If you're new to Germany, we can recommend taking some time to develop a deeper understanding of German workplace culture. This will impact everything from how to interview at German companies, to how to approach coworkers and company culture.
Germans (maybe Berliners especially?) have a very different approach when it comes to work/life balance. Namely, they believe in it, practice it, and honor it. This also manifests in other great benefits like respecting people’s vacation time (no one expects you to answer email or check in), giving families great paternity benefits (for men and women!), and generally having a workplace culture where the day ends at 5 or 6PM (for real).
On that note, people also stay home when they’re sick. Really. In fact, your co-workers will be much more disapproving if you come to the office and risk infecting everyone else.
Germans tend to be more formal (this may have to do with the language having a formal and informal form of ‘you’), but generally, though it somewhat depends on the sector, prepare to address people by their last name and a formal salutation.
When it comes to feedback, Germans tend to be direct. If you receive a curt sounding email, don’t fret. It probably doesn’t mean they’re angry or upset (as some of us might interpret it to be), they simply tend not to sugarcoat things. They’re also generally a little more held back on the superlatives than say Americans or Brits.