Germany: Business Environment
New Year's Day | 1 January |
Epiphany (Bade-Wurtemberg, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt) | 6 January |
Good Friday | the Friday prior to Easter (occurs in March or April) |
Easter Monday | the Monday after Easter (occurs in March or April) |
Labor Day | 1 May |
Ascension | the sixth Thursday after Easter |
Whit Monday | the seventh Monday after Easter |
Corpus Christi (Bade-Wurtemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate, Saarland and Thuringe in places where the majority of the population is Catholic) | 60 days after Easter |
Assumption (Bavaria (in places where the majority of the population is Catholic) and Saarland) | 15 August |
German Unification Day | 3 October |
Reformation Day (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western-Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringe) | 31 October |
All Saints (Bade-Wurtemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate, Saarland) | 1 November |
Day of fasting and prayer (Saxony) | Varies (in November) |
1st day of Christmas | 25 December |
2nd day of Christmas | 26 December |
Christmas holidays | the end of December to the beginning of January |
Easter holidays | Good Friday to Easter Monday |
It is imperative to be well prepared and to have solid arguments because Germans often expect informative and well-documented answers to their questions. The opinion experts invited to attend the meeting will be the determining factor. Your presentation should be specific and backed up by facts, figures, tables and charts. Germans usually prepare cautious plans including fall-back and contingency measures, in order to avoid the unexpected. Many documents will be produced to elaborate and confirm discussions.
As meetings tend to be serious and formal, you should avoid any form of irony and should not interrupt the participants. Germans are direct to the point of bluntness. It is important to maintain direct eye contact while speaking and to avoid confrontational behaviour or high-pressure tactics. It is better to remain silent if the floor has not been given to you or if you are not prepared to make an informed contribution.
The business lunch culture is less widespread in Germany than in other European countries. Business lunches will be organised later on in the relationship, and will be an opportunity to go beyond purely professional issues. If your partner buys lunch, you should invite him/her to come to your country, where it will be your turn to take him/her out.
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Latest Update: November 2024