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Deutsche Bahn staff grumpy and demotivated

Nearly 70 percent of people who work for Germany's national railway operator Deutsche Bahn are de-motivated and frustrated with their jobs, the Financial Times Deutschland reported on Tuesday.

Published: 16 August 2011 10:30 CEST
Deutsche Bahn staff grumpy and demotivated
Photo: DPA

A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn confirmed the figure which was collated by the company’s marketing head Ulrich Klenke, but would not comment on details.

He said only that the firm had already set up measures to try to counter the situation, including a nationwide staff conference. “We have kicked off a broad learning and change process,” he said.

But a Bahn manager, which the FTD did not name, said the results from a random sample of the 190,000 Bahn staff, were shocking. The paper said that satisfied staff was existentially important for the Bahn as a service provider with direct contact with millions of customers every day.

The firm also needs a good image in order to attract the additional staff, particularly engineers that it needs to hire in the near future. It is already plagued with problems such as the unreliable ICE fleet, train delays and the massive difficulties with Berlin’s city S-Bahn train service.

Bahn employees are obviously very unhappy, even in comparison to former state-owned behemoths Deutsche Post and Deutsche Telekom, where previous surveys showed a greater level of worker satisfaction.

Bahn workers complained of a lack of freedom in their work, torturous decision-making processes, opaque structures, over-ambitious targets and an ageing information technology system.

Rail workers’ union the EVG also said that the uncertain future of Deutsche Bahn was making staff unhappy, with the government refusing to say whether the state-owned firm would be launched on the stock market or remain under state contract.

The poor situation within the Bahn was not helping it win over customers, the FTD said, citing a study conducted by advertising agency Serviceplan which was also presented by Klenke to Bahn managers.

This showed that 2,000 Bahn customers questioned rated it last-but-one place out of 67 companies when ranking them on social and environmental factors.

The Bahn came behind drugstore chain Schlecker, and head of only energy giant BP.

“We would seem to have a need to improve,” a Bahn manager was quoted as saying.

The Local/hc

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Published: 7 February 2024 10:54 CET
Updated: 10 February 2024 08:20 CET
Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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