German Working Culture

Before I came to Germany I thought that working in Germany meant working long hours under pressure and struggling to meet deadlines. Some of my expectations were met but quite a lot were not as i expected. When you talk about Germans, the first few things that come on your mind are punctuality, accuracy and bad punishments on failure. However i was surprised on how things worked in my company.

For one thing, there are no punch cards, so you pretty much can come whenever you want. However you should fix a time that you want to come and stick to it. It all can be discussed, the most important thing is you are willing to discuss so that everybody is not wondering where you are. In other words, the working time is flexible. [Flexible] was not at all what i expected from Germans, especially when my dad gave advice on how "fixed" German people are, but I'm glad it turned out this way. I guess Germans are not "fixed", but rather "plan in advance and stick to the plan", meaning anything can be discussed and planed, but for crying out loud, don't change your mind like you change your clothes.

Another thing is about time limitations. Unlike most countries in Asia, and the US, everything is expected to be completed as soon as possible and everyone is rushing. here they adopt a concept of do things slowly but carefully and correctly. "Better safe than sorry" some say.... but please don't take too long. (at least thats how my company works).

Coffee breaks are important to refresh the mind once one starts to loose consciousness every 2 - 3 minutes. Its also a good opportunity for colleagues to meet up and discuss trivial matters such as the weather, current issue, the war against terror and the falling value of the US Dollar. The coffee corner is a place where friendships among colleagues are bonded together. And with a kick-a$$ coffee machine, everyone would want to come there on every chance they have (which are not many).

However some might think all this freedom will lead to lazy workers, but, on the contrary, it makes us work even more longer since there is not much pressure. This type of working environment is adopted by, SAP, a big multinational software company that originated from Germany. I was told that the working ours are totally flexible. nobody checks if your doing work or not, they don't really monitor what time you come to work, so, basically you choose your own work time. To make things more exciting, in the office there is a sports center, laundry area, resting area, free food(canteen) and many other facilities. Its "THE" place to work!! you probably think the workers are all useless and undisciplined. But NO, your wrong. The workers work even longer and harder, its just that they don't work in normal working hours . Some of them don't even go home because all the facilities are already given by the company. How wonderful if i could work there. I think if given the right motivation and freedom, people will work very hard. I think to a certain extent, my company is trying to adopt the same concept. Gosh i love this kindda working environment!!!

The thing about Germans, or people from 1st world countries is they know their responsibility in society and they don't really need much monitoring to keep things in order. This can be seen in everyday situations, for example, when you go on a train, its expected for one to get a ticket. However, the few times i have ridden on the train or bus, nobody came to check the tickets. So basically you can get away without buying a ticket. However, having a 1st world mindset, Germans will usually never attempt to do that because they are far sighted. If they make it a habit to take free rides, the result will be tighter security and that will mean more procedures and less freedom. Freedom and trust are not worth trading for a free ride on the train isn't it? This is first world thinking ladies and gentlemen.

A first world country is not only judged by how advance the technology possessed by a country, but also the level of thinking of its people, a culture of responsibility to society and respect to the law. I think this differentiates first world countries such as German from Singapore. Germany is safe because the people have sense of respect for the law, while in Singapore, the law is enforced with ultimate perfection. That why you can see Singapore plated cars speeding across the PLUS highway at over 160KMpH. Not that I'm anti-Singapore or what, i have relatives in Singapore, but relax lah sikit.... even the Germans i met say Singapore's law enforcement is too kiasu.

Well, i guess i made my points here. I'm sure this will take time to be digested. I'll save more for later.....

Tchuss....