- Indian woman shares 15 surprising workplace habits in Germany for newcomers
- German offices separate business from personal relationships and value directness
- Punctuality, calendar ownership, and clear meeting purposes are highly respected
After moving to Germany for work, one Indian woman shared the office culture shocks that stood out most. German workplaces operate very differently from what many Indians expect. In an Instagram post, the woman named Simran Khokha wrote, "I work as a Product Manager in Germany, and these office habits still surprise many professionals coming from India."
The 15 habits that she mentioned are:
1. Business isn't personal: She said disagreements in meetings don't ruin work friendships or coffee breaks. She said, "A manager may reject your idea in a meeting and then happily join you for coffee 10 minutes later."
2. Overwork isn't a badge of honour: She revealed that working late implies poor planning, not high performance. "Nobody is impressed by 'I worked until midnight,'" she said.
3. Respect for time: According to her, meetings require a clear purpose; if an email works instead, people will point it out.
4. Data over hierarchy: Junior employees feel free to challenge executives. "The strongest argument usually wins, not the highest title, "she stated.
5. Directness is valued: "No" is an acceptable answer without needing sugarcoating. "People don't always wrap refusals in multiple layers of politeness," she said.
See the post here:
6. Calendar ownership: She said, your time is yours, and your colleagues should ask before booking you, and you are expected to block and protect deep-work time. "Colleagues may ask before booking time rather than assuming you're available," she added.
7. Importance of documentation: According to her, documentation can matter more than verbal discussions. "If it's not written down, some teams act as if it never happened," she added.
8. Calendars are crucial: She added that employees regularly block focus time on their calendars and are expected to protect it.
9. Setting boundaries: She said that the Germans know how to keep both professional and personal separate. "Many colleagues won't add work contacts on personal social media, even after working together for years," she wrote.
10. Substance over noise: According to her, the "quietest person" in some offices may have the "most influence" because expertise often carries more weight than visibility.
11. Respect for time: Meetings require a clear purpose; if an email works instead, people will point it out.
12. Decision-Making: Managers win respect by admitting when something is outside their expertise. She said it is a sign of "professionalism, not weakness".
13. Fast execution: She said that teams invest time during discussions to agree on a decision. They then execute it rapidly.
14. Clear ownership: Roles must be explicitly defined; shared responsibility usually results in no responsibility. "If everyone owns it, many assume nobody owns it," one wrote.
15: Importance of interviews: Candidates stand out more by asking sharp questions about the business than by just listing their own achievements.
Social Media reaction
"These are the kinds of workplace behaviours that aren't usually mentioned in relocation guides but become obvious once you actually start working," she concluded.
With over 829,000 views, the post went viral. Users took to the comment section to share their opinions. "One of the most important thing among them is they are very much punctual about times and deadlines, right?" one user wrote in the comment section.
"I'm really meant for Germany after reading this. Why am I in India?" said another user.
"This is awesome, if half of the things are practised in India corporate scene, life would be so easy, Kudos Simran for shining bright, Proud moment," a third user wrote.
