After having reentered the American workforce, some subtle differences between the American office and Frankfurt have come to my mind. First of all, Americans tend to use travel mugs in the office environment, while Germans use real cups. (Caveat: The following is based solely on my personal experience and observations around offices and should not be construed as 100% accurate.)Here in the San Francisco office for instance, there is a Commons area where people can relax, have their lunch and enjoy the great views. In addition, the refrigerator, water cooler, coffee maker and microwaves are located here. Most people carry their travel mugs to the Commons and fill up on water to bring back to their cubes. (See picture) The nifty thing about travel mugs is that they are safer than normal cups, which have an open top. Travel mugs on the other hand are covered, which reduce the likelihood of spills around electronics.
In Frankfurt, I recall that people would use glasses and personal mugs to get water from the kitchen area. The kitchen areas were less luxurious than in SF because people were not meant to eat in there. In Germany employees generally eat in cafeterias where meals are sold at reduced prices. I wonder if travel mugs will ever catch on in Germany? Overall, I concluded that Germany is very traditional and that's why they use regular cups instead of travel mugs. On the other hand, Germans also tend to be risk averse, which means they should try to use travel mugs in offices because using them would reduce the risk of spills and damage to electronics.
Off topic, but every Friday is bagel Friday at work. This means that bagels, pastries, sliced fruit and beverages greet the work week weary employees every Friday morning. Here's a picture of the muffin basket. Personally I'm partial to scones.
2 comments:
Germans are "risk averse"? That seems very funny to me (I am German). I learned from my parents that coffee is hot and fluid and I also learned that electronics and liquids are not so good together. And I also learned that running with a full open mug could spill some liquid. And my parents taught me how to walk with an full open mug without spilling any liquid. So why shouldn't I do that? I also cross roads without being killed and stuff like that. Those "travel mugs" which grown up americans use, are also in use in Germany - for babies and very old people, because they are not able to drink without spilling. Everyone else wants to show the whole world his great ability to use an open mug without spilling anything ;-)
It is not risk averseness but it is a question of mentality. In Germany no one wants to and no one is used to be protected in every situation of his life. BTW: This is also a kind of "Freedom", believe me! Minor risks are seen as a part of everyones life and can easily be avoided by skill.
I think the american mentality to avoid every possible risk comes from everyone sueing everyone because it is possible to earn a lot of money by winning a trial. So every risk has to be avoided so noone can sue me.
"Risk awerseness" is also a very funny thing when you think about shotguns. In Germany nobody is allowed to carry guns in public except the police and military. I personally think that guns in private hands are a lot more dangerous than coffee in open mugs ;-)))
Sorry for that ironic side blow...
Thank you for your humorous comment Mr./Ms. Anonymous.* While I agree with you that American companies may be risk averse when it relates to avoiding lawsuits from litigious citizens (e.g. case of McDonald's and hot coffee spilling on someone's lap), I believe that as a culture, Americans are very much risk takers. This is evidenced by the fact that Americans spend way beyond their means. Why is that? Because they are confident about their ability to earn enough to pay off the debt however slowly. Also they may really like to consume. :-)
On the other hand, I have heard from many Germans and also read news articles that Germans tend to have a risk averse culture. Firstly, anything and everything is insured. Additionally, I've read somewhere that average investors would rather invest in something safe that provides a constant income stream like interest rather than risk their money on investing in stocks. Also see article here:
http://www.die-bank.de/index.asp?issue=052006&art=435
(*Please note that the above are generalizations that may or may not apply to everyone. No offense is intended.)
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