Martin Metzmacher

First let me say that it’s not right to talk about the Dutch or the German people, because every country and tribe has very different people in them. However, there are general tendencies, or stereotypes, and it’s just interesting to think about cultural differences. So here come some thoughts:

Similarities

The two countries are next to each other, and they share similar roots and language. Actually, the languages are so similar that you can learn Dutch if you’re German in four weeks, at least enough to study it at the university. The two countries have shared borders, a shared background with regards to language, and a comparable political system. They also have the same money and have lots of the same losses.

Structural Hierarchy of Leadership

Despite these similarities, there is a difference in the people. And where it comes down to, in my opinion, is that the society in the Netherlands is structured in a much more horizontal way than it is in Germany. In Germany relationships are more vertical. It means that there’s an authority figure, the boss, and there are sub-bosses. The person on the higher level always has more to say and makes decisions. It’s different in the Netherlands. You have team leaders, of course; bosses, project managers, etc., but just as a normal employee, you’re much more involved with your company and your influence is much higher.

System of education

I have a biased view of course, because I have not worked in Germany a lot but have several jobs in the Netherlands, and I have never studied in Germany. I did the bachelor and the master in the Netherlands. However, I think its okay to compare what I know of the German system to the Dutch system. For example, in a meeting here with teachers or with researchers, I dare to ask questions to criticize the professor. When I had a different and oftentimes wrong opinion, they would explain to me why I am wrong. It’s the possibility that is really nice.

What I hear in Germany is that the professor is the boss that makes the decisions and gets all the money and stuff. Here in the Netherlands, its very different because basically, some PhD students have their own funds which they can manage. They are financially independent with regards to research, at least, and they have the say in much more things.

Sayings that you cannot translate literally

What also inspired me to write this article is that, although a lot of sayings in Dutch can be translated literally to German, there are a few which you can’t. For example, the Dutch say “don’t put your hats high above the cornfield.” They have another one which is, “Don’t do so crazy, if you do normal you’re crazy enough.”, or, “the highest tree gets the most wind.”

In the Netherlands, they also have sayings like, “don’t stray too far away from the group; don’t get singled out as an individual!” In Germany, people are really encouraged to show themselves as individuals, and success is attributed individually, whereas in the Netherlands, that is often attributed to the group. Thus, I think people are much more grouped focus.

Collective vs Individual Orientation

That’s strange because the two societies are very similar. For one, you get a collective orientation, and the other, you have the individual orientation. But that’s cool and I like it, not always, but most of the time. Collective orientation means, for example, that everyone who studies at the University basically gets a monthly allowance to help them pay for the study, or there is a minimum wage for everyone, so it’s defined what people should earn. In the Netherlands, when you’re 21 or 23, you earn a hundred percent, and then the minimum wage is a percentage. For example, if you’re 16, your minimum wage is roughly 60% of the minimum wage of the person over 21 or 23. That’s great because it’s a kind of good security.

Giving back

Furthermore, I like the idea of helping people earn the living, but leaving it up to them. Whereas what you see in Germany is that a lot of unemployed people get paid by the state, here in the Netherlands, you also see a lot of people picking up rubbish. As far as I’m informed, they’re just unemployed people who feel that they have to do something back, like you can’t just get money from the state without doing something back. The people do something back for everyone, which is nice, and I think that totally makes sense.

Criticism

Another difference between German and Dutch people is that German people are much more direct in their criticism. Critique in the Netherlands is often very friendly and they don’t want the other person to lose their faith. For me, I like being direct sometimes, because it can be very annoying to have to take into account the feelings of pretty much everyone who’s involved.

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