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German IT Outfit Bans Whining
theodp writes "German IT outfit Nutzwerk Ltd has come up with the perfect solution to whining in the workplace - it's made cheerfulness a contractual obligation, advising those who don't measure up to the prescribed level of jollity in the morning to stay at home until they cheer up. The plan was prompted by a female employee whose constant complaining prompted the other staff to complain about her complaining."
According to this press release (German only, sorry) this policy is four years old now.
The same company that sued the FFII.
Nutzwerk - aren't they those litigous fuckpigs who censored the FFII website for telling the world that this company, despite being held up as the model company for software patents, was actually guilty of all sorts of ethically dubious internet practices?
I think the management there has control-freakery issues...
Oh great, Nutzwerk. Most people who're following german IT news ( heise.de etc.) probably know that Nutzwerk is some kind of shiny MAKE-MONEY-FAST company that *somehow* managed to survive the burst of the bubble. They also love suing everybody who damages their perfect image of a successfull new economy company like the FFII.org (for documenting their abuse of software patents) and the Heise Newsticker (for giving them bad press about it). Google for "ffii nutzwerk" for more info. They even set up a special web site just for calling Heise.de liars: http://www.nutzwerk-heise.de/
PS: One last thought: If everybody is forced to act happy, then how are we ever going to find out if they're *really* happy about this new part of the contract?
If you can read German, see http://www.heise.de/newsticker/search.shtml?T=nutz werk
In any case, mod parent up.
Post tenebras lux. Post fenestras tux.
As someone living in Germany who just got back from a business trip to the US, I'd like to make a clarification about customer service.
Especially in the big cities, customer service people are surly at best and sometimes downright hostile. I recall walking up to a salesperson for some help, and he quickly walked away just as I opened my mouth. I recall the story of my girlfriend, who bought a tail light cover from an auto shop. When she asked them to install it, they refused and told her she could do it herself. That said, when you actually manage to get service in Germany, it's usually competent.
On my trip Stateside, I was met with nothing but courteousness and friendly smiles. It took me a moment to get used to being called 'Sir' all the time. On the other hand, many of those I dealt with were mind-bogglingly incompetent. Many operated by a fixed set of written rules and were unable or unwilling to deal with any situation not dealt with on their crib sheet. Another anecdote: I mailed the webmaster of an outfit that mails me an informative blurb on a daily basis when I noticed that the 'Subject' line was (all of a sudden) being truncated if that subject was more than one word. Thought I'd give him a heads up so he could fix this embarrassing little bug. Days later, I got a response to the effect of, "we can't do anything about this. Our software always shortens the subject to one word when it's more than one word."
So between Germany and the US (and from my admittely limited sample space), one gets the choice between the devil and the deep blue sea; between knowledgeable but lazy and annoying service people, and smiling minimum-wage goofballs.
When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Rel
It is exceptionally difficult (and expensive) to fire anyone in Germany once their Probezeit is over. Most Germans carry legal insurance and will quite happily take an employer to court for unfair dismissal even when there are good grounds for doing so. The contract of employment would be seen to be invalid as a worker cannot be obliged to have a good attitude.
See my journal, I write things there
In summary: Looking at only the first 2 pages and without digging thru the lists themselves, I was only able to find mention of one woman who's registered as a sex offender for public urination. But (a) I think that's one person too many and (b) I'm confident that where there's one, there's more.
When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Rel
Yes, a symbol of America created by a Japanese architect. Also the Chrysler Building was conceived by an Indian architect.
Yes, the salt and urea concentration can make grass turn yellow. And in really massive concentrations (like if you directly pipe a public outhouse into a river), the phosphate can cause algal bloom - just like most fertilizers.
It also seriously damages centuries-old brick walls for some reason. You can literally piss a hole in a wall. Here in Amsterdam you get fined EUR 160 for urinating in public, because it causes millions a year in damage to old churches and houses. In addition to that home owners obviously hate it when their multimillion-dollar 17th century canal house entrance smells of piss. No connection is made to sex offenses.
The stupid thing is that foreign tourists often just get warned if they are caught doing it, even though they are the idiots pissing against brick walls. A civilized local will piss into a canal, which is of course more 'indecent' but doesn't really inconvenience anyone.
Still, it would take a pretty bad urge before I would let go in a residential area.
Obviously, assuming that it is possible to move out of that residential area or to a waiting queue for a public toilet or toilet in a bar or restaurant in a reasonable time, which is not always the case during festivals. I once made hundreds of euros in two hours charging people EUR 5 for using my toilet.