In 2015 the consultancy BearingPoint and the process management consultancy BPM&O surveyed nearly 300 companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For three quarters of them, process management was already an important or very important topic. Almost 60 percent expected it to become more important.
The figure for strategy was lower. Process management was part of corporate strategy in 45 percent of the companies.
In September 2020, the Federal Association of the German Food Trade, the BVLH, published a representative survey by the Forsa institute. Three out of four Germans said they think carefully before larger shopping trips about which products they will put in the cart. Among those who plan larger food purchases in advance, 84 percent use a list. By far the most common planning aid is the Einkaufszettel, a shopping list written by the shoppers themselves. One in five also uses a shopping app.
On 2 June 2006 the education ministers of the German states adopted an overall strategy for monitoring education. It has four parts: international school studies, a central test of the national education standards in a comparison of the states, comparison tests in classrooms, and a joint education report of the federal and state governments.
The aim was an education policy based on evidence. The strategy followed the performance problems that had become obvious since the end of the 1990s.
In 2014 a study in the journal Die Deutsche Schule found that the results were not processed and discussed in sufficient depth. In six or seven states, schools received only the share of correct answers.
In a Forsa survey of 1,400 doctors in private practice, published in December 2018, only 20 percent of practices held office hours on Wednesday between 2 and 5 p.m. Most practices were also closed on Friday afternoon. The health insurers, who commissioned the survey, used the figures to call for longer opening hours.
In 2015 Oracle published a study of 1,511 employees in five European countries. In Germany, 60 percent said they expect more recognition of their work from their direct supervisor. It was the highest share in the study. According to the report, only 28 percent of German companies recognize good performance in any form.
About 60 percent of German consumers look at supermarket advertising flyers at least once a week. This was the result of a survey of 1,300 adults by the consultancy Oliver Wyman, published in September 2022. Co-author Jens von Wedel named the reason: “Es geht zumeist um eine sparsame Haushaltsführung.” It is mostly about running the household economically.
According to the market researcher GfK, more than 80 percent of flyer readers would switch to another store for an offer.
Sitzenbleiben, staying seated, is the German word for repeating a school year. It is also called an Ehrenrunde, a lap of honor. In 2009 the education researcher Klaus Klemm calculated for the Bertelsmann Foundation that repeated school years cost 931 million euros a year.
The study found that repeating a year did not improve pupils’ results. Its title called the practice “teuer und unwirksam”, expensive and ineffective. Berlin abolished repeating a year in its new secondary schools from the 2010/11 school year.
In September 2019 YouGov and Statista asked 1,035 employed adults in Germany which topics are taboo at work. Sex and eroticism came first, at 63 percent. Gossip about colleagues followed at 49 percent, personal finances at 48 percent and salary at 34 percent. Trying to convert colleagues to a religion was taboo for 26 percent, relationships for 24 percent and political views for 16 percent. Just under one in ten saw no taboo topics.
In December 2019 YouGov asked 2,046 adults in Germany with whom they share their deep thoughts and feelings. Several answers were allowed. 46 percent named their partner, 44 percent their family and 38 percent close friends. 12 percent named a best friend. Five percent named colleagues at work. 13 percent said they share them with nobody.
In 2026 the digital association Bitkom asked employed people with summer holiday plans whether they would be reachable for work. Two thirds, 66 percent, said they would be. The share was 67 percent in 2025 and 66 percent in 2024. The most common reason, given by 53 percent of those reachable, was what colleagues expected. The expectations of superiors came second, at 47 percent. Among those on holiday over Christmas, the share who stayed reachable fell from 71 percent in 2019 to 43 percent in 2025. Bitkom recommends clear rules: Regeln zur Erreichbarkeit für den Fall der Fälle schaffen Klarheit für alle Beteiligten. Rules on reachability in case of need create clarity for everyone involved.