A German here. I was diagnosed with very aggressive triple negative breast cancer mid October of 2022. My chemotherapy started shortly after the diagnosis and I am on sick leave since then (my chemotherapy will go on at least until March). The first 6 weeks, the employer paid my full salary, after that the (mandatory) health insurance takes over, paying something around 2/3 of the salary. In addition to that, I am working with a company which - even for german standards - is outstanding. My company takes out a special insurance for every employee which pays the "missing" 1/3 of the salary in cases of long-term sickness. My health insurance naturally pays the gros amount of my medication and treatments. There are minor exceptions, and I need to pay a small "personal share", in German "Eigenanteil", but that is usually something of 5 to 10 Euros per medication, no matter if the medication costs 10 Euros or 1000 Euros. Since I receive 100% of my salary, these small costs are not a problem at all. And in the meantime, I am receiving a treatment which, I am sure, is up to par with the standards of other first world countries. What all that means is that I can fully concentrate on getting my treatments and recovering instead of worrying about work (that I wouldn't be able to do at the moment) or bills (which I can pay without problems). I am very happy and even more thankful to be able to enjoy all these benefits together with effective and efficient health treatment at almost no cost to me. I cannot immagine what it must be like to be seriously sick or injured without all of these benefits and I really feel for everyone who struggles in this way. Oh, and yes, the treatment already shows positive effects, my knots are getting smaller. 😃

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Firstly - I was SO relieved to read the end of your comment and that you are showing great response to the treatment. I can't begin to imagine the stress and difficulty of such a prognosis and are very, very thankful that you are able to focus on your treatment without worry about finances. In the US, I know many families who have had to turn to community fundraisers and go-fund me online campaigns to raise money when a loved one gets ill... whether it be to cover the medical bills or to cover the lost income due to the inability to work. This is sadly a very common occurrence.

@atticusrumi

Жыл бұрын

Gute Besserung!

@ElinT13

Жыл бұрын

@@TypeAshton Thank you, Ashton! I heard about these comunity fundraisers, but I think I'd be scared senseless to be sick and to a good extent helpless (in the sense of: lacking strength and energy to work, having money issues and being dependent on the help of strangers in addition to that). I can only immagine how horrible that must be.

@peterkoller3761

Жыл бұрын

I wish you the very best outcome of the treatment! In the land of the free, you would be begging on go fund me or selling everything you own to fund you and the treatment you are receiving, before you spend the last 10$ on a piece of rope to go feel in your neck the weight of your ass.

@ElinT13

Жыл бұрын

@@atticusrumi Herzlichen Dank!

I happen to own a small business in Germany and I'd have to be lying to tell you that giving an employee extended time off for Elternzeit or Mutterschutz is an easy thing to do when that person represents 25% of your workforce. But particularly hearing you talk about Germany's achievements makes me proud as I can see what I'm doing it for. It feels good to be part of the community that makes it possible to provide as Germany does.

@bobdobb9017

Жыл бұрын

Part of the reason that American communities are fragmented, and therefore have much less single group loyalty, is that it is a multi-ethnic state. Ironically the only thing that holds us together is individualism.

@pandaman1331

Жыл бұрын

Are the employees themselves showing you respect for it?

@antonb9459

Жыл бұрын

@@pandaman1331 Well, why should they, it's not like he's doing that out of selflessness. But in my experience especially people that work in small businesses mostly do care about their employer and know that their workforce is essential to the company. Which is why people often already feel bad for calling in sick and such.

@pandaman1331

Жыл бұрын

@@antonb9459 That's why they should appreciate the work and dedication of their employees.

@blue18404

Жыл бұрын

​@@bobdobb9017nothing hold us together. We were never a "real country". Just a collection of different people who work like slaves.

Whoever calls countries that care for their citizens a nanny state clearly never has left their own country themselves. It almost makes me chuckle how ignorant people can be…. 😅 And I really prefer to live in a country where I work to live instead of living to work.

@kronop8884

Жыл бұрын

They send the nanny state message out to people who have little to no idea about how things can work, and do work in other countries. It's a tactic widely used to get get votes by scare mongering

@sonia7blue

Жыл бұрын

It's right wing corporate media that shout about the "nanny state". I think large corporations are also responsible for the talk about small businesses vs. the reality, because they use the mantra of "small business" to pass legislation that actually benefits them. Corporate media with partisan propaganda exist in the mainstream, mainly, because of the demise of the Fairness Doctrine in the Reagan years. These people aren't getting balanced viewpoints in the news, although, when polled, they want more of what right wing corporate media calls socialism. The grandparents of those same people who parrot the "nanny state" nonsense likely voted for FDR, and the New Deal, which is the closest the U.S. has come to treating its citizens like human beings.

@seanthiar

Жыл бұрын

I'm always thinking how would those people talk if they would loose all of their money and have to live from paycheck to paycheck like many do. I believe they would change their opinion.

@dreamdancer8212

Жыл бұрын

You have to take into regard that many of the people ( in this case Fox employees) very often have a special agenda. They fight any form of social security, health insurance, paid vacation, etc. because they benefit from the current situation as employers, share holders or just owners of big fortunes. For them it is all about to preserve the current situation to keep on benefitting from it. But of course they don´t say openly - I want to profit, I want to exploid your misery. They talk of freedom, of nanny state, of the land of the free, of the american dream. But what it´s really all about is the preservation of unequallity and advantage of the rich people.

@madrooky1398

Жыл бұрын

@@seanthiar Unfortunately that is no helping, especially those who live paycheck to paycheck are sold in a narrative there was no other, better way, that isnt communism and tyranny. And so they say thank you sir and take it as it is.

I'm a small employer, having only 4 salaried employees. Paying 6 weeks in full when an employee is sick, would be a real problem. But Germany has a solution: For 2% of the gross salaries I get insurance for 50% of what I pay during sick leave, for under 3% I get insurance for 80% of what I pay during sick leave. Being financially secured, I can tell my employees to really get cured. Btw: My employees have 35 days off for vacation, a little more than than the 25-30 days I take myself.

@mnsegler1

Жыл бұрын

Wow that’s awesome!

@leiflillandt1488

Жыл бұрын

The problem is, can you charge "enough" for the services, and do the customers have the money to pay. And do you have enough customers. It's an interesting thing with many vacation days, and that's all kind of creative small businesses that can have many potential customers, and if you live in a remote village but have an interesting idea you can survive that means all country can survive and all Germans need not live in a couple of big cities. If only money would count in life all Poles would move to Germany, but most of them stay at home in Poland! But if you have enough (!) money the life is much easier, but it doesn't solve all problems. As a foreigner/guest in Germany I think I have never driven faster than 130 kpm on the Autobahn. Autobahn is no race track by the way!!! Then I, of course, try to avoid it. Germany is in many places a garden landscape! Auf Wiedersehen!

@austintrigloff9562

Жыл бұрын

“I can tell my employees to really get cured.” Compared to American employers: “don’t really get cured. Come back to work and infect the whole workforce with Covid and shut down production.” Protecting workers means protecting your business.

@Zybran93

Жыл бұрын

It should be common knowledge that its preferable to send someone home if he is sick. Getting fully cured over a couple of days and returning to work fresh and motivated is better than having someone at work that works with half the efficiency, prone to infect other workers as well. In my experience it is cheaper to let people recover instead of letting them work until they are completly burned out.

@Zybran93

Жыл бұрын

@@leiflillandt1488 i share your sentiment about the autobahn, but sadly a huge procentage of germans love the autobahn and its racelike charackter. Personally i allways hated driving on it in germany, its just pure stress.

robert bosch once sad: "i dont pay good wages because im rich, i am rich because of the good wages i pay". he is also one of the first who introduce the 8 hour workday to his company. and to this day everyone knows about the good quality of the products from the bosch company. german companies also benefits from the apprentice program. you create workers with the same skills for a certain field, so they can focus and specialize in one trade. that increase the productivity. there is no learning by doing. first you learn and than you do.

@helloweener2007

Жыл бұрын

Because you "quoted" him. He did not say excactly this. He said "I have lots of money" instead of "rich". "Ich zahle nicht gute Löhne, weil ich viel Geld habe, sondern ich habe viel Geld, weil ich gute Löhne zahle" I know it means the same but when you quote someone, you should use the exact words the person did.

@johaquila

Жыл бұрын

Bosch products are no longer particularly good nowadays. Since they mostly no longer produce in Germany but have their products produced in cheap far Eastern countries, the current leaders are Swiss and Japanese manufacturers that haven't made this move yet. Of course this doesn't contradict your main point. It reinforces it.

@nikomangelmann6054

Жыл бұрын

@@helloweener2007 i know that rich dont necessarily means beeing well in money but english is not my first language and there may be a mistake in translation but you got the point and that is what counts for me.

@ketamu5946

Жыл бұрын

@@johaquila there is a huge difference between Bosch consumer products (chepa production) and industry and security products (still made in germany and thats for a reason)

@nikomangelmann6054

Жыл бұрын

@@johaquila yeah, bosch might not be the best but they do solid work. i dont mean the "green" electric tools that you can buy in every hardware store. the "blue" prfessional line are the main electric tools in the company that i work. also alot of the electric tools that würth sells contains bosch elements. basicly bosch is like volkswagen. not high end but solid and good enough for the most time.

Had teams all over the world. The folks with the highest attendance were Korean. The ones with the least vacation and sick days were the Americans. The highest productivity was in Europe. Less chatting, less Solitaire, less burnout, less degradation of performance over time.

@maxbarko8717

Жыл бұрын

Interesting yet not surprising.

@mina_en_suiza

Жыл бұрын

A particularly sad model is very common in Latin America: Paying people a premium for not taking sick and not mandatory off days. This only results in people not taking proper care of their health. Whilst you can do this for a couple of years, it is extremely costly in the long run.

@jhwheuer

Жыл бұрын

@@mina_en_suiza interesting. I had a team in Joinville and they had a pretty good work life balance. Worked hard, but not desperately.

@mina_en_suiza

Жыл бұрын

@@jhwheuer Well. Latin America can be a great place to live. If you happen to have a decent job or business, quality of life can be better than in many other places. Especially in the early 2000s, many countries, like Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Colombia saw enormous rates of economic growth, but currently the situation looks pretty dire, and that's the thing: The lack of economic and political stability often makes long-term planning very hard.

@reconciliation86

Жыл бұрын

@@mina_en_suiza I haven't taken a sick day in 4 years (German) sign me up for this program! (Other colleagues are renown for taking 6 weeks sick leave every year)

Some time ago a colleague from a US NGO asked me how our salary structure and our benefits is composed. They wanted to review their system at that time. As I had a bit of time, I compiled all legal benefits plus what we have additionally in our NGO. After sending this to my colleague in DC, she simply replied: "You are living in paradise.".

Last year I managed to get a union job in Germany and it really is amazing. 35h work weeks (considered full time of course), really good pay, 30 paid vacation days (which most companies do anyway, 20 is mandatory but I have never seen a company only offer 20. 30 is the norm), a really nice and relaxed atmosphere, could hardly be any happier. If I had an offer from the US for twice the money, I would probably still reject that offer, I like my work/life balance and the paid vacation days.

@Thorium_Th

Жыл бұрын

I always wondered about that, too. 20 days are mandatory but I also don't know any company that gives less than 30. I think you really couldn't compete with other companies if you give that little.

@SuperPuddingcat

Жыл бұрын

I was interested in working in the US for a while and applied for some positions, one company emphasised that they offered a whopping 18 days paid time off per year. I live in Germany now, but am originally from South Africa, even in South Africa the statutory vacation days are higher at 21 working days per year!

@Imzadi76

Жыл бұрын

It's not unusual for smaller companies to offer less than 30. But I have yet to meet someone who only gets the mandatory 20. The lowest I know are 28.

@letofregar5410

Жыл бұрын

The lowest I had were 25. And that was a real asshole company. Not surprisingly, employees usually stay only for a few years before moving on

@Engy_Wuck

Жыл бұрын

well, mandatory (according to § 3 Bundesurlaubsgesetz) are 24 "working days" (Werktage) where these are defined as "neither sundays nor public holidays". Yes, the law is a bit old (it's from 1963), so saturdays were seen as regular working days. The "20 days" most often cited are for five-day-weeks, but it would be more fair to say that "four full work-weeks" are the mandatory minimum.

Habe in meinem Berufsleben über 20 Jahre in USA beherrschten Firmen in leitenden Positionen in Deutschland gearbeitet. In informellen Zusammenkünften nach Konzernbesprechungen war ich in den Augen meiner Kollegen der Märchenerzähler wenn ich über meine Arbeitsbedingungen und die meiner Mitarbeiter berichtete.

@Ashley-lm4nv

Жыл бұрын

Deutsche Märchen sind wohl nicht so Grimm.

@KelbenArunsun

Жыл бұрын

@@Ashley-lm4nv I see what you did there... ;)

@seanthiar

Жыл бұрын

Dieser Glauben, das es sowas nicht geben kann, die auch in den Chefetagen vieler amerikanischer Konzerne herrscht ist der Grund, warum diverse amerikanische Unternehmen - prominentes Beispiel Walmart - eine Bruchlandung in Deutschland hingelegt haben, als sie versuchten in Deutschland Fuss zu fassen und ihre Firmenphilosophie nicht anpassten. Im Gegensatz dazu haben deutsche Firmen ihre Philosophie in die USA exportiert und expandieren dort. Z.B. Trader Joe's (ALDI Nord) ist im Lebensmittelhandel eine der Firmen in den USA mit besseren Arbeitsbedingungen als die Konkurrenz.

@BalduinTube

Жыл бұрын

I have been working for a german company with a lot of sites in the US. I have been responsible for a global distributed team with some members in the US, some in Germany and some in Asia. I can fully understand your point and have very similar experience. American co-workers often did not fully believe what we told them about our work conditions.

@stemill1569

Жыл бұрын

Stimmt ja auch. Deutschland ist ja ein Schlaraffenland 🤪 Germany is the country of honey and milk. Aber was viele vergessen ist, dass dieses Schlaraffenland hart erkämpft wurde. Mit Bürgerkriegen und misslungenen Revolutionen. Was ich von meinen nicht "preußischen" Mitbürgern höre ist oft, dass Bismarck ein "Wohltäter" war. Die unzivilisierten Deutschen denken wirklich, dass der die ersten sozialen Gesetze freiwillig eingeführt hat, und nicht auf Druck einer gewissen roten Partei. So etwas lernt man wohl nur im norden Deutschlands in der Schule.

Hi! Thank you for your videos! I am a Brit, living in Germany. I have been with the same small firm (about 50 people) for around thirty years. In that time I have broken bones twice, due to accidents at work. Each time I was off work for around six weeks and had no financial loss whatsoever. Due to the accidents happening at work, I also received my Christmas and Summer bonuses to their full amount. I also needed to have a benign tumour removed from my leg, 4 weeks off work, yet again with no financial loss. I cannot imagine working or living anywhere else at the moment.

@bojantenja

Жыл бұрын

In US, you would have to sue your employer for accident on work, and you and your lawyer would get rich.

@markdollery2325

Жыл бұрын

@@bojantenja it was my own fault. I would not sue anyone because I was careless

@capricorn1970i

Жыл бұрын

What about GB? How do they handle such cases you described? Do they also have Lohnfortzahlung when being sick?

@joostprins3381

Жыл бұрын

Same in the Netherlands.

@markdollery2325

Жыл бұрын

@@capricorn1970i Sorry, no idea. I was a British soldier here in Germany and have never worked in the U.K as a civilian. I found Germany far too much fun and decided to stay.

Talking about personal experience. I live in not the wealthiest country in the EU (Lithuania). We have a lot of problems with social network, but universal healthcare, unemployment benefits in my experience worked Okey. Had some issues with my health at the same time when everything shut down for the Covid (1st time). It took some time for doctors to find what's wrong with me, but after aournd 6 months I came back to work. During those 6 months - I did not have to pay insane amounts of money for doctor visits, different tests, multiple times in a hospital, operation, after operation treatment and etc. And I was paid sick leave payment by the state. Of course, it was not easy to live with less money, but as a couple without kids our expenses were covered by my sick leave payment and my partners salary: loan for the flat, utilities, food and etc. After I came back to work, I worked for a little bit over a year and realized that it's time for me to quit my job: lot's of reasons for it but basically I was burned out, annoyed and not in the best place mentally. After you lose / quit your job you are paid by state while you search for a new job. For the first months I wasn't mentally prepared to do that. But after some time I was rested and ready to work. I'm happy where I am, and happy that I was able to quit my toxic job and not to lose income fully. Sadly my partner broke his foot recently. Xrays, doctors visits, 3 weeks in a hospital, operation and now long healing process (it should be around 5 months). When I think about how same situation would basically bankrupt us in the USA, we are happy, getting the help we need and will be OK 🤗😊

Well, one can be against the “social net” like in Germany or other European countries, as long as one does not need it and one is belonging to the wealthy part of the American society! In the moment you become unemployed, a single mother with child or severe ill, it will be turning one’s perspective. I think that our system here in Germany is far away from perfect, it’s surely expensive (in form of taxes) for the citizens, but I don’t want to miss it at all. Because it makes me sleeping very calm.

@steemlenn8797

Жыл бұрын

I second that. There is not a second in my life where I thought it would be better if our health care system was like the one in the US. I have heard of several cases where a cancer in the US meant bankruptcy (or death because the treatment was not affordable). When my father got cancer, it cost us around 200€ - and that already includes the gas for driving him to the hospital.

@J.Crime123

Жыл бұрын

@@steemlenn8797 but we have to thank the US for Shows like breaking bad. Without their system they could have never made such a Series. If you did it in any other Developed country, the entire show would have a total runtime of 15 minutes max.

@stale2665

6 ай бұрын

I've been in a full time job for the last 10 years, but I sure am glad there was a social net to catch me when I Iost my job a couple of years before that. It took me two years to get back on my feet, but I'm pretty sure the taxes I've paid since then more than makes up for what it cost for the government to keep me off the streets. It's like insurance, or seatbelts even. You hope you don't need it, and sometimes even question the point of them. Until you suddenly need it. Unless you were born into extreme wealth, there's always a chance *you* might end up in a situation where you need that sort of help as well. Even if your life and job is pretty comfortable, medical bills can wreck your finances pretty fast, especially if the treatment also prevents you from working.

@JesperMilling

2 ай бұрын

But it's not expensive!

Ashton that was great. I recently retired from Siemens after 32 years working for them in the USA. I have always known what the differences were and also know about some of the other benefits of working in Germany. What I have always found interesting is how little most Americans, including my former colleagues, know about work/life in another first world country and what one can expect as a worker in a place like Germany. If I try to explain some of the benefits afforded to every worker, they think I'm dreaming or on drugs. If only more information, as seen on your video, got out on mainstream media on a regular basis, then perhaps Americans would figure it out and demand change.

@CabinFever52

Жыл бұрын

(American in Europe here) I have been trying to relate this information to my family for years. They insist that the USA is the BEST country in the world and everyone wants to go there. It's indoctrinated into them.

@sidlerm1

Жыл бұрын

​@@CabinFever52 That's so sad. Most of them deserve so much better.

Yeah, some Americans just don't want to hear/see/understand these major differences. They've been told for so long that it's so great here, that they can't fathom that this isn't actually the case in many situations and life experiences. Many years ago, my husband requested to take off 3 weeks for a family vacation to Germany. He worked for a giant German company here in the U.S. but his immediate boss, was an American. My husband had been working for the company for numerous years, and had the appropriate vacation time accumulated for a 3 week trip to Germany and still had more time saved up. His boss flat out told him, that if he were to take off the 3 weeks which he was totally entitled to, he would look for another employee. My husband's performance has always been stellar and he was shocked to hear this from his immediate boss. Eventually, he grudgingly agreed, probably because he was made aware of the fact, that yes, my husband was entitled to the 3 weeks. I was shocked, to say the least. Such a threat to your employment security because your immediate boss thinks 14 days at a stretch, is enough for an overseas family vacation. He only requested this length of time off, once in all the years he worked there! Prior to that, my husband would only take 1 week vacation time in increments. I have also witnessed women here in the U.S., having to return to work 2 weeks after giving birth with complications, because they could not afford to stay home w/o pay for 4 weeks, let alone 12 weeks. Their bodies still in pain and healing, and sitting there and crying and also missing their babies and bonding with them. It was jarring and heart breaking to see. I am not surprised that childbirth is declining. It's simply cruel.

I live in Australia. We have similar benefits to the German situation. What annoyed me some years ago when a trade agreement between Australia and the US was being negotiated, the US negotiators objected to aspects of the agreement because they perceived Australians received too many benefits placing the US at a disadvantage. Needless to say that did not fly very well here! I have been to Germany a few times, great country, nice people. Thoroughly enjoyed each trip!

@wanderschlosser1857

5 ай бұрын

Being a German living and working in Australia I have to say social security in Australia, even though not as sophisticated as in Germany, still is very good. Additional healthcare costs in comparison to Germany are usually well absorbed by the higher salaries.

As much as I love the US and I had the opportunity to live there, I never wanted to settle over because of exactly these reasons. Great work, Ashton!

@DidierWierdsma6335

Жыл бұрын

You can always go there for a short vacation but other than that be thankful that you still live here in Europe where it's so much better. And the American is nothing more than a nightmare WAKE UP.

@ofipete

Жыл бұрын

I see it exactly the same way. I lived from age 12 to 20 in the US. Love much of it but particularly many social aspects are appalling.

@seanthiar

Жыл бұрын

The same - I love the American landscape and variety, but working and living there wasn't nice. It's ok for holidays or if you are rich and don't have problems to pay high healthcare etc. but as a normal working person you doesn't want to live there, because it's not healthy.

@buellterrier3596

Жыл бұрын

Same story for me.

@ofipete

Жыл бұрын

@@roncoletta6513 My former employer (claim: world leader in safety technology) offered me a position with US conditions, and that’s why I didn’t accept it.

In Romania we get 1-2 years of paid maternity leave (fathers can also choose to get time off), 21 days of vacation (after 9 years I have 28), unemployment money (but it's just a few bucks), free health care (paid by taxes, not the best but it's something), unions (because of them we have: meal tickets, private healt insurance, moeny for gym, money for working overtime or bank holidays and many more things), private pension (on top of the universal one). We also have the higest homeownership in EU (95%). My country has many issues small or big with the mentioned examples but at least we have examples to give

@auseryt

Жыл бұрын

Majoritatea o ai in cauza Germania prin legile din eu. Salut din Germania ;)

@Diana_M

Жыл бұрын

@@auseryt I never said that Romania thought of these benefits on its own, I just answered to Ashton's question. I'm very grateful that Romania is in the EU.

@auseryt

Жыл бұрын

@@Diana_M indeed you didn't said. But in the context of what i heard from so many other Romanians in Romania i assumed it because of how you said it. I apologies for that. Scuzâ.

@cineva5404

Жыл бұрын

@@auseryt you are wrong, form the begginig , the minimum holiday days per year was 21,maternity leave for one year in 1990, extended to two later, bonuri de masa...from 98. what is new? free deduction for gym, holiday bonuri, payd paternity leave for father. and, yes, the eu gives us a lot, but........we warent a free slavery heaven like usa

I had a god laugh, living in Norway:the last statistics I saw about productivity was, that we are one of the most productive workforce. Having maternity leave, high taxes and a safety net like Germany, and 5weeks of Urlaub plus sick days and champions of taking free like to eastern or christmas or measure during summer from June to august, it feels like heaven to me.and we have a38.5 workweek and....

Thank you, I really enjoy your videos! Here is my personal experience: I am German and lived with my wife in Sacramento, CA, for a year where our daughter was born. Birth was easy and we left the next day but the hospital still charged USD 15,000. Our German health insurance (monthly premium of about EUR 400) covered birth and we ended up paying nothing. Our friends in Sacramento had a baby the same day and since they spent 3 days in the hospital the costs were USD 50,000 of which our friends had to pay the first USD 5,000 and 10% of the remaining USD 45,000. Their health insurance premium was about USD 1,000 per month. After we returned to Germany we had another baby and the hospital charged for birth ca. USD 1,500 while providing better service. On top, after giving birth to our daughter in the US the pediatrition and the gynaecologist (however not the one that knew my wife it was just someone from the doctor's office) showed up in the hospital eventhough we did not ask them to. Since birth went very quickly they arrived when everything was done. The congratulated us and left. However we did receive a bill from the in the amount of USD 2,300 for services that were never performed. I called and explained, later on I sent letters that no services were provided. It only lead to me receiving reminders.

@JohnBobb

Жыл бұрын

So u mean u got scammed and took it as a b..?

@jozette-pierce

2 ай бұрын

I'm sorry. Thanks for telling your eye-opening story.

We as a family live our lives without the fear of loosing our state of wealth just because of unforseen events or conditions. This is even more important after my significant other was diagnosed with a chronic condition preventing her to go back to her job after giving birth to our second child. Tbh, we would have more income if she'd be able to work or work full-time. But at this point we're able to live/afford our lives, raise our kids, and give them the best head start as possible to their own lives. This would never have been possible in the "Land of the Free". We would been ruined by now looking at all the medical costs and lost income. Let alone the chance of having lost her years ago. We're so lucky to live here in Germany.

Wow, again, one of the best videos on this subject I have ever seen as a German. You are a teacher by vocation. This subject is not taught in this way in German schools and may be one reason why Germany is still so attractive to People from within and outside of the EU who are willing to work hard and integrate into German communities. Tying fundamental worker rights to human rights is also a compelling argument. However, trying to win over the diehard neo-capitalists appears to be an almost lost cause to me because, from what we have seen clearly in the last decades, science and data do not matter, only opinions and narratives that feed their fantasy bubble. So whenever you feel you are running into a brick wall with this mission, extend your mission to remind us Germans of what we have achieved since WWII in the competition of societal systems for attractiveness. We need this sort of content as no one is really capable of fully appreciating what one has right now until it is gone. This content is second best to that learning experience and much less drastic in consequence. Thank you and I am personally very happy to have you as a growing family in Germany and thankful for your contributions to our community.

@dirklindsayfranke1753

Жыл бұрын

Ditto, well said!!

Excellent. When I was a lot younger I dreamt of living in the USA. But, the more I learned about the general ethics of the USA the more the dream dissolved. I preferred the trust of my employers that I do my work in the specified time, preferably without overtime. For a large part of my worklife I didn't need to register my time at work. I could work from home if needed -- some tasks were easier to accomplish without the inevitable distractions a the workplace. I got to work and left when I wanted (within certain boundaries, of course). That model does not work for many jobs, I know that I was privileged. I would have never given up this privilege to work in the USA. This includes all the other benefits of the worklife in Europe vs. USA.

@lukaszwojtowicz1981

Жыл бұрын

European reality is better than American dream.

@UltimaTiV-one

Жыл бұрын

@@lukaszwojtowicz1981 X-act'ly. Better work 2 live, than live to work. Germany ain't perfect either, but in comparison to other countries, we don't even see the paradise we live in ("we don't even see the forest, although we stand directly infront of the trees" - as we use to say).

German truck driver. I did had a problem with punctually and doing my work fast enough for some time, but I thought that would go away. I talked to my employer about it, and he offered to pay someone to assist me with getting back on track. But I had two accidents because I was "daydreaming", just operating on auto-pilot, however you want to put it. This is when I went to see a doctor to get checked. The doc told me two things: First, if I wouldn't have come, within 2 or 3 years I would most likely have died and second, that I am no longer allowed to drive. This was in late december 22, which made it a bit difficult to get appointments fast, but as soon as the holidays where over, everything started to go smoothly. I see three doctors, one general practician and two specialists. I had examinations which cost thousands of euros - each. 100% covered. I have medications for free. And I received 6 weeks of normal payment from my employer. Since then I get 60% from my insurance. While 60% of my salary isn't much, it is enough to pay the bills and to "keep alive and a roof over my head."The insurance called me to verify wether or not I try to be lazy and hang around at home. After they heard my story all they said was: Don't worry, we got you covered, if you need any additional help, please call us. So… as the doctors here could not help me, I now have an appointment with one of the leading experts in the world, when it comes to my condition. Wait time: 3 weeks. Costs for me: zero. Just having lost my cousin, whom I never met because he was part of the "American branch" of my family and knowing that his children had to sell the family farm to pay for the medical bills, I am really grateful of the German system of doing things. I am sure, I wouldn't be able to afford my treatment in the US and not being able to work because of my condition is the definition of a vicious circle.

Dear Dr Ashton dear Jonathon and HI little Jack ( not so little anymore) Talking about unemployment: The company i started to work age 17 was closed 3 years later......so i went unemployed. At that time i collected 67% of my last paycheck which still was enough to pay my bills and feed my dog. It was hard. Now i am working for 38 years in a big company and i am glad to pay taxes to support those who have to face unemployment. I am german ( or better bavarian)

@alexdentist

Жыл бұрын

Are you in California?

@paddypleiner5518

Жыл бұрын

@@alexdentist I guess he said he's Bavarian...and said he's glad to pay his taxes to support the less fortunate, how would you conclude he's in California

@helfgott1

Жыл бұрын

@@alexdentist What makes you think I am in California?????Are you drunk????

@michaelvonfriedrich3924

Жыл бұрын

@@alexdentist you must be an American 😂

@ddog99

Жыл бұрын

"or better bavarian" Is that better? lol

Great video. I agree with you: If my employer is loyal to me, I'm loyal to them. As employee of a big company since 19 years, I work focused and take care about my projects in all aspects. Thus, they run very successful and with high profit and low failure costs for my company. On the other side, if I take time off - half a day, a day, no-one complains. Imho: respect and responsibility only work in both ways. Treating employees poorly will result in poor work.

Dear US-Viewers i hope you recognize the content value of this channel?! Ashton and Jonathan are putting so much effort and accuracy to offer you an unpaid or rather a priceless value of information based on official facts and data, that i really hope that this reaches more of the sceptics in America, than those that can easily follow and understand this complex information and put it all together for their own perpouses to drag the best out of this informations. Liebe Ashton und lieber Jonathan, eure qualitativ gut recherchierten Inhalte sind auf weiter Flur einzigartig auf YT - und damit eine wertvolle Nische die ihr bedient; aus Auswandererperspektive solche Vergleiche für potentiell Interessierte, die auch nach Deutschland zu kommen erwägen, zusammenzutragen und zu kredenzen. *ThumbsUp & HandClap* 👍👏 ! watch your Content since 2022, almost a year. Pleace keep it up! Your content is funtastic and a blast full of quality values. *Really, ThumbsUp & HandClap again*‼

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

So glad you enjoy our content!! Thank you so much for watching.

For a decade, I was working for the German branch of a major US firm, which really drove home some of the points you are making in your video: - They were, of course, aware of the legally mandated 20 day paid vacation time - however, actually taking 20 days off per year every year could quickly develop into a career-stopper. - Everything centered around billable hours per year. As we heard through the grapevine, a good number of our US colleagues had truly awe-inspiring hours (upwards of 3000/y). When comparing the US colleagues‘ invoices against ours, however, we found that they took 2-3 times longer for the same routine-tasks. At that point, I decided that US work ethic involves lots of smoke and mirrors.

@DirkMetall

Жыл бұрын

No works council in the company, i presume? Without a work council all good laws and contracts are only "paper tigers", as we say in Germany.

@josephj6521

Жыл бұрын

Workers who always work long hours eventually become less productive. It happened to me and it was destroying my health too. So I put a stop to it over 20 years ago. Immediately I became more productive, happier and healthier. Without our good health we will suffer the consequences.

@anna-flora999

Жыл бұрын

To the first point: so the company preferred to get sued? Because the mandatory vacation days are not only mandatory in the sense of "need to be offered". They're also mandatory to be taken.

@CabinFever52

Жыл бұрын

Amazingly, US companies here in Austria follow all the same requirements as other companies here, and contrary to the argument that they can't afford to provide their employees with the same benefits in the states, they still operate here with a profit---companies like McDs and Ford. Trust me, they would not be here if they were losing money. American corporate greed knows no bounds, including invading other nations to acquire their resources.

@Scott-ShaggyBeard

Жыл бұрын

It's ingrained in us that we must work massive amounts of hours or we might be viewed as lazy even if we are getting all the work done that was first put on our plate. People will try to be the first and last one online, especially if the boss is online because clocking out after working a straight 8 hours would be seen negatively. This also leads to more work being placed on people rather than hiring more staff for the higher workload... so more hours again and a huge amount of burnout. I was a freelance teacher in Germany for several years and while I never actually made enough to pay much in taxes (I think the most I ever made was about 10k euros), I made enough to have a happy life and even travel quite a bit. I just couldn't pay my student loans off with that income, so ended up moving back to the US to get a more solid career. I rather regret doing that. There's a bit more to that story though. :)

These first three videos have been amazing, well researched combined with a great presentation and editing! Especially appreciate the fact you keep hammering on "a person's rights" and how they should not be a bargaining chip.. Also love how this series is dispelling a lot of "arguments" often brought up when discussing "social programs". "Second thought " made a video on labor practices a couple of years ago (called "America compared or why do other nations treat their workers so much better") in which he summed up the American "business" mentality as "short term profits over anything else" either by exploiting customers (bad service/products) or exploiting workers (wage theft, no rights etc). Anyway keep up the great work!!

Hi from Austria 🇦🇹 I know doesn't sound like much, but in many countries (like Austria and Germany) you get qmonthly childcare "Kindergeld", depending on the age of the child for each kid. Mostly between 120 and 250 €. Until they are 18, or even longer if they go to university. I know that doesn't cover all the extra costs of children, but it helps for the basics.

I'm American but grew up in Germany. In fact, I was just in Germany for part of my two week vacation last year and was in your neck of the woods (I brought my hubby to Freiburg for an excursion). Seeing these comparisons in data sets really reinforced some of the key differences I've always sensed.

@CabinFever52

Жыл бұрын

I think she does a really fantastic job presenting her extensive research.

i‘m always amazed at the profoundness of your research and the elaborateness of the exposition thereof! thank you!

Very powerful video, guys! Perhaps your best yet. Even though your strong opinions are evident, you present, as always, good evidence to support it. The stats about cost of benefits paid by companies in the US v other OECD countries was especially compelling. I wish fiscal conservatives in the US would believe that.

Another brilliant essay - thank you so much for your hard work on this!

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

So glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you for watching!

@mauertal

Жыл бұрын

@@TypeAshton If u are interested on a "typical" german business owner kzread.info/dash/bejne/lIigtZueiJrbnps.html

Sehr geehrte Frau Dr Schottler, vielen Dank für ein wieder einmal hervorragendes Video.

A little bit off topic but thank you, Ashton, for using a diverse range of stock photos and videos, I love to see it!

Thank you for the insight! My husband and I are currently active military with the US ARMY and we are seeking employment and information on Germany and it’s workforce since we love it here and would love to continue to grow here. Your video has helped us understand better! ❤

Excellent series. Thank you for your (obviously) hard work.

I am from Heidelberg in Germany. Until 2005, we had two large American Villages with army personal around here. Many children born here went to german schools and after 2005 stayed in germany despide the Villages got closed and army personal got relocated. This is something a parent of a frend toled me about leaving germany. In short, he was terrified to get back after years living in germany with all its wealth and benefits to secure health and education for him and his son. He himself was a second generation child from parents came over in the 70' so he nerver was keen to get in the army by himself, but worked in american stores build on army property. But as far as I got that, the social standarts in those shops were to german standarts. So he got everything a german got and suddenly he was confrontet with a note, "well now we go back, have fun". Save to say, he stayed, he apply for full german citizenship and got it, because he was born in a german hospital. and so did his son. my frinds grandmother, 70 by that time, said once, It is the americans downfall to think only they know whats best without trying to addapt to something that is not beneficial in that exact moment" means, no american would think universal healthcare is good if the havn't a 100k $ hospital bill in hand at this exact moment if they get asked. They cant get there head around a system that will benefit them in any given time because it just cost money now and don't help them at that moment they have to pay for. sad but well, we know better

@arneellermets

6 ай бұрын

America has stopped millions of dollars that flowed to Germany 🇩🇪, for about 50 years. Germany 🇩🇪 asked Americans to leave. Most of the BILLIONS of U.S. dollars, have now stopped flowing to Germany 🇩🇪, and the impact is beginning to appear, and their economic reports are showing weaknesses. God Bless.

@Caionnech

6 ай бұрын

@@arneellermets uhm... No, the US paid 12,4 Millian Dollar in 1950 (1948 - 1952) were only 1,5 got to west germany, 10,9 Million were for them selfs and the construction of bases, after that, the US only supported there setlements in Rheinland-Pfalz and Baden-Würtemberg.

@arneellermets

6 ай бұрын

All the base construction (i.e., houses, apartments, roads, hospitals, airfields, etc), was given to Germany 🇩🇪 when AMERICANS departed GERMANY.

@Caionnech

6 ай бұрын

@@arneellermets well that is kind of true... first every equipment that was half usebel was taken by the americans and all the houses arent of german building code so 90% must be destroid and 10% masivly upgraded. so no, america didnt contribute to germany like many belive it did.

I really enjoy your videos, imo the best of their kind ... informative, well researched, structured and balanced, and the narration and presentation is bar none. Thank You!

Dankeschön für die informative Vorlesung am Sonntag Morgen.

Your channel truly is excellent. Seldom does one find quality content on KZread. I love how well you articulate your point and remain objective. The only sad aspect of your productions is that, the people who would profit most from your analysis will never chance upon it, and that the US' war with intelligence ensures that even if they did, they would dismiss it simply because they are unwilling to accept the reality of things.

I think there is another dimension that hasn't been mentioned, but was addressed in an earlier video: travelling and vacation. Especially from an educational perspective. Going abroad. Learn new languages, cultures, systems while you are young and not only after you retired. Especially from a political/educational standpoint. To talk to other people, to be away from the grind, television and daily news. Or even if staying at home, to get some sleep, learn new skills and simply have time off.

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Excellent point.

Thank you for another of your very well researched videos! Another aspect of benefits: The Agentur für Arbeit in Germany is one of the largest public financer of Weiterbildung, or life-long-learning, for unemployed people as well as for people with jobs.

Excellent research and presentation as always. 👍🏼 This video does a great job comparing the place of my upbringing with my adopted homeland. Your research, statistics and visualization underline a point that I have been stressing to my family and friends for decades - less scientifically. Thanks! Full disclosure: I’m coming up on 24 years in Germany and this year will celebrate becoming a German citizen a decade ago. I listened with great interest about your enthusiasm about the liberalization of German naturalization. One aspect you sounded encouraged about was the prospect of dual citizenship becoming available to you. While I understand the appeal of this, there is one huge drawback to dual citizenship which is virtually unique to American ex-pats: the continuing requirement for you to report your income to the IRS and potential tax liability, as well as the regulations that your bank needs to comply with in order to do business with US persons. The complexities for banks dealing with US ex-patriots has become increasingly complex over time (even more so since I ceased to be a US person). Long before I set out to become a naturalized citizen, I got a notification from my bank informing me that new US regulations forced them to change their policies for US persons, and I would no longer be able to place orders for most kinds of securities (including stocks and most mutual funds). I was fortunate in that I was allowed to continue with previously existing standing orders, but I could no longer modify them, except to stop the order completely and liquidate the position. I was told that other banks were giving their customers two weeks‘ notice to move or liquidate their securities holdings. I was fortunate to have a workaround with the help of my German citizen wife. We opened an account in her name. That’s not an option available to you. While this wasn’t my primary motivation to become a German citizen, I was hugely relieved that I was no longer subject to American tax regulations after becoming a citizen. I was becoming increasingly concerned about how to do financial planning in Germany with my options being limited, and at the time it looked like the situation would become more precarious over time. The reality turned out to be even more dramatic than I could have imagined. BTW, check out a KZread video from Evan Edinger about taxes on this subject for an excellent introduction. I would be really interested in your perspective about financial planning for long term US ex-Patriots in Germany. Keep up the great work. I look forward to your videos every week.

@mnsegler1

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tip on Evan’s video. Our son is working in Germany now and subject to dual taxation.

@robwilliams2410

Жыл бұрын

@@mnsegler1 he released a new video on this subject yesterday. There is a court case which could potentially bring about an improvement.

@robwilliams2410

Жыл бұрын

@@mnsegler1 I’m not qualified to give tax advice, but do want to mention that there’s a pretty high threshold to cross before a real tax liability to the IRS materializes. First, there’s the foreign earned income exclusion (currently $112,000 for 2022, indexed for inflation). When I started out on my career, I thought that I would never need to worry about crossing that threshold. It turns out that the threshold isn’t unachievable after all, which can come even sooner than expected with a favorable Euro exchange rate. Even after exhausting the foreign earned income exclusion, it is possible to deduct things like taxes paid abroad and living expenses. Between the foreign earned income exclusion and all the deductions, you have to be making a substantial income before having a tax liability to the USA. Keep in mind, I haven’t been up to date on this for ten years, but from what I can see on the IRS website today, the basic structure is at least roughly what I was dealing with back then.

German resident here. Great video! One small point though: here in Germany, if you are disabled and have a special ID stating that your disability status (as determined by the Health Department) is 50% or more, you have much greater job security and even more vacation days, both federally mandated. There are also a plethora of other benefits, such as free or reduced cost public transport and more. @ElinT13 posted a detailed comment on health care below, so I won't expound on that. Go read theirs, and send them your very best thoughts and prayers of support while you're there! 😊 I am currently applying for this 50% disability status. It's quite an involved process, but well worth it if you qualify. Update: I just received confirmation of my 50% disabled status, and my official Disability ID. I'm so relieved that the red tape is finally done with, as far as that goes. 😊

Great video! I'm working for the Bundesagentur für Arbei (Federal work office) and I know how much of the unemployment insurance budget is used for improving their working skills. This system really works! If someone couldn't do his job any longer, we qualify them for other high-skilled jobs including a monthly paid unemployment 'salary'.

@insu_na

Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately that varies drastically from Ortschaft to Ortschaft... When it works, it works, but when it doesn't... it *really* doesn't

@johaquila

Жыл бұрын

@@insu_na I agree. A lot of people get a chance to adapt to a changing labor market, or to correct a mistake in their original choice of education. This is extremely valuable for society. But there is also a tendency for bureaucrats to abuse this scheme to doctor unemployment statistics by putting people into bullshit courses which they must attend (or get sanctioned).

@_KA_RO_

Жыл бұрын

@@johaquila We didn’t experienced the same. Seems to depend on the person behind the counter what support you can receive by the Arbeitsagentur

@chrisgwen2526

Жыл бұрын

@@_KA_RO_ those discrepancies of treatment depending on who takes care of your case I was able to witness when about 30 people were made redundant at one company, who were treated so differently case by case (from absolutely zero service, teated like useless trash, to being offered a Rolls Royce of trainings) that one could only wonder whether the Arbeitsamt had anything to do with a modern state institution or was more like medieval principality where everyone is treated according to the good will of the princely case manager. Absolutely mind-blowing.

@SW-gf6zl

Жыл бұрын

I took this opportunity a few years ago when I was unemployed for almost 1 year. I received unemployment payment while I took an "express" class to earn a vocational qualification degree ("IHK-Abschluss"). Immediately after the exam I got a new job that payed several hundred €/month more than my previous job. So for me it definitely worked out! 👍

Some women get sick during pregnancy, heavily sick where they cannot work anymore and if they would, it would endanger the child's life. Some women get hyperemesis gravidarum and puke like there's no tomorrow and struggle with neasuea. Doctors usually give something called a 'individuelles Beschäftigungsverbot', meaning they're not allowed to work but receive full pay (Mutterschaftsgeld, not mutterschutzgeld). This is during pregnancy and can happen from the 2nd or 3rd month onwards until the actual mutterschutz starts.

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Unsurprisingly, there is nothing that even comes close to this in the USA. I've shared this before, but my mother literally worked up until she had me. Her amniotic fluid was "leaking" the day before, so STILL went into work and scheduled an appointment with her OBGYN during her lunch break (I was 1 month early). The Doctor literally looked at her and said "uhhh, you're going to have a baby.... today". Needless to say, I was born 2 hours later.

@seldakaya0414

Жыл бұрын

The US has a way higher mother mortality than any other industrial country. It is as high as Romania and even higher than Iran, Bahrain and Qatar.

@MrJaldal

Жыл бұрын

@@seldakaya0414 Thats freedom xD xD xD YOU ARE FREE TO DIE!

@Serenity_yt

Жыл бұрын

@@TypeAshton In some professions you actually get a Beschäftigungsverbot from the second your employer knows of your pregnancy no matter how good or bad the pregnancy is going. I work in EMS for example and because the risk to the baby would be high being exposed to all kinds of illnesses and sometimes violent patients plus the rather high physical demands if you get pregnant you're not allowed to work anymore until the pregnancy ends.

@Traumglanz

Жыл бұрын

@@Serenity_yt My wife had to stop her lab work because of all the reprotoxic and mutagenic substance that should could have come in contact with. So it was just office and administrative work for here. Did not help with her mood during pregnancy. She was really bored … while at the same time having actually more work to do on some days has naturally her colleagues were happy to delegate more office work onto her to spend more time on research and lab work. Still a far better solution instead of working full time in the lab while pregnant for sure.

Ashton, this series is so well researched, it might be a good base for a second PhD in Economics/Sociology! There is a massive amount of work done here.

Hi Ashton, thank's for the great video. I have one small (but for some people important) correction: While it is true that you are eligible to 36 months of "Elternzeit" in Germany, you can actually split up 24 months of them in the time between the first and the eigths birthday of your child. Maybe the one negative thing I have to say about the whole social benefits around child birth in Germany is that you literally have to spend days reading them to at least partially understand what you are eligible to. For example, it get's really complicated when you start looking into "Elterngeld" and "Elterngeld+". Actually, I think "Elterngeld+" is quite brilliant but I think only few families use it because if you start looking into it it really seems too complicated (it could be better now, because we used it when it was just introduced and as far as I know, the regulations have been updated since).

Good job on all three videos! Just a couple of points. As has been mentioned,sick leave is six weeks with full pay. That is, per separate illness!! „Full pay“ is the pay which you would have received, so if your shift is doing overtime and continues to do so when you get sick, guess what? You get that pay, too! Also, the German unemployment insurance expects you to fight for your job if you are fired, which is why, in most cases, you have to sue. Most cases are agreed to out of court, which is where the severance pay comes in. If you agree to terminate your job, not getting fired or quitting, you might go six months with no benefits. Many more job benefits are agreed to in collective bargaining agreements with the unions or in company agreements between the employer and the Works Council (I am the chairman of such a council). Many workers receive vacation pay, for example, on top of their normal pay for each vacation day. Now I have to go back and read some of those comments from the other videos. I could use a few chuckles. 😉

I’ve enjoyed all your recent side by side financial comparison videos and look forward to checking out some of the older ones. As a couple nearing retirement, we’d love to see financial and other comparisons of “Rentner” in both countries. Or maybe also cover how people plan and save for retirement.

Thank you. Well done. A great way to start the day thankful!

I was born and raised in the US and growing it was basically indoctrinated into us how the US is the best in the world. After gaining internet access and learning about how the rest of the industrialized world lives, I've been looking into how to leave the "greatest country in the world". I see all these pros of working in Germany and I think, "why can't we have that here?" "why is America such a 3rd world, s***hole?" So my goal after finishing my degree is to find a job in my field in Germany and move there asap.

@ibjustice1

Жыл бұрын

Create your Resume and CV with picture and proffesional. Germans love proffesional CVs. In Europe and also in Germany there are lot of American Companies - Amazon, GE, etc. Send your VC directoy to them for some job. You will need time until you learn German A- level and write that you wish/ plan to move there. Have in mind that you will need a starting capital to rent the appartment. 90% will ask for three paychecks and everything but there are cheap hotels that will give you temperarly proff that you are living here so that your Employer can register you. Thats it. Good Luck ( btw. this are safe countries)

@samu6874

Жыл бұрын

Try to get your degree in germany. Its cheaper here.

@motioninmind6015

Жыл бұрын

Your impressions are accurate. But if you were to come to Germany to work, the first thing you might realize is that there's a real work ethic here. Americans tell themselves they're the most productive workers in the world blah blah blah, but when they come to Germany, they're shocked at how much the people here do in a day, and how efficient and competent the workers and staff are. You can't just come here and expect to be on easy street.

@TimekillofPK

Жыл бұрын

@@motioninmind6015 I understand that. Americans aren't that productive, they just think they are. I want to surround myself with people who are efficient and competent. Learn their habits and apply them to my own life and work.

@berndschaffmann8522

Жыл бұрын

You’re very welcome. Very very.

I was an au pair in the US a few years ago and I was truly shocked by how much my host parents worked (they both regularly worked on Saturdays and occasionally even on Sundays) and only took 2,5 weeks of vacation in the whole year while still being available on the phone on their days off. In my family, my parents work full time but in most weeks, they worked half-days on Fridays and really valued their vacation time by turning of work phones and laptops and not even texting with co-workers about topics related to their work.

@UltimaTiV-one

Жыл бұрын

Well, as a worker u need to recharge your batteries. But American CEO's don't care. If you can't do your job because u r burned out or u r overworked, you're fired. They throw workers away like litter or a piece of paper. No apperication for workers unfortunately.

Жыл бұрын

@@UltimaTiV-one "Human Resources"… "menschlicher Rohstoff" in German. The german equivalent is of course "Personal" (the HR Department becomes the Personalabteilung).

Thank you for this good overview of the situations in the USA and Germany. This is a very complex subject. As in your previous videos, you manage to deliver facts and figures.

I found the video interesting, I'm from Germany myself. Here I work in the public sector and we actually have up to 42 days of vacation a year. That alone is insanely good. What I still think is pretty good, last year I had to go to rehab because of a herniated disc. The rehabilitation lasted a total of 5 weeks. It's really a privilege when the legislator allows you to get well again without having to worry about losing your job. Greetings from rlp

The more I watch your videos, the more I appreciate living in Germany. I almost moved some years back, Thank God I never made that mistake 🙏

For someone who works in HR in Germany, I must say that you have researched very well and you have done a wonderful job with the video (at least from the German side I can judge it). Great work! 🙂 But even if there is a very good protection here in Germany against dismissals by law, there are crafty lawyers who manage to undermine exactly this. If a company wants to get rid of an employee, they search until a reason is found or they simply invent a reason. Of course, it is possible to file a complaint at the labor court, but often such proceedings end in some out-of-court settlement and then the company pays a little more money and often the employee is left with the costs of the proceedings (at least half). Example my father: He was employed in a company for 33 years, the boss changed and mobbing started. Then my dad got sick because years of heavy lifting destroyed his shoulders. The recovery took longer, he was dismissed for "health reasons" because he would be "not sustainable for the company". However, there were enough jobs in the company that would not have required heavy lifting and he would have just had to be transferred there. I was studying Economics with a focus on HR at the time and urged him to get a lawyer. He did not take a lawyer who specialized in labor law despite my advice. The proceedings ended after one and a half years (!) with an out-of-court settlement, the amount my father agreed to as compensation was absolutely ridiculous in comparison to his long service in the company. But the companies know that this is exactly how they get rid of disagreeable employees, exactly with this scam. The view from the U.S. always surprises me, the term "nanny state" I hear for the first time. Here, too, all that glitters isn't gold. But the position of employee rights is really much stronger than in the States, I'm quite happy about that.

@wora1111

Жыл бұрын

I think one of the reasons things in Germany/Europe are they way they are, is the fact wie like bitching about every incident that does not fit into the nice world we want to have or see. And there are lots of demonstrations trying to improve such things. And in many cases changes are made and situations improved. Working together to solve problems rather then only accusing some people of wrong doing

Great video again! Thank You! I like that you contrast equal opportunity vs. equal outcome, because that is really the crux of it all. If we as society would dispassionately judge the outcome and state of our societies, we'd be better able to correct the course of our action and better steer where society is heading. One may want to build the best car or smartphone out there, but simply because one THINKs to be the best, doesn't mean one IS the best. If we ignore the outcome (and competition) we are doomed, in science, in business, and of course in society as well. It seems to me that ideology all too often gets in the way of judging fairly the outcome of our "experiment", and more importantly, keeps us from making the necessary corrections to get the desired result.

I really love your videos and I am sharing this one as well in my discords. :) Your videos are always well researched and informative.

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Really appreciate your kind words.

Hi, I’ve watched these last three videos and they have confirmed what I have suspected. I am from the UK but moved to Germany after finishing university and am coming up to retirement soon. It is useful to consider how many hours you need to work to pay for something. It puts a different perspective on the example made of a young person working in the US compared to Germany. Perhaps the German has more take-home pay per hour than his American counterpart does. I came across this concept at a motor museum. A very expensive automobile from the 1930s had the notice that the worker who put the vehicle together would have to work 40 years to buy the vehicle.

@steemlenn8797

Жыл бұрын

100 years ago a famous economic (insofar as you could use the term for someone at that time) predicted that people would only work 15-20 hours in the year 2000 because of the advancements in productivity. As we all know he was wrong. Or was he? With a German average income (per hour) you can easily live better with 20h/week then at his time with 40/48. When he wrote that, workers didn't have cars, their houses were a lot smaller and TVs were a fantasy. And in Germany you would still be fully health insured.

Haha, 'lazy' german workers! Well, I had a burn out in my job before this job. I was at home, try to recover from it and got a stroke. And I'm happy, I live in Germany. I went to hospital and rehabilitation, had not much to pay for and I was paid, too. And now I'm back, working, sometimes very hard and I have to be careful. But I know - whatever happens I will not becoming homeless or have to starve thanks to our "nanny state". :D

@UltimaTiV-one

Жыл бұрын

There u go - ThumbsUp 👍

@steemlenn8797

Жыл бұрын

You were not happy, but you were lucky. (Fool's friends.) Very important difference in that case ;)

Became a dad close to a year ago. Too two months of parental leave. Will take more if there is a second child. The time with my kid is something no employer can give back.

Can’t exactly share my experience but can surely appreciate the effort you put into making these.. jst love ur research and the time it goes into making this informative videos….

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

Thanks for the informative video. Must have taken a lot of time to investigate. Thanks for your effort.

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video!

Great video as always! Would also be interesting to compare statistics about work place accidents. And how employees handles insurance of that etc. It might give a hinge on how tired the work force are/not are etc.

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Great idea for a video!

@Llortnerof

Жыл бұрын

AFAIK, in Germany the employer is *required* to handle the insurance of that. Including necessary travel to and from work.

@CabinFever52

Жыл бұрын

I worked in a fairly high-risk job in the states and each time I was injured at work, my employer/supervisors falsified the documents to absolve themselves of any responsibility. Eventually, I learned to make my own copies of everything so that they couldn't alter the facts and record every conversation with them concerning the cases. This was the only way I was able to win against their corruption and dishonesty.

@Netzwerkdose

Жыл бұрын

@@Llortnerof That is handled by what's called Berufsgenossenschaft. The way to and from work is also insured. Membership is mandatory for companies.

@Netzwerkdose

Жыл бұрын

@@Llortnerof That is handled by what's called Berufsgenossenschaft. The way to and from work is also insured. Membership is mandatory for companies.

Amazing video!Thank you for the efford!

13:26 I actually take every year, usually during summer a 3 week vacation. I really need that to absolutely forget about work. 1 Week to come down and settle in. and then you really can enjoy the rest of the vacation. My employer is not too generous with vacation days, so I get 26 days per year now after working 5 years there, but I really can not stress enough how important real vacation is.

Always love your videos. When you showed the chart I was already getting ready to type "its almost entirely health care" and send you a link of the Kaiser study. 3 minutes later you showed it :) Another 3-6 percentage points are 401k plans by the way. That might explain a good chunk of the difference to the larger employers. Small businesses pay higher healthcare premiums for worse benefits due to small group sizes and less ability to shop for the best rates. There is also tremendous administrative cost that doesn't show up in any of these statistics. For a business of 50-100 people having a full time benefit manager whose job it is to solely to review and annually negotiate insurance products, manage enrollments, verify billing, solve carrier issues etc. That person needs to get paid and this administrative cost does not exist.

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Excellent points!

Thank you for another well researched video. As a Dane I've got approximately the same working conditions as a German; in some aspects a little better, in some a litlle worse. You brought me to think about what happened some years ago when the Danish medical company Novo decided to start up an American branch of their company. Of course they were accused by the Danish trade uniions for doing this because of the lower wages in USA. Novo answered that they only did it because it would make it much easier to get their medical product acknowleged by US authoririties. So to prove this (and also because that the danish model would be more efficient) their American employees got Danish wages and also the other benifits from Danish work life. However this created an outrage among American companies in that area, partly because they thought Novo was bidding up the wages, but mainly because a lot of the skilled workers preferred to get a job at Novo.

@j.a.1721

Жыл бұрын

Interesting that the wages in the US are usually lower for that kind of work. I always heard (and as Ashton explained in the last two videos) that wages are higher in the US than in Europe. I thought that in the EU it would only be better for low skilled workers because here we usually have a minimum that usually guarantees that you can at least live off your wage. But a medical company probably needs a lot of skilled workers, right?

Great video again. I would like to add just one aspect from the perspective of a small bussiness owner. Some social benefits like paternity leave can place a burden on a small employer that is comparably heavier than for a big company (that has a larger pool of workers to compensate for such occurances). On the other hand obligatory social benefits go a long way of leveling the playing field for small bussinesses to compete with larger corporations for skilled workers, because while the big corporations will still be able to provide additional benefits (and do so in many cases), the gap is much closer. And you certainly need a skilled and motivated workforce to compete.

A well done presentation and research.Stay well so far,best wisch from northern germany.

Thank you for this video! I don't think it's conducive to an employee's creativity if they have to constantly worry (even subconsciously) about what will happen if they get fired or get sick. That's why I appreciate the social security in Germany very much and believe that it brings much more advantages than disadvantages. At the same time, I would also like to see a somewhat looser legal framework in some places. For example, in the area of data protection. In the AI area of IT, this is a major competitive disadvantage for German developers. But that's another topic.

Hi Ashton, I live in Belgium and suffered a burnout a few yrs ago. The employer pays the 1st month, then sick pay (around 65% of the wage). Luckily my big employer also since many yrs have contributed to a collective pension fund (I have worked there 35 yrs now and will on top of the state pension then almost receive either 50% more in monthly pension, or a big lump sum), which (so I was pleasantly surprised to find out) also tops up the difference betw sickpay and wage up to 80% if your sick leave extends to 3 months or more. When I eventually returned to work, I was still guaranteed a job (albeit not always the exact old position). Employer and health insurance together facilitate a return in stages, so during my 1st year back I increased from 25-50-75-100% every quarter. I had to attend a therapist to help me improve my coping skills (had to fund it myself, but 6 yrs ago cost only ca 25 €/session, so still affordable). Have now successfully been back in fulltime employment since 6 yrs. I lost more than a yr and don't have the resilience I once had, but at least I didn't lose my financial stability, which would certainly have impacted my health x10 for the worse. And come to think of it, maybe it's not only the huge amount of weapons floating around in the US, that makes the difference in amount of violence between US and Europe, but that in combination with a much higher degree of insecurity due to less social benefits and also less time allotted for people to take out holidays to rest and recuperate in the US compared to Europe. Maybe something to think about....

@sekborg5757

Жыл бұрын

My father had complications after his heart surgery and wasn't able to work for about three years, thanks to the sick pay by the state, which was around 80% of his former income he was able to keep the house, hold his standard of living and get back to his old job after recovering. Otherwise he would have lost everything. Our system might have some smaller problems, but overall it's working really well and protects employees and employers from unwise business decisions related to potential overwork or regarding social standards that could clash back on the companys productivity.

Your videoquality is top notch LOVE IT everytime with tons of statistics you also try to keep it as short as possible - everyone in the USA should watch this, and make better contracts!

Danke für diesen interressanten Vergleich. Ich hätte da einen Themenvorschlag: Wie wäre es mit einem Video über das "Mitbestimmungsgesetz". Das wohl für Amerikaner purer Sozilismus ist. Mitarbeiter sind zu 50% im Aufsichtsrat eines Unternehmens!

Great video and super informative. Well, I'm in my mid-fifties, and what you describe here as "parental allowance" didn't exist in our time. So I see both sides, and now we raised our children as you told it for the US side. The new system has many advantages I know and hopfully all parents know that.

@gerdahessel2268

Жыл бұрын

I'm 67 and had my first child in 1986. I could stay home till the first birthday of my child and got 600 DM every month plus "Kindergeld" plus "Wohngeld". After that I went back to my previous job and the child was in "Kindergarten". When did you have your kids?

@JK-bj4ni

Жыл бұрын

@@gerdahessel2268 The time seems to be the same. However, were you a single parent? We both had jobs and didn't get any further financial support, of course child benefit, like everyone else. However, back then the kindergarten in Gelsenkirchen cost more than the child benefit. As I said, I think the new parental allowance system is very good.

@gerdahessel2268

Жыл бұрын

​@@JK-bj4ni I got money due to the "Bundeserziehungsgeldgesetz" (1986-2006). Maybe your income was to high? In Western-Berlin Kindergarten was quite affordable. Of course the new system is much more better!

One very important info is missing... when you are in probation (let's say, day 3 of the 6 months of probation) and you are saying "I'm pregnant"... the probation ends and you are protected from being fired.

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Excellent point!

Good morning to Freiburg! Thank you very much for this solid comparison of working conditions. I am wondering, what is the impact of these on the society itself regarding social tensions, crime rates, etc. Best regards aus der Südpfalz! Have a nice sunday. Take care....

Thanks a lot for a great channel and awesome content. I live in Germany but I have so many friends in US. It is always good to have some comparisons backed up by data.

The basic difference is easily recognizable in the wording: In the US, they call it "benefits"... while in Europe, we call it "mandatory rights"! And one big difference about sick days was not completely shown in the video: Unlike in the US, where you get a planned and fixed amount of sick days per year, in Germany "sick days" are literally just all days when you are sick. You cannot plan this in advance! - In Germany, when you're sick, you just take (paid) sick days - as many as needed until you are not sick any more. There is no limit!

@AV-we6wo

Жыл бұрын

Well there is kind of a limit for paid sick days- it's 72 weeks if you have a longlasting illness. But if you're very unlucky and get sick again with another illness, you get another 72 weeks ...

Phenomenal piece of work, thanks Ashton! For me, the USA is the perfect example of corporations taking over a society. I hope the once most progessive country finds the strength to balance work vs. social benefits in the future.

Жыл бұрын

They were the most progressive? When?

@josephj6521

Жыл бұрын

The citizens of the USA seem preoccupied with stupidity like Trump rather than focusing on their own plight (healthcare, education and pay). Will they grow up?

@benjaminbeier4036

Жыл бұрын

I am a huge fan of space exploration where the US is ahead of pretty much everyone else and love the idea of Elon Musk to colonize Mars. But at the same time I am absolutely horrified by the vision of a US corporate driven Mars colony.

It’s so interesting to hear about your perception of our paid leave! I get the minimum federal paid leave of 24 days and that is considered really bad working conditions… even in my group of friends and we are all on our first job after finishing Uni 😅

What a wonderful video

Another fantastic video from Ashton. I have been researching these same topics and trying to teach other Americans how workers are abused in the USA. Now I can point to this video and say watch this it explains it all better than I can. My 16 year old son wants to become an engineer and move to Germany to work. He has traveled with us around to world and knows that the USA is not a country with good worker benefits. So far he likes Germany the best as do I. If he starts working in the USA summer trips to Europe won’t be possible. One point I would like to add is that in the US legally employers don’t have to give any sick time or vacation at all. Zero. We are one of only a handful of countries in the world like that.

@apveening

11 ай бұрын

Get your son in an exchange program so he can spend a (school)year in a European country.

I don't know any nanny state that forbids drinking alcohol under the age of 21.

Ashton, what a well-founded comparison and astute commentary; this is a great information resource video! As a German-American, I am a traveler between both worlds - with roots in the Black Forest and the Midwest -, and I do highly appreciate and value our horrible German socialism 😉.

As usual, a very good report, well researched and good presented, bravo.

Great video, as ever! You really do make an effort to present good data. I actually find it funny to see these responses from Americans to your earlier videos. The 'socialist' narrative that is being fed to them through their employers, sponsored media outlets and politicians make them, as we say in the Netherlands, ""thieves of their own wallet". Not only employees, employers as well looking at the additional benefit cost.

Thanks for the excellent content on your channel.

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoy it!

Thanks for this very informative video. I am German, and I thought I knew a lot about working in the US, but it turned out that I did not. Now I appreciate even more all the "benefits" of working here in Germany. IMHO it is the better system even though it is far from being perfect.

I'd love to see a video on a topic you just lightly touched on in this video, the societal costs of not having social safety nets, you mentioned the rate of personal bankruptcy is much lower in Germany and I've noticed housing poverty and homelessness are no where near as prevalent here in Germany compared to the US, Canada or my homeland of New Zealand. Loving this series!

@arnodobler1096

Жыл бұрын

A good social network also leads to less crime.

@jasonriddell

Жыл бұрын

would LOVE to see a vid looking into personal business startups between USA/ Germany and I bet Germany with "basic" protections makes taking the risk of quitting AND starting your own business far more likely and as an extension what is the "success rate" of said business?

Great video, again, Ashton, just a clarification. When you compare the costs for employers, the calculation is kind of incomplete on the "german side". German businesses calculate the "Personalkosten" not only adding the social security costs of 19+% but adding the cost of the replacement employees needed as "Ersatz" for vacations, paternal leave, sick days and other reasons, an employee didn't work. In the company I worked for (and did a lot of calculations of this kind), for every position we added just shy of 20% to get the "Personalbedarf" or needed personal. And for that plus on employees the employer you has to pay the social security, too. So, any employee costs my employer around 40% more than she or he gets paid. In a veey simplificated calculation: A company needs 10 employees to do the all the work all around the year, or in workdays, 2200 days. 10 employees get 30 days off for vacation and have 10 sick days per year, each employee effectively works 180 days per year. Simple math, 2200-1800=400 days not covered by the actual workforce. 400÷180= 2,22 additional employees are needed to cover the work. This may be lower for companies with "Werksferien", when the company is shut down completely for vacation in summer. So, like the personal wages, the USA and Germany are quite on the same level on costs of employment.

@mnsegler1

Жыл бұрын

I’m sure I’m missing something, but what is the basis for 220 workdays per year per person?

@colko64

Жыл бұрын

@@mnsegler1 I made a mistake. I subtracted the time off twice, but the effect ist the same. The year 2023 hast 249 working days in the Black Forest, mondays to fridays minus public holidays. So the workload is 2490 days per year. 10 employers with 30 days vacation and 10 sick days each are working 2090 days. It's the same difference, but for the 400 days you only need 1.9 additional employers. .

@gleggett3817

7 ай бұрын

@@colko64 2490 worker days is your maximum workload potential in your example - but only in absence of reality. You could just scale the workload to the employee capacity (2090 days).

Great video.... I missed Arbeitslosengeld 1 and 2 after loss of job.... without guilt...

Hallo Ashton, danke für das schöne Video. Leider ist die Tabelle 23:21 und damit errechnete Arbeitgeberbelastung nicht ganz korrekt. Der Arbeitgeber zahlt zusätzlich noch Umlagen und den Berufsgenossenschaftsbeitrag. Durch die Umlagen werden z.B. auch der Mutterschutz oder das Kurzarbeitergeld bezahlt. Die richtige Arbeitgeberbelastung liegt dann bei ca. 19,8%.

Great video. Danke schön. ❤️‍🔥🙏🏻

German companies with subsidiaries in the US do not give their American staff the same benefits the workers in Germany get. This tells me that LAWS are the only way to assure fair treatment of employees. And no politician in the USA is about to really try to change the system to help the people and the working classes.

This is probably my favorite Video for now from you. :) But I still would like to see some video about the Gunlaws in the US versus germany if someday possible. :)

@TypeAshton

Жыл бұрын

It is totally on the list for future content. Ideally, this spring. 😉

@1ch0

Жыл бұрын

@@TypeAshton Oh, that's great! I would love to hear your take on it and the well researched reasons and benefits why things how they are. =)

@norbertx4966

Жыл бұрын

@@TypeAshton With regard to this topic a comparison to Switzerland might be interesting as they have more liberal gun laws than Germany but way less shootings than the US.

Perhaps a point to productivity: In the 90th an old business man from the states visited us (trying to get business contacts for his son). In a small talk he told us project managers have a very bad living over there. As the firms were easy in firing and hiring, there was no loyalty left at the workers - they easily switched jobs for 20$ a week. So every Monday the project manager went through his office to count how many employees are still there. Also - as talking about well educated workers - their positions couldn't easily replaced by new staff - the new staff needs time to get familiar with working environment and project. So each leave also impacted the project / work.

About small businesses - there are several mechanisms in Germany's system that are different for them. The usual Kündigungsschutz (protection against dismissal) does not include businesses who have regularily less then 5 employees (part time employees are counted as 0.5 or 0.75 employees). There is a cost or risk splitting system between small companies up to 30 employees, too, that is organized for wage payments for wages in case of sickness (Umlageverfahren 1) and for motherhood payments (Umlageverfahren 2) to distribute the individual risks between all small businesses.