German vs American Work Culture: The Shocking Truth 😬

Standing desk E7 Pro - bit.ly/3Un4UbI
Ergonomic chair BS12 Pro - bit.ly/3wiQyRy
FlexiSpot Brand Day Sale up to 50% off - bit.ly/3w5ZIks
#flexispotde #worklikenew
After moving to Germany and living in Germany, we learned there are MAJOR differences between working in Germany vs working in America. From vacation time to sick leave, how does the work-life balance look in Germany compared to the USA? 😊
🎒Merch Shop (Germany) - passport-two.myspreadshop.de/
🎒Merch Shop (USA) - passport-two.myspreadshop.com/
Join our channel to get access to perks:
/ @passporttwo
PATREON: / passporttwo
#AmericansInGermany #GermanyVlog #MovingToGermany
_____________________________________________________
INSTAGRAM: @passport_two
/ passport_two
_____________________________________________________
❤️Aubrey was a Speech-Language Pathologist and Donnie was a graphic designer, but we both had a dream to #travel the world and experience cultures. After three years of being married and dreaming about if something like this great adventure would be possible, we decided to quit the rat race and take on the world. We sold everything we had, quit our jobs, and took off! After 9 months of aimless and nonstop travel, we now get to fulfill our dreams of #LivingAbroad as #expats as we move to #Germany!
00:00 - Anfang
1:15 - Difference 1
2:59 - Difference 2
5:57 - Difference 3
11:59 - Difference 4
14:52 - Difference 5
16:26 - Difference 6
19:30 - Bloopers

Пікірлер: 292

  • @PassportTwo
    @PassportTwoАй бұрын

    Thanks so much for watching! Check out the desk and chair as well as FlexiSpot's 50% off sale here: Standing desk E7 Pro - bit.ly/3Un4UbI Ergonomic chair BS12 Pro - bit.ly/3wiQyRy FlexiSpot Brand Day Sale up to 50% off - bit.ly/3w5ZIks #flexispotde #worklikenew

  • @Arltratlo

    @Arltratlo

    Ай бұрын

    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
    @veselinmarkovАй бұрын

    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

    @m.h.6470

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @janmarzaafus3093

    @janmarzaafus3093

    Ай бұрын

    but it is nicht gern gesehen :/

  • @m.h.6470

    @m.h.6470

    Ай бұрын

    @@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

    @juergenkosel9867

    Ай бұрын

    @@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

    @m.h.6470

    Ай бұрын

    @@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
    @leonpotaschinska9583Ай бұрын

    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

    @voidcommando7574

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @lost.mp5

    29 күн бұрын

    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

    @lost.mp5

    29 күн бұрын

    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.

  • @Vandar821
    @Vandar821Ай бұрын

    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

    @olenickel6013

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @reinhard8053

    Ай бұрын

    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_jo1017

    @missis_jo1017

    Ай бұрын

    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!

  • @andreaseufinger4422
    @andreaseufinger4422Ай бұрын

    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

    @MyRegardsToTheDodo

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @anniestumpy9918

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @andreaseufinger4422

    Ай бұрын

    @@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

    @COPKALA

    Ай бұрын

    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).

  • @kaess307
    @kaess307Ай бұрын

    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

    @manub.3847

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @COPKALA

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @manub.3847

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @ReinholdOtto
    @ReinholdOttoАй бұрын

    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

    @reinhard8053

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @miniser
    @miniserАй бұрын

    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

    @sebastianr1204

    Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @phantasyreal

    @phantasyreal

    Ай бұрын

    @@sebastianr1204 I am German and I am a nurse, but I quit my job. I have been working on intensive care units my whole "career". There is no way to advance further and the payment is garbage for the work that needs to be done in comparison to USA, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, ... more or less most of the countries where nurse is an academic course with a bachelors degree or similiar. Do not come to Germany for being a nurse. Most directly flee back, wherever they came from. Germany is one of the worst examples of industrialized countries for working in this job.

  • @sebastianr1204

    @sebastianr1204

    Ай бұрын

    @@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.

  • @COPKALA
    @COPKALAАй бұрын

    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

    @DrMillF

    27 күн бұрын

    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

  • @tosa2522
    @tosa2522Ай бұрын

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

  • @supermaximglitchy1

    @supermaximglitchy1

    Ай бұрын

    “We have found a replacement called employees”

  • @Arltratlo
    @ArltratloАй бұрын

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

  • @ch.k.3377
    @ch.k.3377Ай бұрын

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

  • @PassportTwo

    @PassportTwo

    Ай бұрын

    The dream! 😃

  • @m.h.6470

    @m.h.6470

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @ch.k.3377

    @ch.k.3377

    Ай бұрын

    @@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

    @m.h.6470

    Ай бұрын

    @@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.

  • @QueenofmyPlantpot
    @QueenofmyPlantpotАй бұрын

    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

    @PassportTwo

    Ай бұрын

    Thanks for your very interesting perspective and input :)

  • @kellymcbright5456

    @kellymcbright5456

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @QueenofmyPlantpot

    Ай бұрын

    @@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

    @martinsch

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @kellymcbright5456

    @kellymcbright5456

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @christinehorsley
    @christinehorsleyАй бұрын

    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.

  • @DiJaZu
    @DiJaZuАй бұрын

    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

    @PassportTwo

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @gerdahessel2268

    @gerdahessel2268

    Ай бұрын

    @@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

    @McGhinch

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @sphhyn

    @sphhyn

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @lauramarschmallow2922

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclair
    @NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclairАй бұрын

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

  • @flesby
    @flesbyАй бұрын

    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.

  • @Loneyloyt
    @LoneyloytАй бұрын

    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

    @anniestumpy9918

    Ай бұрын

    What disability do you have?

  • @worldhello1234
    @worldhello1234Ай бұрын

    @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. 🤔

  • @19Regi93
    @19Regi93Ай бұрын

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

  • @DerTolleIgel

    @DerTolleIgel

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @Coolgamer400
    @Coolgamer400Ай бұрын

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

  • @Lukeddd

    @Lukeddd

    Ай бұрын

    You have the Freedom for self-exploitation

  • @winny4765
    @winny4765Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @jodyczerwinski3035
    @jodyczerwinski30358 күн бұрын

    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.

  • @favoritevids8869
    @favoritevids8869Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @tesla.8410
    @tesla.8410Ай бұрын

    MORE WORK RELATED VIDEOS PLEASE!

  • @anniestumpy9918
    @anniestumpy9918Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @andreasd.7724
    @andreasd.7724Ай бұрын

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

  • @PassportTwo

    @PassportTwo

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @QueenofmyPlantpot

    Ай бұрын

    @@PassportTwo Schade Marmelade 😅

  • @mick-berry5331

    @mick-berry5331

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @philippschmidt80
    @philippschmidt80Ай бұрын

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

  • @Geggy0815
    @Geggy0815Ай бұрын

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

  • @HalfEye79
    @HalfEye79Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @MegaBorusse1900
    @MegaBorusse1900Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @BlacKi-nd4uy
    @BlacKi-nd4uyАй бұрын

    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.

  • @marcblum5348
    @marcblum5348Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @chkoha6462
    @chkoha6462Ай бұрын

    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

  • @marcblum5348
    @marcblum5348Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @carstenhardt1589
    @carstenhardt1589Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @jonasbartels1716
    @jonasbartels1716Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @m.h.6470
    @m.h.6470Ай бұрын

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

  • @nils4088
    @nils4088Ай бұрын

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

  • @Zeppelinschaffner22
    @Zeppelinschaffner22Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @nellitheretrogamer8666
    @nellitheretrogamer866618 күн бұрын

    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

  • @martinjunghofer3391
    @martinjunghofer3391Ай бұрын

    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

    @PassportTwo

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @kruemelblub1859
    @kruemelblub1859Ай бұрын

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

  • @sphhyn
    @sphhynАй бұрын

    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.

  • @autinerd
    @autinerdАй бұрын

    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)

  • @NatasDuVall
    @NatasDuVallАй бұрын

    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. ;-)

  • @olivertenby4014
    @olivertenby4014Ай бұрын

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

  • @Elmo2205
    @Elmo2205Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @Arltratlo
    @ArltratloАй бұрын

    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!

  • @KelbenArunsun
    @KelbenArunsunАй бұрын

    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

    @PassportTwo

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @KelbenArunsun

    @KelbenArunsun

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @JonasReichert1992
    @JonasReichert1992Ай бұрын

    2 Part please

  • @tobiasm.9683
    @tobiasm.9683Ай бұрын

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

  • @Mamaki1987
    @Mamaki1987Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @COPKALA
    @COPKALAАй бұрын

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

  • @COPKALA
    @COPKALAАй бұрын

    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.

  • @oliverschneidewind5503
    @oliverschneidewind5503Ай бұрын

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

  • @MJsMind
    @MJsMindАй бұрын

    I started with the same number of vacation days I have now more than 5 years later namely 30

  • @peterr5293
    @peterr5293Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @nabun111
    @nabun111Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @aw3s0me12
    @aw3s0me12Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @DevMicha
    @DevMichaАй бұрын

    I startet with 6 weeks and have 7.5 weeks of vacation now. And I‘ve never worked on weekends.

  • @chrisk5651
    @chrisk5651Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @bb57piano
    @bb57piano26 күн бұрын

    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👍🏻

  • @seanthiar
    @seanthiarАй бұрын

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

  • @anniestumpy9918

    @anniestumpy9918

    Ай бұрын

    What disability and GdB do you have?

  • @seanthiar

    @seanthiar

    Ай бұрын

    @@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

  • @slack84
    @slack84Ай бұрын

    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

  • @hiken_mmb1035
    @hiken_mmb1035Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @Lukas-rs7vl
    @Lukas-rs7vlАй бұрын

    Male ICU nurse here ...I get 39 days of paid vacation this year. 30 days are granted every employee at our hospital. The more nightshift you work, the more vacation days you get. If any employer would tell me, that I would get 20 days of vacation during application...I would laugh and leave immediately 😂

  • @lexfuturorum1536
    @lexfuturorum1536Ай бұрын

    and here i am a measly austrian factory worker thats has 2 weeks off in the summer and 2 weeks at chrismas and probably still enough left over to make another 2 week trip.

  • @Kaasmof
    @KaasmofАй бұрын

    "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.

  • @pythagorasmathematik9585
    @pythagorasmathematik9585Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @iAmVonexX
    @iAmVonexXАй бұрын

    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

  • @moiragores1226
    @moiragores1226Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @COPKALA
    @COPKALAАй бұрын

    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).

  • @Humpelstilzchen
    @HumpelstilzchenАй бұрын

    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

  • @skycube7915
    @skycube7915Ай бұрын

    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 :)

  • @makarisilver
    @makarisilverАй бұрын

    I started with 30 days and went on until now. I start in a new company and I get 27 days that will get up as I continue to work there.

  • @kukuV.3
    @kukuV.3Ай бұрын

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

  • @ClaudiaG.1979
    @ClaudiaG.1979Ай бұрын

    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

    @mickimicki

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @ClaudiaG.1979

    Ай бұрын

    @@mickimicki yes, it includes the saturday

  • @Hotdragyn
    @HotdragynАй бұрын

    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 ;)

  • @nikomangelmann6054
    @nikomangelmann6054Ай бұрын

    been once in belgium and dont taste the fries there and never been in england, so i cant tell. but once i heard an austian say kartoffelstangerl. that was the best description.

  • @Nabend1402
    @Nabend1402Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @COPKALA
    @COPKALAАй бұрын

    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).

  • @McGhinch
    @McGhinchАй бұрын

    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.

  • @RobMoerland
    @RobMoerlandАй бұрын

    Due to unclaimed hours from previous years I've got 5 weeks of holiday to go.

  • @MyRegardsToTheDodo
    @MyRegardsToTheDodoАй бұрын

    About the fries thing: Belgium. English fries are one of the worst foods I ever had the misfortune of eating. And I didn't even use vinegar on them. I have 27 days of paid vacation, started with 26. Last year my boss let every employee in the company chose whether we wanted another vacation day or a payment increase of 3% company-wide. Over 80% of us chose the payment increase, so that is what we all got. The legal limit for paid days is 20, the law says it's 24 on a six workday week. The wording of that law hasn't been changed when the 5 workday week became common in the 1970s and a lot of (especially smaller) companies actually don't understand it correctly, so 24 days has become pretty much the norm for starting contracts, atleast in jobs that aren't that much in demand. In jobs that are in demand you normally get more days off as a perk, or if your job is unionized. A cashier at Lidl for example has six weeks of paid vacation (30 days).

  • @user-fb5lj9cz5l
    @user-fb5lj9cz5lАй бұрын

    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.

  • @Fessai1
    @Fessai1Ай бұрын

    I have 28 vacation days, all i day i don't take in year will pass over to next year. On one of Covid years i took only 14 days off and next year i had 42 (28 + 14) vacation days.

  • @Reileeen
    @ReileeenАй бұрын

    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😊

  • @der_rechtsamwald
    @der_rechtsamwaldАй бұрын

    Is it a pub available song/music in the intro

  • @ehrume473
    @ehrume47325 күн бұрын

    I am currently still an apprentice. And I have 27 vacation days.

  • @dedeegal
    @dedeegalАй бұрын

    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.

  • @user-gk1gu2fs4p
    @user-gk1gu2fs4pАй бұрын

    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?

  • @fraggergaming5259
    @fraggergaming5259Ай бұрын

    I lived in Speyer my whole life and now I moved to the Philippines 😊 greetings 👋😉🌴🥥🍌🥭🍍🐟🌞🇵🇭

  • @kackbratze9624
    @kackbratze9624Ай бұрын

    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.

  • @ThePlumbeus
    @ThePlumbeusАй бұрын

    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.

  • @mclaine7342
    @mclaine7342Ай бұрын

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

  • @tstuempi
    @tstuempi27 күн бұрын

    Well vacation days, after university I started with 24days, changed job had 36 (but I was expected to work on saturdays and my 1 day of was random) now I work for the state (öffentlicher Dienst) there I have the "standard" 30 days. These can be taken over to next year and have to be taken until september of that year. Furthermore you can genereate overtime (überstunde) up to 200% of your regular worktime and use it to flexibly take time of. Part 2. fries are overrated.

  • @ReinholdOtto
    @ReinholdOttoАй бұрын

    I watched the email on my payphone when on holiday, just to get the peace of mind to know that nothing serious was building up while I was away.

  • @Yuma-ju9sq
    @Yuma-ju9sqАй бұрын

    Because im a verdi member i get 34 days of vacation. 12/24 and 12/31 are extra free days and 2 extras for beeing a verdi member

  • @andreaseufinger4422
    @andreaseufinger4422Ай бұрын

    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 ;)