Why German Business Culture is Awesome?

What do you think when you heard about Germany? If you still think about Nazis, World War II, I have a bad news for you; YOU ARE OUT OF DATE. Nowadays, Germany means perfection, big economy and business etiquette. They are the saver of EU from big crisis and according to export statistics, they are the third largest exporter in the world after China and USA. (Plus Germany has Trade Surplus with both of them) In this short article, I'm going to explain you WHAT MAKES GERMAN BUSINESS CULTURE UNIQUE.

Promises 

Firstly, let's start with the promises. In German Business Culture, if you promised something to do, you have to do and the same If your colleague promised you something, don't worry he/she will do this.  But this is not because Germans are so honest etc. They just don't like surprises. If they plan something, it has to be done. In workplace, we see a lot of troubles about broken promise and they can affect our business greatly.

I would like to give one example about how German business works. I ordered projector from Berlin and the supplier connected with me and said `Your projector will be delivered at X day approximately X hour` I didn't like the date, it was little bit late but the projector come exactly the same time what they told me. In that time, I understood that they could say me anything like `In 2 days, In 7 days` etc.  and make me happy for a moment. But they gave me directly the realistic time and actually I appreciate this more than giving me empty hopes. Simple as this. This simple `etiquette` makes German business certain and powerful.

Work at Working Time, Party at Party Time

However, Despite the fact that, Germans are working just 35 hours in a week and they are one of the most productive country in the world. How? Actually, the title gives the idea. Germans just focused on a work when they are at work. It can come to you logical but think about your working place, how many hours you spend everyday for gossips, football chats, making plans? Yes, a lot. Personally, I strongly believe that 5 hours with the full of focus and productivity is better than 10 hours with lack of them.

In German business culture, work hard and then play hard. What is that mean? Sending business e-mail, SMS, calls after work is strictly forbidden by German Laws. Therefore, German's mind is free after work and they can socialize and be happy. As you know, happy employee means more productivity.

What is more, Germany has 24 paid vacation day and 7 paid holiday. Perhaps, they realized that it is hard to be efficient 365 days.

Direct!

It is one of the German behavior actually that being direct about everything. Perhaps, you don't have to be worry about your colleagues like you or not? If they don't they will tell you. How can it affect business? GREATLY! What is the difference between `It will be great if you can...` and `I need you to do`? or `I will be so happy if you finish it by 5PM` and `I need this by 5PM` Maybe it is strict but effective also. When you heard direct messages from your boss, your focus will increase because you know the importance now.

In Conclusion

In, Why Your Employees hate you but Google's don't? article I tried to explain the business culture of best work places such as Google and SAS and imagine that In Germany, this culture protected by laws. I think this is the best explanation why German business culture is awesome.