German Business Culture and Etiquette: A Guide for Internationals

German business culture runs on three things: formality, punctuality, and written clarity. Learn how those three work and most of the rest follows.

The habits below are not stereotypes. They are practical norms you will meet in your first week, from how you address a colleague to when you are expected to stop answering email.

This guide covers formality and titles, greetings, dress, punctuality, meetings, negotiation, and the separation between work and private life that German law actively protects.

Sie, Du and Formal Titles

German has two words for "you". Sie is formal, du is informal, and choosing wrongly is the mistake international colleagues make most often.

The rule is simple. Start with Sie and wait to be offered du. The offer normally comes from the more senior or older person, and it is usually explicit, along the lines of "wir können uns duzen". Until then, use Herr or Frau with the surname, never the first name on its own.

• Academic titles matter. If someone holds a doctorate, "Herr Dr. Schmidt" or "Frau Dr. Schmidt" is correct in writing and in a first meeting.
• Sectors differ. Start-ups, agencies, and many tech companies use du from day one. Manufacturing, banking, insurance, law, and the public sector usually do not.
• Switching is one-way. Once you are on du terms with someone, you stay there. Going back to Sie signals that something has gone wrong.
• Mixed groups exist. It is normal to say du to one colleague and Sie to another in the same meeting. Follow each person's lead.

If your German is still developing, our guide to learning German covers the levels and course options. Even at A2 you will be able to handle greetings correctly, which goes a long way.

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Shaking Hands

Shaking hands is standard in German business etiquette. You shake hands with any client, colleague, employer, or employee at a first meeting. In some workplaces you shake hands with customers too, for example at an estate agency or a car showroom.

When you shake hands in Germany, use your right hand and keep your left hand out of your pocket, which can read as rude. Maintain eye contact during the handshake.

Handshakes are not limited to business. They are common among friends and family, and when meeting anyone for the first time. Personal space is respected in Germany, so a handshake, rather than a hug or a kiss on the cheek, is the safe greeting at work.

How Do You Greet in a German Business?

Greet business associates, colleagues, and clients with a handshake and a formal title. Say "Guten Tag" plus Herr or Frau and the surname. This matters most the first time you meet someone, for example on your first day at a new workplace. In southern Germany you will hear "Grüß Gott" and in the north "Moin", both of which are fine to use back.

How Can I Be Polite in Germany?

German colleagues are rarely pushy. Wait for a person to finish speaking before you speak, and treat everyone with respect. Maintain eye contact when you talk, keep your hands out of your pockets, and use the surname with Frau or Herr until first names have been agreed.

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Business Dress Code

Most German workplaces expect conservative business dress. That usually means a dark suit, a plain shirt or blouse, closed shoes, and little jewellery. Quality is noticed more than brand.

In newer sectors, such as agencies and tech start-ups, and especially in cities like Berlin, dressing informally at work is common. If you are unsure what your workplace expects, ask HR before your first day or look at photos on the company's careers page.

Punctuality and Reliability

Punctuality is very important in Germany and it is essential in business. Aim to arrive early and allow plenty of time to get where you need to be. Five to ten minutes early is normal for a meeting.

If you think you will be late for work or a meeting, call as early as you can to let your manager or your contact know. Punctuality is read as reliability here, and being late even once gets noticed. Being two or three minutes late still calls for a brief apology.

Meetings and Communication

German meetings are built to reach decisions, not to brainstorm. They run to a written agenda, they start and finish on time, and someone usually writes up the outcome afterwards.

• Bring data. Claims are expected to come with figures, sources, or a worked example. Enthusiasm without evidence lands badly.
• Expect directness. A colleague who says your plan will not work is discussing the plan, not attacking you. Disagreement in the room is normal and is not personal.
• Prepare thoroughly. Reading the material before the meeting is assumed, not optional.
• Write it down. Decisions, changes, and test results get documented and stored. Colleagues will expect to find the record rather than ask you again.
• Small talk is short. A minute on the weather or the journey, then business. This is not coldness, it is respect for the agenda.

In writing, formality stays high for longer than in many countries. Open an email to someone you do not know with "Sehr geehrte Frau" or "Sehr geehrter Herr" plus the surname, and close with "Mit freundlichen Grüßen". Once you are on du terms, "Hallo" and "Viele Grüße" are fine. Our German cover letter guide shows the same conventions in a longer format.

Fairness and Loyalty

German business practice is built around fairness, and much of it is written into law rather than left to goodwill. That covers equal pay, working conditions, and fair disciplinary process. Employees are generally not expected to work beyond their contracted hours.

The legal floor is higher than in many countries. Working time is capped at eight hours per working day, extendable to ten only if the average stays at eight over six months. Paid leave starts at a statutory minimum of 24 working days a year, which is 20 days on a five-day week, and most employers offer 25 to 30. Our guides to working time in Germany and German employment law go through the detail.

German businesses also reward loyalty, to employees and to clients. Companies often work with the same suppliers and partners for many years, valuing reliability over switching to a cheaper option.

Negotiations tend toward compromise rather than pressure. On gender balance in leadership, Germany legislated rather than encouraged: since 2015, supervisory boards of listed, co-determined companies have been required by section 96 of the Stock Corporation Act to be at least 30% female, and a 2021 follow-up law added a requirement for at least one woman on larger executive boards. Progress has stalled, though. As of May 2026, women held 37% of supervisory board seats but only 19.1% of executive board seats across 183 listed companies, down from 19.9% a year earlier.

How Do You Negotiate in Germany?

Negotiate openly and transparently. Back your claims with data and offer or request a fair price. Keep the language formal, be on time, and expect a decision to take longer than you would like, because more people are consulted before it is made. Once agreed, the terms go in writing and are treated as fixed.

Work-Life Separation and Feierabend

Germany draws a firm line between work and private life, and colleagues will expect you to respect it in both directions.

• Feierabend is real. When the working day ends, work ends. Sending email late at night marks you out, and not in a good way.
• Holiday is taken, not banked. Booking two or three weeks in one block is normal, and your team will plan around it rather than resent it.
• Sick leave means rest. With a doctor's note you stay home and you do not work. Logging on anyway is not seen as commitment.
• Private life stays private. Colleagues may not ask about your family or your salary, and asking about theirs early can feel intrusive.
• Overtime is recorded. Extra hours are usually logged and taken back as time off, rather than absorbed silently.

Public holidays add to this, and they vary by federal state. See our overview of German holidays and celebrations for what closes when.

Topics to Handle With Care

Small talk is welcome, but a few subjects are best left alone until you know people well.

• Salary: Pay is treated as private. Do not ask a colleague what they earn.
• German history: Jokes or casual references to the Nazi era are not acceptable in any register. 
• Personal questions early on: Relationship status, religion, and health belong to a later stage of a friendship.
• Safe ground: Travel, food, sport, the region you are working in, and the state of the trains will all get you a conversation.

Your Rights and Representation at Work

One feature of German working life surprises many newcomers: employees are formally represented. Larger workplaces have a works council (Betriebsrat), an elected body with real say over working hours, shift patterns, and dismissals. If you have a problem with a manager, the works council is a normal place to take it.

Many industries are also covered by collective agreements (Tarifverträge), which set pay scales, holiday entitlement, and weekly hours above the legal minimum. Ask whether your employer follows one, because it changes your terms. Our guides to working rights in Germany and types of employment explain what to look for in a contract.

How to Settle in Faster

Three habits shorten the adjustment more than anything else.

• Learn the greetings properly: Getting Sie, the title, and the surname right buys you goodwill on day one, even with limited German.
• Write things down: Follow up a conversation with a short summary email. It matches how decisions are handled here and it protects you.
• Build your network deliberately: Professional relationships form slowly and last a long time. Our guide to networking in Germany covers where to start, and German culture gives the wider context beyond the office.