A German company has made whingeing in the office a sackable offence.
Ramona Wonneberger, head of the Leipzig IT company, Nutzwerk, has introduced a “two moans and you’re out” policy to clamp down on the “negative energy” that she thought was damaging the company.
“Unfortunately, Germans are the world’s most inveterate whingers and bellyachers, particularly concerning things they cannot change, like the weather or a late train,” she said. “I thought I had to do something to change this mentality.”
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Employees now have a clause in their contracts which states: “Moaning and whingeing is forbidden… except when accompanied with a constructive suggestion as to how to improve the situation.”
So far three employees have fallen foul of the new rules, including one who left because she said there “was nothing to talk about any more”.
