February 2002 - Nr. 2
To "Sie" or To "Du"?
The New Workplace Dilemma
TWIG - In the breezy world of American business, everyone is on a first-name basis, from the mail room clerk to the company president. That corporate style has been slow to catch on in Germany, but according to a recent Handelsblatt report, it’s definitely gaining ground. Using first names and saying "du" - the informal form of address once reserved for family and intimate friends - has become the norm in German start-ups, and it’s gradually spreading to larger firms. Is it a change for the better? Many professionals aren’t so sure.
"In creative fields, especially, ‘du’ has become a matter of course," says Johannes Roehr, managing director of the Hamburg advertising agency KNSK,BBDO. "It works as long as you maintain some distance in spite of the ‘du.’" But many people say keeping one’s distance is exactly what gets hard when the informal "du" is used. In a reader survey conducted by the Handelsblatt, more than half of respondents (65%) said using "du" automatically makes work relationships too close. Management is more likely to object to the practice than staff, apparently. Seven out of ten middle managers and 76% of top managers considered the "du" all too effective in breaking down distance between supervisors and their subordinates.
That lack of distance makes it harder to voice criticism and weather crises, critics of the trend say. Using "du" may make firms seem younger, more modern and dynamic, they say, but it can get them into trouble when conflicts arise. Six out of ten survey respondents contended workplace conflicts are easier to handle when colleagues call each other "Herr Schmidt" or "Frau Mueller" and use the formal pronoun "Sie." The American style doesn’t translate so well, it seems. In the U.S., even if everyone calls the boss by a nickname, the power structure of a company is strictly maintained. But in Germany, the argument goes, "du" undermines a person’s authority.
Firms that try to make "du" official policy won’t be thanked for it, according to the survey. Ninety-seven percent of respondents were opposed to informality enforced from above. But when both forms of address are used in an office, depending on individual preference, the rules of behaviour can get tricky. For instance, at a meeting where everyone else is saying "du" to each other, is it all right to just chime in? Eight out of ten Handelsblatt readers say no. Traditionally, higher-ups get to decide whether to communicate with subordinates per du. So an underling may have to stay the odd one out to avoid being rude.
