IMing in Japanese!
Nov. 12th, 2005 12:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tsukikageBoss bans whining in complaint crackdown
A German IT company has banned moaning at work, requiring employees to sign a binding contract that declares whining, grumbling and bellyaching strictly verboten in a move that comes amid a broader backlash against gloom in Europe's largest economy.
Workers at Leipzig-based Nutzwerk are contractually obliged to put on a happy face by the policy, which was inspired by a particularly cantankerous co-worker, said manager Thomas Kuwatsch.
"We made the ban on moaning and grumpiness at work official after one female employee refused to subscribe to the company's philosophy of always smiling," Kuwatsch explained.
"Mood is an important factor in productivity," he added. "Everyone here works hard and is happy."
Kathleen Sochor, who has been with the company for four years, agreed, saying: "I think it's great that whining is not allowed. If one person is grumpy it makes everybody else feel bad and ruins what could be a good day."
While lawyers disagree about the legality Nutzwerk's "no whining" policy, the crackdown on complainers seems in tune with Germany's prevailing Zeitgeist.
Recently, 25 leading media and publishing firms launched an unprecedented advertising campaign designed to lift spirits in the country.
The $36-million campaign, called "Du Bist Deutschland" (You Are Germany), targets Germans who prefer to see the glass as half-empty — rather than celebrate the fact that their country is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with good schools, well engineered products and high standards of living.
The campaign's upbeat message is being conveyed through posters, newspaper advertisements and a television commercial set to the tune of the same bittersweet but inspirational piano melody that featured prominently in the 1994 hit "Forest Gump."
A recent poll by insurance company R+V Versicherung suggested that Germans are more worried today than at any time since reunification.
All that angst is more than just unpleasant — it may also be damaging Germany's economic prospects, say experts who point to anaemic consumer spending and depressed housing prices.
I can understand banning whining, but to go so far as to expect people to always be happy? That's too much...
Also, I downloaded Trillian Basic so I can read and type in Japanese - YAY! Just gotta start getting used to it though. Made a couple of changes to the preferences that helped...
A German IT company has banned moaning at work, requiring employees to sign a binding contract that declares whining, grumbling and bellyaching strictly verboten in a move that comes amid a broader backlash against gloom in Europe's largest economy.
Workers at Leipzig-based Nutzwerk are contractually obliged to put on a happy face by the policy, which was inspired by a particularly cantankerous co-worker, said manager Thomas Kuwatsch.
"We made the ban on moaning and grumpiness at work official after one female employee refused to subscribe to the company's philosophy of always smiling," Kuwatsch explained.
"Mood is an important factor in productivity," he added. "Everyone here works hard and is happy."
Kathleen Sochor, who has been with the company for four years, agreed, saying: "I think it's great that whining is not allowed. If one person is grumpy it makes everybody else feel bad and ruins what could be a good day."
While lawyers disagree about the legality Nutzwerk's "no whining" policy, the crackdown on complainers seems in tune with Germany's prevailing Zeitgeist.
Recently, 25 leading media and publishing firms launched an unprecedented advertising campaign designed to lift spirits in the country.
The $36-million campaign, called "Du Bist Deutschland" (You Are Germany), targets Germans who prefer to see the glass as half-empty — rather than celebrate the fact that their country is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with good schools, well engineered products and high standards of living.
The campaign's upbeat message is being conveyed through posters, newspaper advertisements and a television commercial set to the tune of the same bittersweet but inspirational piano melody that featured prominently in the 1994 hit "Forest Gump."
A recent poll by insurance company R+V Versicherung suggested that Germans are more worried today than at any time since reunification.
All that angst is more than just unpleasant — it may also be damaging Germany's economic prospects, say experts who point to anaemic consumer spending and depressed housing prices.
I can understand banning whining, but to go so far as to expect people to always be happy? That's too much...
Also, I downloaded Trillian Basic so I can read and type in Japanese - YAY! Just gotta start getting used to it though. Made a couple of changes to the preferences that helped...
