5 ms·

I am German living in Germany and yes, I think not organizing a holiday replacement when you leave for more than a week is a sign of negligence and indifference

by nkmnz 4mo ago

I am German living in Germany and yes, I think not organizing a holiday replacement when you leave for more than a week is a sign of negligence and indifference; but unfortunately, it becomes more and more common to behave in that way. Many projects don't make any progress between mid of June and late August, depending on the number and diversity of stakeholders. I'd like to declare these ~10 weeks "individual contribution weeks" in which no one is allowed to do anything that needs the coordination of more than two persons.

dopidopHN2 4mo ago
Aaah the perfect German neighbors. Always right, always on top of things. What can you do? I guess we're in vacance? Oupsy. *shrug in french* Bisous !
- valesco 4mo ago
  Wait I'm Belgian and it is basically unheard of that a company cannot answer a customer's message for a month. If it is a small company, then the owner will answer. If it is bigger, holidays will be planned so that no interruption will occur. Companies can close completely for a week, usually between Christmas and New Year. That's all.
  - nkmnz 4mo ago
    I was referring to (mostly) internal projects in "German Mittelstand". Some of them with external partners. Customers might have the same problem, though, if they rely on the expertise of a single specialist. Regular customer support is usually available 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, but that's not what I was referring to. They usually don't manage projects.
  - dopidopHN2 4mo ago
    And its the same in my experience in France. Companies want to survive. But I stand by my ( bad ) joke on our ( beloved ) German neighbors!
- nkmnz 4mo ago
  What are you talking about? I was referring to German companies where we don't have proper holiday replacements for internal projects, as well as for those with external partners.
embedding-shape 4mo ago
> Many projects don't make any progress between mid of June and late August, depending on the number and diversity of stakeholders That's what, less than 8 weeks, in a year of 52 weeks, where things progress slower, and this is supposedly a big issue? And even if you know and understand that these other people are humans too, just like you, this is seen as "narcissism" and "selfishness", that they take vacations in the summer? I'm sorry but this is borderline insane and inhuman, do you never rest? I understand your point of view when we talk about huge corporate entities with thousands of employees, but even SMBs with like 200 employees end up in a situation where people with specific jobs will have to be unavailable for weeks (as again, they're human just like you) and you can't realistically hire people to replace those for just some weeks.
- nok22kon 4mo ago
  you are correct but its also the reason for the lack of EU tech capability and over-reliance on US
  - usrusr 4mo ago
    It might be a minor contributor, but it sure isn't the reason. If you do do much admire economic success through suffering, can I assume that you have relocated to China? (mainland) Because they sure know a thing or two about that...
    - nok22kon 4mo ago
      if you think the status quo is sustainable, and that Europeans can live a luxurious life fueled by cheap Chinese workers... > BERLIN, June 26 (Reuters) - Volkswagen is considering shutting four German factories and ramping up job cuts to as many as 100,000, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday, in what could be the biggest ever overhaul in the industry. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volkswagen-ceo-aims-cut-up-100000-jobs-next-years-manager-magazin-reports-2026-06-26/ https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volksw...
nok22kon 4mo ago
it's because there is no incentive in general in EU to be excellent at your job. good or bad, you get the same pay, and dont get compensated for bringing extra value to the company so naturally employees have a "fuck you" attitude
- embedding-shape 4mo ago
  Obviously untrue, any place on earth you get rewarded for being better at your job, either directly by being promoted or after asking/getting a higher salary, or indirectly by being able to change jobs by outright being better. This is true in most sectors, especially in software where it's really easy to switch jobs if you have the slightest amount of brain power. Where are all these misconceptions come from? And how are they so far from reality they don't even pass the slightest of critical thinking?
  - nok22kon 4mo ago
    so where are all the EU global software/tech companies? why is EU so reliant on US software? why do the best EU software developers move to US?
    - disgruntledphd2 4mo ago
      Because the US has vastly larger capital markets, and they suck in money globally such that there's more funding for new, high risk reward software.
      - nok22kon 4mo ago
        why dont they invest in the amazing EU software companies then? Google bought DeepMind, so its possible but not much interest
    - embedding-shape 4mo ago
      Do you think those things are all because of "there is no incentive in general in EU to be excellent at your job"? How on earth is all these things you're complaining about related? You're seemingly only interested in listing what you think EU does wrong, but none of your arguments are connected, why don't you write one proper comment instead of this trash you're sharing currently?

by nkmnz 4mo ago

dopidopHN2 4mo ago

Aaah the perfect German neighbors. Always right, always on top of things. What can you do? I guess we're in vacance? Oupsy. *shrug in french* Bisous !

valesco 4mo ago
Wait I'm Belgian and it is basically unheard of that a company cannot answer a customer's message for a month. If it is a small company, then the owner will answer. If it is bigger, holidays will be planned so that no interruption will occur. Companies can close completely for a week, usually between Christmas and New Year. That's all.
- nkmnz 4mo ago
  I was referring to (mostly) internal projects in "German Mittelstand". Some of them with external partners. Customers might have the same problem, though, if they rely on the expertise of a single specialist. Regular customer support is usually available 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, but that's not what I was referring to. They usually don't manage projects.
- dopidopHN2 4mo ago
  And its the same in my experience in France. Companies want to survive. But I stand by my ( bad ) joke on our ( beloved ) German neighbors!
nkmnz 4mo ago
What are you talking about? I was referring to German companies where we don't have proper holiday replacements for internal projects, as well as for those with external partners.

embedding-shape 4mo ago

> Many projects don't make any progress between mid of June and late August, depending on the number and diversity of stakeholders That's what, less than 8 weeks, in a year of 52 weeks, where things progress slower, and this is supposedly a big issue? And even if you know and understand that these other people are humans too, just like you, this is seen as "narcissism" and "selfishness", that they take vacations in the summer? I'm sorry but this is borderline insane and inhuman, do you never rest? I understand your point of view when we talk about huge corporate entities with thousands of employees, but even SMBs with like 200 employees end up in a situation where people with specific jobs will have to be unavailable for weeks (as again, they're human just like you) and you can't realistically hire people to replace those for just some weeks.

nok22kon 4mo ago
you are correct but its also the reason for the lack of EU tech capability and over-reliance on US
- usrusr 4mo ago
  It might be a minor contributor, but it sure isn't the reason. If you do do much admire economic success through suffering, can I assume that you have relocated to China? (mainland) Because they sure know a thing or two about that...
  - nok22kon 4mo ago
    if you think the status quo is sustainable, and that Europeans can live a luxurious life fueled by cheap Chinese workers... > BERLIN, June 26 (Reuters) - Volkswagen is considering shutting four German factories and ramping up job cuts to as many as 100,000, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday, in what could be the biggest ever overhaul in the industry. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volkswagen-ceo-aims-cut-up-100000-jobs-next-years-manager-magazin-reports-2026-06-26/ https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volksw...

nok22kon 4mo ago

it's because there is no incentive in general in EU to be excellent at your job. good or bad, you get the same pay, and dont get compensated for bringing extra value to the company so naturally employees have a "fuck you" attitude

embedding-shape 4mo ago
Obviously untrue, any place on earth you get rewarded for being better at your job, either directly by being promoted or after asking/getting a higher salary, or indirectly by being able to change jobs by outright being better. This is true in most sectors, especially in software where it's really easy to switch jobs if you have the slightest amount of brain power. Where are all these misconceptions come from? And how are they so far from reality they don't even pass the slightest of critical thinking?
- nok22kon 4mo ago
  so where are all the EU global software/tech companies? why is EU so reliant on US software? why do the best EU software developers move to US?
  - disgruntledphd2 4mo ago
    Because the US has vastly larger capital markets, and they suck in money globally such that there's more funding for new, high risk reward software.
    - nok22kon 4mo ago
      why dont they invest in the amazing EU software companies then? Google bought DeepMind, so its possible but not much interest
  - embedding-shape 4mo ago
    Do you think those things are all because of "there is no incentive in general in EU to be excellent at your job"? How on earth is all these things you're complaining about related? You're seemingly only interested in listing what you think EU does wrong, but none of your arguments are connected, why don't you write one proper comment instead of this trash you're sharing currently?