The unannounced inspection visits by top managers were obviously not well received. “You could just tell by the aggression,” Demmler continues. “By having the door slammed shut. By being threatened with the police. By being asked if you don’t have to make an appointment first.”
Jesus christ imagine being this oblivious.
“We harassed workers outside of their work hours and they were mean!”
There will be a lawsuit and it will be hilarious to anyone with the vaguest concept of workers rights
I’m mildly shocked nobody was shot over it. Sick people aren’t generally in the clearest state of mind, pissing them off would make things worse
It’s Germany. On paper, only 1 in 60 people there own a firearm.
Ohhh shit. Those managers are in for a good time.
Workes court will pull them in little pieces. This shit is so fucking illegal in germany.
The article says it’s not illegal? Would hope to fuck there are some basic boundaries by law.
I think they framed it as “get well” visits. I think “control visits” without plausible suspicion of fraud would be illegal. There are procedures to do this in Germany.
If what the article quotes for the CEO and CHRO are accurate those dispel any of that defense I’d think.
In most parts of the world people don’t sit in their houses with guns fantasizing about murdering people.
That would definitely explain it lol
I’d consider getting one if that was something my employer did.
A hundred workers should go to visit the CEO home…
At midnight. With baseball bats, sledgehammers, and bricks.
Maybe a can of gasoline, too.
As a German, this is so fucking hilarious. No German manager would ever come up with an idea like this. This must be some clueless yanks who think they can import their idiotic “hustle culture” here.
If you have a legitimate suspicion, that your employee is not actually sick, you can hire a private investigator. Otherwise you just shut the fuck up. And if your sick leave ratio is high, you should ask yourself what it is in your company, that makes people sick.
Isn’t the very nature of average sick days used by employees something that if the average is 5 then some people may be 8 and others 2?
If “top managers” have time to do this in the first place, then they’re useless.
Most employers wouldn’t use a investigator. The normal thing would be to get an assesment from the Medizinische Dienst. But only if they can justify their suspicions, not as a general thing for all sick employees.
This must be some clueless yanks who think they can import their idiotic “hustle culture” here.
It’s Elon. Screw Elon.
I don’t know about Germany, but in Denmark (their neighbor to the north), you ask the employee for a statement from the doctor. The employer pays the doctors fee, and there are strict rules about when they can even ask for it.
Demmler obviously emphasised that the intention was not to criticise or make demands of the employees – rather, they wanted to find out how people were doing and how they could help.
How about doing that, when they feel better, and are back at work… Did they bring soup and tissues?
That shit is extremely rare over here in Germany, and it will not improve employee satisfaction or their commitment. And you are not bound to open the door anyways or to stay home when you are sick (you can get better at your partners place, no problem) so simply don’t open the door when you are sick.
If they tried this in Australia Fairwork would go so far up their arses they’d never come back out. I’m presuming Germany has even more robust worker rights
We have such robust worker rights, that this is counting as spying on the employee. They were checking if they were actually sick or not.
This is illegal in germany. Anyone suing will have a good time in labor court :3
Marvellous. Fuck US work culture. May it die a swift death.
Actually the guideline for what you can do when you are on sick leave is really great here in Germany: do whatever makes you get well.
Meaning if I have a cold I might go to a nice spa, if I am depressed a concert or a festival would definitely be in order.
The idea of mental illness is another thing employers need to get in their brains first.
If someone came unannounced to my home identifying themselves as the Head of Human Resources, checking in on my sick leave… I’d probably sneeze or have a giant coughing fit right in their face.
“If there’s anything you need” – bud, I need to be left alone to recover.
“If there’s anything you need”
“The doctor told me I needed sleep, and you just woke me up, so… I guess I NEED tomorrow off as well.”
I did this once to my store manager. Dude wanted me IN, no matter how much I told him I’d been throwing up all morning. I managed to drive the 15 minutes into work…and promptly threw up all over his shoes when he started trying to yell at me on the sales floor.
Never had anyone doubt that I was sick again at that job.
Reject this American imperialist capitalist bullshit.
That time should be billed extra
Demmler obviously emphasised that the intention was not to criticise or make demands of the employees – rather, they wanted to find out how people were doing and how they could help.
Toxic work culture, simple as. One needs look no further than the fact that the managers felt it was ok to do this in the first place.
Toxic work culture makes me sick. I might have to take a sick leave
Now the company paid the sick leave PLUS the HR person going on a field trip 🤣
And I’m sure productivity will be improved afterwards, right…?
/s
