> "In Germany, we come to work, we put our heads down for seven hours and work, then we all go out and spend two hours drinking beer together before we go home to our families"

Definitely not the case here in Berlin. All of my jobs here had plenty of post-work socialising, some even obligatory.

During work itself, people also tend to spend a lot of time in "kitchen area" or browsing Facebook, chatting on WhatsApp etc.

The "put our heads down for hours" thing is not something I have ever observed.

This was 17 years ago when he said it, and he was talking about his time in Germany in the late 80s/ early 90s.

Maybe the culture has shifted since then.

I really wish I had taken a job in Germany when I had the chance. That seems way better than figuring out small talk.

There's still time. Germany will be around for a bit.

Many countries restrict work visas for people over 30. Is Germany one of them?

No, there's no age cutoff for Germany. The Blue Card (4 year work visa) requires either earning more than the national average for non-technical roles (currently more than €72k per year pre-tax) and for technical roles more than €33k. There is no requirement to show that the company was unable to find an EU Citizen, if the salary numbers are met.

Germany has a job seeker visa through which you can come and search for job in Germany. I think you need atleast 5 years of experience to get that. There are other ways to come as well( like having a job offer). I mentioned this in particular to indicate there is no age cutoff, since by the time you have 5 years of experience you are in your late twenties.

Not if you're a programmer or in what is called a "Mangelberuf" (a job that the country needs and makes lax visa regulations for).

To contrast with:

British work culture: spend 7 hours at work socializing, 2 hours at the pub after

French work culture: spend 2 hours at work socializing

Japanese work culture: spend 12 hours at work with your head down not working, then 5 hours at the pub

this is very similar to scandinavian cultures. in comparison, american work culture feels extremely centered around social interactions.

I don't see the contrast between

>> we all go out and spend two hours drinking beer together before we go home to our families

and

> in comparison, american work culture feels extremely centered around social interactions

That’s what someone said someone said. But if true it sounds like alcoholism. But nonetheless it sounds like focus during the day, get that over with then focus on socialising. Maybe this is deep work friendly.

> But if true it sounds like alcoholism.

I mean, when I worked at eBay in San Francisco, going around to bars after work -- more than once a week -- was the expected way to socialize with your coworkers. I didn't participate, but that meant I didn't connect to the rest of the team. I didn't find the idea that people in Germany do the same thing to be much of a stretch.

Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's healthy. Everyone use to smoke!

And slam down so many Litres of beer in 2 hours- that in a US company people would start leaving aa leaflets on your desk.