company Christmas party. How should the reader address him now? The newspaper advised caution. Ihr Chef hat diese Entscheidung vielleicht nur aus einer Feierlaune heraus getroffen. Your boss may have made this decision only in a party mood. At the next meeting, wait and see. Bleibt Ihr Chef beim Duzen oder siezt er Sie wieder? Does your boss stay with du, or does he go back to Sie? If you have to speak to him first, use Sie.
Volkswagen Switches Off the E-Mail
At the end of 2011 Volkswagen began to switch off e-mail on company phones after work. From 18:15 until 7:00 the next morning, the BlackBerrys of the employees covered receive no mail. The rule covered more than 1,100 employees. It did not apply to managers.
Mail on Holiday
In August 2014 Daimler announced Mail on Holiday for its roughly 100,000 employees in Germany. Employees can have incoming e-mail deleted automatically while they are on holiday. The sender receives an automatic reply that names a contact person, and then the system deletes the mail. According to a Daimler spokeswoman, every employee, up to the level of manager, could use it.
A License to Lie
In a German job interview, questions about a pregnancy are not allowed. Questions about membership in a party or a union are not allowed either. Questions about a criminal record are allowed only in exceptional cases and within narrow limits. If an employer asks an inadmissible question anyway, the applicant may answer it untruthfully. The legal news site LTO calls this eine Lizenz zum Lügen, a license to lie. It rests on decisions of the European Court of Justice and the Federal Labor Court.
The Department Head Who Wanted His Sie Back
In 1996 an international clothing retailer took over a store where a department head had worked since 1977. Under the new owner, everyone used du and first names. The department head went along with it for about 22 months. Then he demanded to be addressed with Sie again, and went to court. On 29 July 1998 the Regional Labor Court of Hamm dismissed his claim. The du had been introduced ohne ersichtlichen Widerstand der Belegschaft, without visible resistance from the staff, and he had accepted it by his own conduct. The right to decide how one is addressed, the court said, has relativ enge Grenzen, relatively narrow limits. A trade magazine named the employer as H&M. The published court text does not give the name.
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.