Germans of levels.fyi - are all the companies like this?

Question

I recently started a new job in Germany, after working for an US based tech firm. And I find these things quite interesting:

- quite a lot of old people, not gonna lie there is probably 2-5 people still in their 20s or early 30s. Most people are >50

- everyone works so slow. I find it weird seeing how much time is spent for stupid things, still using paper etc. And the amount spend chitchatting is insane

- everyone is so concerned about making it 40hrs, but really don't work for probably 20 each week.

Keep in mind this is not a government job thing, it's a profitable private company that works in several countries

Nightly95 · Accepted Answer

Big cultural differences lead to that. German employees don't have to stress about their job being their entire livelihood like Americans do. TBH I'd prefer that over the American grind you into dust mindset, but everyone has different preferences.

sarcasm · Answer

As a German, I would say yes. Basically all „established“ large cooperations (e. g. Siemens, Bosch, Volkswagen etc.) and even smaller corps work like this. A result of of strong labour laws, laziness and unions in my opinion. Salary at these companies is usually also good for that e. g. starting with 60k as a Junior SWE. Germans don‘t like change, are risk averse, especially the older generation, so they stay in jobs for a long time. If you want a more dynamic environment you need to look for startups or scaleups of the coorps. But even there things tend to be on the slower side, pay is often less and there is less job security.

brgr · Answer

Interesting observation. Have seen the same why applying.

2024TY · Answer

Interesting findings. I also find similar behavior in your point two and three when I was worked there.

mikej84 · Answer

I've had a similar experience at two big German companies. Not as many old people in my teams though.I believe worker protection laws play a big role in this. You basically can't fire employees for bad performance. This creates bad incentives. If people are not looking to be promoted anymore there's no need to work hard. Just do a minimum so they can't fire you. Especially if you're close to being retired.

Germans of levels.fyi - are all the companies like this?

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