German vs American Work Culture: The Shocking Truth 😬

[@PassportTwo]

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[@Arltratlo]

Germany Xmas days off are 25th and 26th....and half of 24th sometimes...i stop working 22nd, my boss closes down the firm at this day! i have this year only 49 days paid vacation left!

[@veselinmarkov]

Don't forget: If you get sick during your vacation you can present a doctors note and reduce the taken vacation days by the amount of sick leave. The reason: you're not unwinding while sick.

[@m.h.6470]

Right. I was shocked, when I learned, that Americans had a fixed number of sick days per year. Such a weird concept.

[@janmarzaafus3093]

but it is nicht gern gesehen :/

[@m.h.6470]

@@janmarzaafus3093 What? Why? You haven't actually taken vacation, so it is your RIGHT to claim those days back. Nothing your boss(es) can do about it. And if they complain, tell them to take it up with Federal Labor Court...

[@juergenkosel9867]

@@m.h.6470 There is always the fear, that employees who are often on sick leave are the first on the list when the company "needs" to reduce staff. Which is the reason for sick leave decrees during times of high unemployment. (People come sick to work and infect their colleagues)

[@m.h.6470]

@@juergenkosel9867In Germany you can't get fired that easily... and if you get fired for taking sick leave and you can prove it, the company can get sued, as that is not a good enough reason. (Excluding chronic sickness)

[@leonpotaschinska9583]

I think one of the main reasons sick leave is so regulated in Gemany is, that we have a public healthcare system and therefore health is a public value, not a private one like in the US. If a worker is working himself sick because he can’t leave his job to rest it ends up way more expensive for the Government, because not only he can’t work, but also would likely need much more expensive and longer healthcare afterwards…

[@voidcommando7574]

agreed also it for company's better if they stay home for 1-2days and come then draging the overall efficient down by like 20% by spreading sickness and still working

[@lost.mp5]

Healthcare here isn't paid by the government, having health insurance is a law and because you have to have it and everyone has it it's way cheaper I guess

[@lost.mp5]

Because the insurance company's try to undercut each other by "giving the same full service" but when it comes to an accident and you need it they could fight your claim in court wich could be expensive, but as far as I experienced you get helped with everything especially important op's and everyday stuff. Then you just have to pay service cost and instead of 20.000€ for my recent arm Implant just 100€ or something. So it's really great but when the insurance wants to they can revoke the payment.

[@kidd6845]

Also, they can’t fire you if you are on permanent sick leave, so an employer would do anything to prevent having to pay for the year it would take to recover from burnout and not being able to hire someone else for your position

[@kaess307]

Many of the working conditions mentioned and not mentioned in Germany were fought for by unions and later enshrined in law. 6 weeks of vacation is stipulated in many collective agreements. In some companies, the works council has stipulated that public holidays that fall on non-working days are replaced or paid for.

[@manub.3847]

Not to forget that larger companies* often also have a works council. The works council has, among other things, the task of checking and approving overtime and its reduction. A few years ago our IT system was changed. Some of the employees in this department had 250+ hours of overtime, which they really couldn't reduce with days off. (Arrangements have been made to pay for these hours.) And don't forget that the application for overtime must be received by the works council in a timely manner. Without the consent of the works council, daily working hours may not generally exceed 10 hours. * From 19 employees onwards, employees are allowed to elect a representative. For much larger companies this is a requirement. Likewise, representation on the supervisory board is 1/3 of the supervisory board members.

[@COPKALA]

The latter part of the sentence is not fully legal the ArbZG cannot be modified by works agreements (agreed bt the Works Council). Only few paragraphs of that law might be modified and only via Tarif Vertrag.

[@manub.3847]

@@COPKALA yes, forgot to mention this. It´s to normal for me to have a workplace with "Tarifvertrag".

[@andreaseufinger4422]

One thing I always thought about the 3-days rule: If you are seriously sick (a.k. three days or more) you should see a doctor. So the rule that you have to show a doctor's note has two advantages: 1. Making sure, that you are really sick 2. Make sure that you get the cure which is necessary to recover A simple cold usually doesn't last long, if it lasts longer it is always a good idea to see the doctor, just to make sure there is nothing more serious behind it.

[@MyRegardsToTheDodo]

There are companies that demand a sick note even in this 3-day-period. Nowadays there's an online service for this, though, meaning you can contact a doctor online, describe your symptomes and get a sick note. This only works for this 3 day period, though, for any longer time you have to see a doctor in person and they have to diagnose you.

[@anniestumpy9918]

My current employer is forcing me to present a doctor's note from the first day. Which in practice results in me getting more sick days than without that rule. Reason being: If I'm supposed to bike ride through the whole town with a severe migraine just to see my doctor in person, I will be in such a bad shape arriving there that the doctor will gladly give me 3 sick days - when, without that rule, I would have just stayed in bed for 1 or 2 days and then be fit enough to go back to work.

[@andreaseufinger4422]

@@anniestumpy9918 My employer did that only for some people, those who were sick very often. And yes, a lot of doctors are on the careful side and give more days sick than the employee asked for. Happened to me as well. I thought 3 days would do it (the rest of the week), the doctor gave me one full week more

[@COPKALA]

BTW the 3 days rule depends on the employer. It is not the law. Some employers want a certification faster (mine at the second day, but this became more sloppy after corona).

[@COPKALA]

BTW in Germany 'sick leave' cannot be used for vacation. It is a firing offence to claim to be sick to go on vacation.

[@DrMillF]

When you're pretending to be sick, yes. But you CAN go on vacation when sick - as long as it doesn't slow down the healing process

[@Vandar821]

Last year I had 39 vacation days because of working in a 3 shift system. The more nights I do, the more hours for a vacation day i gather.

[@olenickel6013]

Same here. Throughout the year you will get emails saying you still have vacation days left you urgently need to plan and I can't understate what surprise vacations do to your work moral.

[@reinhard8053]

With the start of the year I had 50 days of vacation. And I was on a trip for 5 weeks last year (saved a lot from the Corona time). This year it will be 6 weeks. We can use the days in the following year. And if the company doesn't remind you to use them, they will stay valid. We had a colleague who needed to go on vacation the last month of the year even when he was very valuable for the active project. We don't have a legal system to get money instead of vacation.

[@missis_jo]

For our third child my husband took two months parental leave plus an additional 4 months of overtime. We couldn’t afford full six months with reduced income and I had to get back to work to finish my education. So he talked to his boss and he agreed that he‘d do a lot of extra hours (that he would do anyway). When the time was due he didn’t quite have enough hours to take full four months, but his employer let him take them anyway knowing that once my husband is back he will have them together in no time. There is nothing like a good and healthy employer-employee relationship!

[@miniser]

I'm a nurse with a lot of different shifts and I have about 39 vacation days depending on how many night shifts I'm doing. With my salery it's a necessary bonus because our work is hard enough and not paid enough

[@sebastianr1204]

Come to Germany. Nurses are really well paid over here. I am a medical resident and my salary excluding supplementary shifts and hours I’m earning just few hundred € more than my girlfriend as a nurse. The best thing as a nurse are 39 days of vacation you can actually take. I’ve got 31 vacation days (+ 5 extra vacation days because I am physically handicapped after cancer treatment) I could not take one of these till now this year. I have still 9 vacation days from last to take. If you want to make a career you’ll work hard in Germany, too.

[@sebastianr1204]

@@phantasyreal My girlfriend is a nurse. She earns quit good, is hardly working overtime, but she’s missing the opportunity of progression as a nurse. I’m a MD. The salary as a physician in Germany is good, too. But in Germany working as a MD means working overtime.

[@flesby]

As a German working for a federal German agency, I get 30 days of paid vacation per year. I have a 39h week, that is 7h and 48 minutes per day on average. I may spend up to 80% of that time in home office. I am free to choose when I work in a given time frame from 06:00 A.M to 21:00 P.M. as long as I reach the 39h per week everything is fine. - Though it goes without saying that one is expected to attend team meetings and such. - Which (at least for me) is no problem at all. I can put in long hours if I want to, to generate up to 24 additional free days per year, although that never happened in the past 10 years. Usually I have 5 - 9 additional days of vacation per year for putting in long hours which are compensated in free time.

[@ReinholdOtto]

A public holiday is just a something that happens, an act of nature so to say. So, if it happens to be on a Sunday, the employers are happy, if on a weekday, the employees are.

[@reinhard8053]

In general it evens out over the years, but you mostly don't have the complete 12-14 days of paid holidays.

[@DiJaZu]

Also nice: all german states - except Bavaria and Saxony - grant every worker 5 paid (by your employer) days per year for extra education, which doesn't necessarily has to be related to your work at your company. You can save this up to 10 days within two years. The education has to be booked via a certified company and your course must suffice certain rules. Thus learning a language (als in a foreign country) is within the scope of those days off as a (certified!) trip for cultural exchange to that country you always wanted to get to know. This may vary from state to state, as the rules differ slightly. Taking these extra days _may_ sometimes be frowned upon by an employer. The costs for the course and travel expenses are yours. So, perhaps you'd like to have a journey to for cultural exchange?

[@PassportTwo]

Hadn't heard about this! Would fit nicely in another video on this subject :) Thanks for sharing

[@gerdahessel2268]

@@PassportTwo I used those education times several years to learn about the following topics: What is ecofriendly tourism? The African colonies of Germany before WWI . The revolution of 1918 and how it influences our life today? What do you do in retirement? Learnt a lot, met nice people, had a great time.

[@McGhinch]

@@PassportTwo That special vacation is called _Bildungsrulaub_ -- and it doesn't have to be work related. Edit: Might that be something for Aubry?

[@sphhyn]

Yes ! And have done Bildungsurlaub twice here in Berlin. And it was amazing. Both times the subject was historical and related to Berlin. I learned so much ! But each day really was from 9-5 packed full with different courses and field trips. Highly recommend if you find a good program.

[@lauramarschmallow2922]

your workplace needs to have a certain size, though. If you are in a small business, you don't get any Bildungsurlaub

[@Arltratlo]

i have been sick for over 14 months....not broke and still working the same job...

[@QueenofmyPlantpot]

I am a teacher at an elementary school in Berlin and while we all work overtime, the vacations are amazing and a strong argument. I can spend time with my own kids and really relax and prepare lessons at home. I have around 59 free days a year at fixed dates, one I can take flexibly and they are all paid. When I take the mandatory extra teacher trainings, when we have Team meetings or parent teacher Meetings they are all in my "free time" after school though and doctor visits are hard to schedule. But I know in comparison that I have amazing conditions. I would not have become a teacher in the USA even though I love teaching and being with the kids. In Germany we teachers also pay for a lot of things out of our own pockets - Class room furniture, color prints, books, Decoration, crafting Material, Lamination foils, copy paper, extra learning Material, Notebooks for our Students...but at least I get paid well. In the US teachers buy all that and have to take on a second job? No health insurance? No sufficient days of sick leave? Nah thank you. Those kids sneeze right into your face, barf into the rubbish can, come to school full of lice and then my principle would cause me trouble when I get sick as well? Who am I, Superwoman? 😅 Very interesting topics here, thank you!

[@PassportTwo]

Thanks for your very interesting perspective and input :)

[@kellymcbright5456]

In Schweden haben Lehrer noch mehr Freizeit. Etwa 50 Prozent der Gesamtarbeitszeit sind Unterricht. Die anderen Vorbereitung, Konferenzen etc. Die Sommerferien dauern an Grundschulen 9 Wochen :)

[@QueenofmyPlantpot]

@@kellymcbright5456 Großartig! Ich unterrichte 28 Stunden (26 mit Erlassstunden für Klassenlehrerin und Arbeit an Konzepten) und soll eigentlich auf nicht mehr als 42/46 Stunden kommen. Ich verbringe aber unfassbar viel Zeit mit Papierkram, Kopien, Drucken, abheften, dokumentieren - pro fünf unentschuldigten Fehltagen eines Kindes fülle ich 6 Seiten Dokumentation aus zb -, putzen, Sachen von a nach b tragen. Wenn ich nicht regelmäßig über 50 Stunden arbeiten will, muss ich Zeit einsparen und die spare ich leider an der Vorbereitung und Differenzierung. Ich habe mehrere Wochen versucht, alles zu schaffen - auch mit 80 Stunden die Woche schaffe ich es nicht. War dann aber krank und erschöpft. Das Schulsystem würde massiv besser werden, wenn man für Dokumentationen, Kopien, abheften, Pausenaufsichten... schlicht weiteres Personal einstellen würde. Mit macht das sogar Spaß, ich bin mir nicht zu "fein" für Sekretariatsarbeit oder Putzen, aber dafür hätte man mich nicht teuer ausbilden müssen.

[@martinsch]

@@kellymcbright5456 Könnte mir vorstellen dass Schweden keinen Lehrermangel an Grundschulen hat.

[@kellymcbright5456]

@@martinsch Dann stellst du falsch vor. Es gibt tausende unbesetzte Stellen im Land.

[@christinehorsley]

Reason for the “risk of burnout” in Germany being about the same as in the USA is that here we usually work our asses off … especially when the workforce is reduced for cost savings, competitiveness … I worked very very hard during my nearly 12 years in the USA, but I worked even harder after coming back to Germany. That included unpaid overtime as I was on a rather nice salary (but we did get some overtime paid for about 1 1/2 years, it had gotten excessive and was a matter of negotiation with the management) . I’ve never worked harder in my life, but it was an interesting, never boring job. However, my weekends were tabu - no work on weekends, no calls at home except for maybe 2 or 3 times in an emergency. And before I left for vacation, I informed my customers, including whom they should contact during my absence, and I turned over all my current work to my co-workers. By the way, I never suffered from a burnout.

[@19Regi93]

I had 28 vacation days when I started working as a Azubi in 2010. Now I have 33 days per year.

[@DerTolleIgel]

And I am only on a measly 32 days? :-O Need to talk to my manager :(

[@Loneyloyt]

I have 30 vacation days, + 5 days from my GdB 50% (degree of disability 50%), while working 5 days a week for 4h-5h a day. Of Course, paid. And through my GdB i have protection against dismissal. And if you are sick while in vacation, it cancels your vacation day so you get it back. Of course only with a doctors note.

[@anniestumpy9918]

What disability do you have?

[@Coolgamer400]

I'm still searching for that "freedom" part of the american dream.

[@Lukeddd]

You have the Freedom for self-exploitation

[@winny4765]

One thing you didn’t mention, I guess, is 4-6 weeks Spa. When you have had a serious disease your doc will prescribe a reconvale cent break in a medical institution, paid for by your health insurance or the pension insurance every 2 or 5 years.

[@worldhello1234]

@2:45 Yeah, it is a hustle culture where you spend your vacation days on the toilet seat with minimal and unpaid annual leave, let alone paid sick leave. That is so 1850s, at least according to the official history told in German schools. 🤔

[@NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclair]

The "holiday observed" concept is pretty good - we really should implement that.

[@ch.k.3377]

In 2024 you could get 44 vacation days (public holidays, bridge days) with 18 vacation days.🥳

[@PassportTwo]

The dream! 😃

[@m.h.6470]

Wouldn't that include the weekends, which are not really vacation days?

[@ch.k.3377]

@@m.h.6470 According to the law, all days that are not Sundays or holidays are considered working days. Therefore, it depends on which days one is obligated to work, but the 18 days for a 5-day week, and in relation to that, properly utilizing the holidays and bridge days in 2024 with the weekends.

[@m.h.6470]

@@ch.k.3377 I get it, It's better to utilize bridge days. No question. But counting the weekends as extra vacation days is just wrong counting. You might as well say, that you have 104 + 30 + ~13 vacation days per year, so ~147 days. That is just ridiculous.

[@favoritevids8869]

Several years ago I worked in a minimum wage low level job and started with 20 days. It eventually went up to 24. This year I started at a new company in a different field and started with 30 days. It’s still an entry level job. But the difference in quality of work is astounding.

[@MegaBorusse1900]

30 days of vacation since being a trainee. According to my employment contract, I can also convert overtime (Überstunden) into additional paid vacation days, up to 9 times a year. That means 39 days of vacation max. Banking Sector. // Additionally, 24th of december and 01.01. are always free, without having to use up a vacation day.

[@tosa2522]

USA: “We have abolished slavery. We simply treat all employees like slaves.”

[@supermaximglitchy1]

“We have found a replacement called employees”

[@dux_bellorum]

😂😂😂

[@HalfEye79]

I saw 30 days of vacation as a standard. So, when I got to the beginning of my job (quite another company), I got 30 days and I thought nothing about it. When I changed the company, I got 35 days of vacation and I wondered, why. They said, because of my disability, I got 5 more days. After christmas to the end of the year last year, I had vacation, but had to go into a hospital for a week. I got my 3 days of vacation back, because being in a hospital is no vacationlike relaxation. But I had to take these days up to march. It is no problem for me, to take long vacations, but they can only be 3 weeks in one go, because of a recurring event.

[@jody.wanderlust]

An American here: work for current company 5 years- vacation is accumulated per pay period and ends up being equal to 18 days in a calendar year of vacation. We are NOT allowed to carry over, it’s use it or lose it. We get 4 sick days per calendar year and this CAN be carried over year after year; however, 4 days from Jan to Dec is not a lot to cover appointments and sick! The accrual for vacation goes up slightly after one hits 8 years with this company - I believe making it 20 vacation days per year.

[@COPKALA]

BTW in Germany not taken holiday decay. In Italy holiday cannot decay, I knew people who were obliged to stay home as they had too many not-taken holiday.

[@sphhyn]

Hi. I am Beamte (work for the city I live in ) and started at 19 years old. I got 29 vacation days right from the start and when I turned 30 I got one more day so I have 30 days now. We can carry the days over up to 12 months. I share an office with 3 others (we have offices with 2-4 people). The bosses have their own office for them selves. But we can do Homeoffice up to 3 times a week. So we are hardly ever all in at the same time. It’s required that all personell have an adjustable desk (manual or automatic ), an adjustable pretty high quality chair and one or two big computer monitors for jobs in the computer. Funny thing is that the furniture design has not changed for the last 70 years (very ugly) but they function well enough. But unfortunately no air conditioning which would be suuuuper nice in summer.

[@marcblum5348]

On life work balance: it's a very groundsetting thing whether you live to work (the protestantic viewpoint) or work to live (the catholic viewpoint). I prefer the second one.

[@OlavvanGerven]

"Mehrarbeit" is work that an employee does without a direct order from the responsible manager to "just finish of" something thta day. "Überstunden" is work that is done on direct order of the boss. The total amount of working hours a day may not exceed more then 10 hours a day, If there is a workmanscouncel (Betriebsrat), this work has to be approved by them BEFORE the boss orders the work. Both forms of overtime must be compensated, preferably in free time (so reduce hours at antoher day) within a period of three months. Only if this is not possible due to workprocesses, a financial payout is suitable. But notice: In most companies, overtime is payed out.

[@Arltratlo]

i am working 40h per week since last October...because i have been sick home for over 14 months...and before i got sick, i worked also only 40h per week for months... i dont work weekends anymore, i have younger co-worker, they can do it! my overtime account from 4 months been 225hrs some years ago, so i got 2 months vacation from my boss....i went 7,5 weeks for the USA record in my firm is a colleague with 7 months vacation from overtime!

[@Headhunter-5000]

My lowest vacation days for a full time job was 24 days, the highest 31. Currently it is 30 days.

[@jonasbartels1716]

We have 20 vacation days each week, but we only work 4 days (37h) a week (Monday to Thursday), 9,25h per day. But we get paid for the whole 40h. With holidays, sometimes it's just 3 days a week, like this may. It's up to our workload if we have to work an additional Friday or not. Our Boss himself suggested the idea of a 4-day week, and had us employees all together to decide about it. Before that, we had a 5-day week with at least 26 vacation days.

[@Zeppelinschaffner22]

In my corporate job, I started with 28 vacation days, but contractually I will get 2 extra days after two years. Since vacation days are allotted by calendar year and I started the job in May, this year I got 29 and will have 30 by next year.

[@andreasd.7724]

16:00 Hahaha 😂 you need to learn: Es geht immer weiter, auch wenn du nicht da bist😅

[@PassportTwo]

Unfortunately, es geht nicht immer weiter when I am self-employed and the only one who does the work 😅 If I don't do it, it doesn't get done 😂

[@QueenofmyPlantpot]

@@PassportTwo Schade Marmelade 😅

[@mick-berry5331]

​@@PassportTwoRight, I was self-employed for the last six years before retiring. I worked 56 hours per week min.

[@Geggy0815]

Startet with 22 days after school. Now i have 30 days plus some days for overtime work.

[@chkoha6462]

Started with 30 days plus the option to take days off thanks to extra hours worked in advance...my contract stayed like this since ever

[@Elmo2205]

I started my full time job in Germany in August of 2022 after being part of the american workfroce for close to 27 years (working two or three jobs at a time for many of those years). May annual vacation time is 30 days.

[@Hotdragyn]

6 weeks payed sick days then your health insurence pay you 60% ;) You also can pay for normal vacation days in most companies in germany ;) I have a friend he has 40 days payed vacation ;)

[@chrisk5651]

I’m an American and you need a doctors note if you’re out for more than 3 days in a row and if you try to extend holidays like saying that you are sick the Friday before a 3-day weekend.

[@kukuV.3]

Christmas eve is a half day off and generally if you work in a office nobody works on Christmas Eve

[@Mamaki1987]

When I was working for a call center I only got the minimum of 20 days and they tried to screw us over by saying even when there is a public holiday you have to work 40 hours a week. Now I get 30 days, plus 6 because I work rolling shifts. I couldn't even imagine not having any vacation time. And yes, we really could improve by implimenting observed holidays. I hope that will be the case at some time.

[@carstenhardt1589]

Thank you for yet another great video! As a German, I love the chance of getting an "outsider's perspective" on my country. Maybe you should do a video on trade unions and "Tarifverträge" in Germany since those typically determine a lot about your working conditions like number of vacation days. A "Tarifvertrag" (collective work agreement) is negotiated between the trade union covering your industry / branch of work (e.g. metal industry including IT, chemical industry, public service etc.) and the respective organisation of employers. There is a more general agreement called "Manteltarifvertrag" which covers the rarely changing stuff like days of vacation or rules for termination and is therefore seldom updated, and there is the seperate wage agreement which covers only salaries / wages and is changed annually or after two to three years at least. Negotiations for higher salaries may include strikes.

[@McGhinch]

England makes fries? Edit: The first time in Ireland they put vinegar on the chips. Before the next visits to Ireland and GB I practised eating fries with vinegar until i kind-a started to like it.

[@NatasDuVall]

Funny thing: I have now about 44 days of vacation in Germany, because instead of asking for more money every two years, I ask for more vacation days instead. ;-)

[@nellitheretrogamer8666]

Here in Finland Dec 24th, 25th and 26th are holidays anyways. This year is one of those "super years" when they happen to be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so by using only two vacation days (Mon 23rd + Fri 27th) people can get nine days of vacation at one go (21th -29th). On those years when two of those days happen to be Saturday and Sunday, too bad. We can't get them as extra holiday then. There are 11 national holidays per year and 7-10 of them fall on weekdays depending on the year. Some years are better than others :D

[@eberhardjiritschka3151]

Regarding the effectiveness of work time and employees when talking about more vacation, less overtime, more sick leave etc. in Germany: my anecdotal experience from collaborating with US colleagues for many years now is that everything gets complicated on their side by creating huge email lists, meetings and involvement of people who actually have no competence but need to be involved for some reason. Things that may have decided and done within hours became kind of projects for weeks… There is big talk about German bureaucracy but on the company level it seems to be the other way around - at least to me

[@COPKALA]

BTW according to the Federal Civil Act it is also the empolyee's duty not to burn-out. It is more complicated than this.

[@marcromain64]

Funnily enough, there are similar regulations in the US, but under completely different circumstances. It speaks for excellent lobbying when responsibility is shifted from the employer to the employee. How on earth are employees supposed to counteract their own burnout when every effective measure carries the risk of termination or the risk of a contract not being renewed? Becoming unemployed is certainly a method of preventing burnout, but hardly a method that necessarily has the employee's well-being in mind.

[@autinerd]

At the Deutsche Bahn, you can choose on how much vacation days you want. Normal is 30 days, and then you can choose to have 36 or 42 days (of course your salary is then lower, 2.6% for 36 days and 5.2% for 42 days)

[@moiragores1226]

Another topic for part 2: Pflegeurlaub! Especially for you being parents, that is important. Pflegeurlaub for when your child is sick but also if your partner is sick and can't take care of the child.

[@slack84]

in germany it is mandatory to take 2 consecutive weeks of vacation. also if you are working 40 hours a week, you have at least 24 paid vacation day here

[@pythagorasmathematik9585]

All of our office desks are adjustable in hight. Our safety-guy is responsible for making sure everyone has an ergonomic environment. Desks are way less expensive than people being off sick because of backpain.

[@tobiasm.9683]

30 Urlaubstage habe ich. Das ist auch der Standard hier in der Umgebung. Ich kenne tatsächlich so gut wie niemanden der weniger hat.

[@COPKALA]

BTW in Germany the statistics say that there is at least 10% overtime (which is not accounted for or paid, just because people do it).

[@seanthiar]

I'm handicapped and my vacation days for a 5day work week is 34days/year - 30 days normal + 5 days for being handicapped.

[@anniestumpy9918]

What disability and GdB do you have?

[@seanthiar]

@@anniestumpy9918 You get the additional days with a GdB of 50 or greater and as far as I know the type of disability doesn't matter for it. It is based on law : § 208 paragraph 1 SGB IX

[@1Naenie1]

Recently, I have worked 10 hours a day, but I can take extra time off after those huge projects are done. I am working for the second international company now, and I am always amazed by the number of meetings there are with way too many people in it. And much time goes by with just checking in about stuff with 100 different people even though they have no stakes in the decision. Much talk like "Do you feel comfortable with this or that software change" even so it doesn't affect most of them. In our German team, we just do the needed change, only discuss it with team lead or other affected colleagues, and send an email later to inform the others. We certainly don't ask anyone if they feel comfortable. We just ask experts what the correct solution is, and then we just do it. Then, there are tons of monthly meetings. Two hours Townhalls, section meetings, introduction meetings... in our German office, we ignorse those, let them play in the background, or just read the email afterward. All in all our working time is more condenced. But it really depends on the person and the position. Leads often work ten to twelve hours per day and answer emails during vacation. Thats partly because they want to prevent their reports to work overtime or because they are a bottleneck.

[@user-fb5lj9cz5l]

I have 240 hours of vacation per year in an Austrian company, which corresponds to 30 days. But if I only took Fridays off when I work shorter hours, I would have ten more days off per year ;-) There are also thirteen statutory and three company-internal days off. So it all adds up. The rule that a public holiday at the weekend is still credited and that half a day off is given on Faschingsdienstag was unfortunately abolished a few years ago. Vacations can be saved for two years, then they expire.

[@Reileeen]

When I started working I had 20 days for vacation and worked 60-70h/week. After 10 years I quit because I was exhausted. I got really sick and needed surgery. Since then I care more for myself. Now I have 31 days for vacation and work 40h/week. I do not make extra hours anymore. Lesson learned😊

[@marcblum5348]

Since I finished University (mid 90s) I always got 30 days vacation per year. Yup, call it the standard in tech industry. Some companies even granted additional days to elder empoyees.

[@martinjunghofer3391]

The "best" fries depend on how they are made and that can vary greatly in all countries! I had the best fries of my life in Orleans at the campground!

[@PassportTwo]

haha, really?? Wow. Sounds like we need to make a camping trip to France soon...😅

[@philippschmidt80]

I had 26 vacation days when I started my Ausbildung, I know have 36.

[@alexandermarkhart1582]

So i am working in the primary sector, wich generally has one of the lowest working standards in Germany (we are allowed to work longer than generally, we are allowed to work (seasonally) more days and so on). When I started working I had 24 days of paid vacation and so far I have never met anyone working here with less days than that. For the last Question: Obviously Belgium. It's no contest imo. For a part 2 I would actually love, if you could look at work efficiency, revenue lost because of sicknesses spreading in companies or so on. I mean, we learn that our standards and worker rights actually benefit the whole economy, since a rested person works more efficient and makes less mistakes. Generally i have to say, I am always dumbfounded when I hear about the american workculture. It seems so outlandish for me, that a country as rich as the U.S. is so different compared to the E.U. in that regard.

[@tesla.8410]

MORE WORK RELATED VIDEOS PLEASE!

[@BlacKi-nd4uy]

as i started working 20y ago, i started with 24 vacation days as a leased employee, later i got 30 days since the company was accepting the contracts with our labour union, and 3-4 years ago, you could choose if you wanna have an extra paycheck or extra vacation days. so i got 38 vacation days and if i do some overtime, then i can get some more vacation days.

[@anniestumpy9918]

I considered briefly emigrating to the U.S. but not any more. One reason being, I could just not survive with that little vacation. I'm severely disabled and I barely can go on with the normal amount of free time from work.

[@olivertenby4014]

I started to work in 1982 and retired in 2023; I always had 30 days for vaccation at my disposal.

[@katse1204]

You can also save up your vacation time for early retirement here. (at least in some jobs) But it's limited, where I work you get 30 vacation days per year, but you can only save up 10, so the other 20 have to be used or they will expire.

[@lordofnumbers9317]

I started with my employer with 24 days of vacation per year. The rule is that you cannot take vacation during the probationary period, i.e. in the first 6 months. After a few years with the company, I have 30 days of vacation per year. I just noticed that there is never any mention of Christmas and holiday bonuses in videos like this. This is referred to as the 13th month salary. Maybe because that's standard in the USA?

[@bb57piano]

Being self-employed, of course, makes a big difference to holidays, weekend and evenings, also in Germany. If, e.g., as a self-employed lawyer, you have to prepare for oral proceedings on Monday or Tuesday, your weekend will be spent in prep-time. While you might be able to charge such hours to your client, this is not always be possible. Thus, don‘t stress about still having the urge to work on holidays, for self-employed Germans, this will mostly be the rule, too. But overall, your representation of the work-life-balance situation between the US and Germany is very accurate. Thank you for another very informative and nice video👍🏻

[@marcromain64]

As a self-employed person, you employ yourself and therefore allocate your own vacation days. You can allow yourself more free time, but at your own business risk - the same risk that you generally take in exchange for the benefits of self-employment. Dependent employees, on the other hand, forego these benefits and take fewer risks. At the end of the day, everyone has to decide for themselves what is more important to them.

[@kruemelblub1859]

i currently have 30 "regular day" vacation + 3 shift work days + 2 "regeneration days" + additional 2 regeneration days ( i bought them ) = 37 "vacation days"

[@LiftandCoa]

I had funny conversations when i shared my first job experience with friends from abroad. For example, i have never signed a working contract that doesnt offer me at the very minimum 28 days of vacation a year. And that was my job as a dishwasher (big machines and stuff) alongside school. Yet alone the proper jobs i started later in life.

[@peter_althoff]

Since you made an ad for chairs and tables, as an employer you can't put every piece of furniture in an office. The equipment is regulated in various workplace regulations. The same applies to monitors, lighting, window shading and so on. As for the “Observed Holidays” I strongly believe I can do without them, especially when comparing both systems.

[@skycube7915]

So I also work in a full time job in Germany with 40h and have normaly 30 vacation days. In my past jobs I also had once 26/30 days :)

[@RogersRamblings]

Random question answer. The quality of the chips depends on the fryer, there are good and... not so good in both. Talking of food, have you tried a currywurst since you've been in Germany? Food of the gods.

[@ThePlumbeus]

Even though you can’t roll over your vacation until retirement, some employers allow you to keep your overtime hours. They have to block some cash to be able to pay you out if you quit though, so most don’t like that. My father had nearly 800 hours when he retired early.

[@KelbenArunsun]

When i worked as an icu nurse and did nightshifts, i had 39 days off.. At my current job i got 29 days but i dont do shifts anymore

[@PassportTwo]

Wow! Sounds like a dream for Americans 😅 BTW, thank you for the very important work you do 😊

[@KelbenArunsun]

@@PassportTwo I quit beeing a nurse durin covid and now work for an it company ^^

[@andreaseufinger4422]

I'm 57 years old, so I have worked for quite a while. I never had anything else than 30 days of vacation. But I know some contracts, you start with 25 hours and every year it is one day more until you reach the 30 days after 5 years. We consider that going cheap on young employees ;)

[@kackbratze9624]

On the other hand. In the States you get for the same job 3-4 times the money you would get in germany while the lifecosts are compareble.

[@peterr5293]

When I started working, I got 30 days of vacation, now, due to changing jobs, I „only“ get 28 days of vacation. Regarding the random question, for sure Belgium has the better chips / fries in my opinion. But the English fries with vinegar are also nice. (Was skeptical about chips with vinegar in the beginning, but grew to like it.

[@according2her]

At my workplace we get the 30 days PTO plus technically a little extra as we close over Christmas/New Year's but usually only have to spend 2-2,5 of our days off for that period :)

[@nabun111]

Im the construction industry in Germany the 24th of December is always a unpaid holiday. And most other companies give people free for hallf of overtime Hours.

[@Husqvarna575XP]

Starting with 25 Days off, then some law changed that there can't be a different in paid days off between young and older workers. I'm not sure if it's just in public service or does it effected every jobs. So with this change I got up to 30 days. Because I have a physical stressful job I get 5 days extra so that I now at 35 days. It's not correct that we can't take days off to the next year. You can do it untill September 1st of the next Year. If you were unable to take your vacation, you can apply to keep your vacation days after September 1st. But it's up to your boss to approve it.

[@aw3s0me12]

i started with *28 holiday,* and now have 42 after 15 years. > Yes i can get _"extra"_ holidays if i have to work on any Weekend day + extra per houre on top of normal payment per houre.

[@hone-i1d]

I am curious how American manufacturing companies handle vacation. In Germany, even big companies like Volkswagen, shut down each plant completely for 3 weeks in summer. And even if you have an office job in procurement or sales there you simply cannot work because everything is closed. And many foreign workers usually add 2 weeks to the vacation closedown and travel to their home countries for 5 weeks. Do American companies have a summer break at all?

[@dedeegal]

I have 33 days of vacation per year and I like to take a whole month at a time. It's the only way to switch off thoughts about the company. My respective vacation replacements have hated me for it several times ... but the advantage is that they inevitably have to learn to really cover for me this way. If the vacation replacement only has to cover one week of my absence, the difficult things are left undone until I'm back. In my opinion, it's a win-win situation. At least for me and for the employer. And in the long term, even for the vacation replacements. At some point I'll be retired ... and then they'll have to replace me completely anyway. So they'd better learn, as long as I'm back after my vacation and can answer questions.

[@ClaudiaG.1979]

I work parttime at a grocery store. I work from monday to saturday with 1 day off midweek and i have 36 paid days off plus overtime work.

[@mickimicki]

But these 36 paid days off will probably include the Saturdays that you could have to work on? So 36 days probably turn out to be 6 weeks, the same way that 30 days of holiday are 6 weeks for somebody in a job where Saturdays are always free. At least that's how it is at my place of work (we work Saturdays, too).

[@ClaudiaG.1979]

@@mickimicki yes, it includes the saturday

[@COPKALA]

In Germany according to the Federal Holiday act, at least one part of the vacation MUST be taken in a row (at least 2 weeks).

[@PiedraDeIjada]

According to German law being sick even invalidates PTO. So if you get sick while on PTO you get the vacation days back. Logic is, that PTO is for resting and relaxation, and if you are sick you can't relax.

[@hamhamtv321]

I‘m actually working full time as an electrician‘s apprentice and already get 30 days of vacation

[@irminschembri8263]

Hm, what else do the USA UK Australia and NZ have in common besides " no maximum length of the work week " ?? ;)

[@keltenbleich]

As per my personal experience working from 9 to 5 would be, in most cases, to shut down my pc 5 minutes before the time and to wait for the big clock to show 5 pm. Then, everybody rushes out, some of us would drive home, others would prefer to do the shopping and other would go to practise their favourite sport, as the regular beginning time is 6 pm. But this may not work for everyone the same way, depending on your qualification and if your company has signed an agreement with a union. To cut the story short: It´s not easy to answer the question if Germans do work overtime or not.

[@oliverschneidewind5503]

In addition, in Germany parents can receive sick leave for up to 15 days per year if their child becomes ill.

[@iAmVonexX]

recieved an offer from DB as a training instructor a while back. they gave me an offer to choose from. it was basically like "would you like to have 30 day off for a higher salary or 46 days off for a slightly less salary". didnt do the math since i already accepted an offer when they reached out to me but i thought it is a very interesting and good concept to let your employee choose between more money or more time for themself. looking back now im not sure if its good or bad that i turned down the offer... i switched jobs on 1.1 and im very happy with my new job and employer since i can do basically whatever i want all day long while getting paid very well but at the same time this could have been a very interesting job with a lot of days off

[@lauramarschmallow2922]

so I work 4 or 5 days a week and get 24 days of vacation, which is why I only have 5 weeks a year! 😭 that's so little! I really crave the public holidays. but to be fair: unless it 's an emergency my employer never contacts me on my days off.

[@mclaine7342]

Yeah, we have a good amount of vacation days, but in germany we also pay taxes high as the mount everest...

[@hiken_mmb1035]

starting an apprenticeship and the first job I applied for and at the same time the first one I scored gave me 30 days of vacation. In my eyes that's standard.

[@m.h.6470]

I always had 30 days of vacation (+ bank holidays, which are quite numerable, especially in Ba-Wü, where I currently live)

[@Humpelstilzchen]

As aprentice i started with 25 days off. I often switched jobs but never less than 24. Now i'm at 28 but with overtime (Mehrarbeit) i easily get to 40 days. 5 day work week, 37h a week. Doesn't include the 13 public holidays in bavaria

[@iristinkerbell]

Maybe someone else already said this, but I work in the public sector, meaning my contract follows the "Tarifvertrag Öffentlicher Dienst (TVöD)". With this everybody (and that should be millions of people) gets 30 vacation days each year, and (I think this is also defined by the TVöD and not my employer) can carry over days one full year, so technically it would be possible to compile 60 days to take at once. But I don't think you have a right to take 60 days at once, your employer has to be okay with that. Another thing regarding paid days off that you didn't mention is "Bildungsurlaub" (educational leave) - if I'm not mistake you can take 5 additional days each year to educate yourself on a wide variety of skill, like learning a new language or an instrument. It doesn't have to be related to your work but the course/class needs to be registered in a specific catalogue, you can't just lay around on a beach somewhere and claim this is educational. I've never used this though and don't know anyone who has - but our works council recently reminded everyone of this right.

[@iristinkerbell]

Oops, just saw someone else already said this about the educational leave.

[@Nabend1402]

I get 42 days vacation a year since day one. But I do work in a business that is open 7 days a week, so it is "just" six weeks. And yeas, of course I have to take every single day and I very happily do.