I think its about time everyone seriously considered learning this lesson from Germany and improved their work ethic. It's amazing that a culture could be so generally efficient. Compare that with typical work culture elsewhere - grossly inefficient. We all know this to be true. I worked in a few places and witnessed how half-assed things could get. It's frustrating and pathetic to see coworkers stream tv shows for hours, read books, take naps, go out for coffee 5 times a day, and ultimately accomplish nothing while making 70k+. This is most prevalent in large organizations with big bureaucratic structures. I would welcome this change. Focusing on task, eliminating distractions, having greater accountability, being straight-up, and getting to the point are all wonderful ideas which should be emphasized and practiced. A lot of workplaces are great, but a lot still are poor.
They don't. Germany's GDP per hour worked as % of USA = 90.9%.<p><a href="http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=LEVEL" rel="nofollow">http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=LEVEL</a>