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Interrupted at Work

German workers report many interruptions. In the federal Stress Report for 2012, almost 60 percent said they had to handle different tasks at the same time. 44 percent said they were interrupted at work, for example by calls and e-mails. In the 2025 stress report of the health insurer Techniker Krankenkasse, 58 percent named interruptions and disruptions as a cause of stress at work. In the trade unions’ DGB-Index Gute Arbeit of 2022, 46 percent said that multitasking had increased the demands on them. The DGB chair, Yasmin Fahimi, called the results ein Alarmsignal, an alarm signal.

Interruptions are common in German workplaces, and the surveys of the health insurer and the trade unions record them as a source of strain.

Ask Your Friends

In a 2025 survey by the digital association Bitkom, 97 percent of people who had looked for a flat or house in the past five years had used information from friends and acquaintances. Online channels came second, at 87 percent, led by property portals at 81 percent. Die Wohnungssuche ist längst hybrid, said Bitkom’s Nastassja Hofmann. Wir klicken und scrollen – und fragen trotzdem noch Freundinnen und Freunde. The search for a home has long been hybrid. We click and scroll, and still ask our friends. The figure shows how many used such tips, not how many found a home that way.

The Smith of One’s Own Fortune

In 2022 the Allensbach Institute asked Germans whether they agree with this statement: Jeder ist seines Glückes Schmied. Wer sich heute wirklich anstrengt, der kann es auch zu etwas bringen. Everyone is the smith of his own fortune. Whoever really makes an effort today can achieve something. 51 percent of the population agreed. Among people aged 16 to 29, almost two thirds agreed. In the population as a whole, just under a third held the opposite view.

Diffuse Responsibilities

Der Mobbing-Report is a representative study of bullying at work in Germany. Researchers at the Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund wrote it, with figures for the year 2000. Among the conditions that favor bullying, unclear work organization and unclear areas of responsibility rank high. Auf Grund diffuser Zuständigkeiten wird es z. B. möglich, Verantwortung zu negieren und Fehler abzuwälzen. Diffuse responsibilities make it possible, for example, to deny responsibility and to shift mistakes onto others.

What One Can Tell a Friend

In a YouGov survey of November 2016, three in four Germans said they could tell a close friend that he or she drinks too much. Just as many could tell a friend that they hold a different opinion on an important topic. Other things are harder to say. 52 percent could not tell a female friend that she does not look good. 40 percent could not tell a close friend that he is a bad father. In a YouGov values study of 2011, 60 percent named honesty as a quality especially close to their hearts, more than any other.

Untruths Told to the Boss

In a Glassdoor and YouGov survey of 1,066 employed people in Germany, reported in June 2020, 21 percent said they had once said something untrue because they assumed their boss would not accept a different opinion. 27 percent had lied to hide mistakes and failures. 45 percent said they occasionally lie at work to get by.

You Cannot Be Careful Enough

A classic survey question asks whether most people can be trusted or whether one cannot be careful enough. In an Ipsos survey of January 2026, 46 percent said one cannot be careful enough. Only 21 percent said most people can be trusted, and 32 percent gave no clear answer. These figures concern trust in other people in general, not in colleagues. In 2009 the DIW, using data from the Socio-Economic Panel, found that about 14 percent of Germans have high trust in other people, just under half medium trust and about 40 percent rather low trust.

On Time Matters as Much as Quality

In a survey of 1,008 people for Bosch Power Tools, reported in February 2025, respondents said what matters most when choosing a craftsman. The quality of the work was important or most important for 86.7 percent. Termintreue, keeping agreed dates, followed with 86 percent. Transparent costs came next, with 83.3 percent.

Punctuality on the Curriculum

In a 2019 study by the Allensbach Institute for the Roland Berger Foundation, Germans ranked what secondary schools should teach. Spelling and grammar came first, with 80 percent, and general knowledge second, with 76 percent. Pünktlichkeit, Zuverlässigkeit, punctuality and reliability, came third, with 66 percent. English followed with 63 percent.

Trust Anticipates the Future

In 1968 the sociologist Niklas Luhmann published Vertrauen, trust, which describes trust as a mechanism for reducing social complexity. The Tagesspiegel quoted him in 2008: Wer Vertrauen erweist, nimmt Zukunft vorweg. Whoever shows trust anticipates the future. The newspaper added: Wenn auch als riskante Vorleistung, even if as a risky advance.