[atlasunshrugged]

Yes, when I first got to Germany I was surprised at this but after doing it once I loved it. As an employee I had no hard feelings about just saying something wasn't a good fit within a few months of joining (I have a slightly different but similar in practice setup with a French co currently that I'm leaving after a 3m trial period). I think that it's a good way to do things & I think I reflect the consensus view here that you absolutely shouldn't feel bad about leaving a dysfunctional company. The only exception is if you were brought in with the mandate to execute a turnaround, but it doesn't sound like that's the case nor that you have the authority to do so, so don't burn yourself out trying without the power to make real changes for probably not enough compensation for the hassle

[MadeThisToReply]

You two are discussing this as if it's specific to Germany... is it really that rare? Every tech job I've ever had in the UK (admittedly not a huge sample size) has had some kind of probationary period baked into the contract, although the exact details vary (e.g. number of months considered probation, notice period while on probation.) Are there countries where this isn't a thing?

[d_watt]

It's not as common in the US, since most states are at will, either side always can give notice at any time for any/no reason (other than targeting protected groups / whistleblowing, etc), there's not as much point to a probationary period.

[gwbas1c]

> It's not as common in the US

But culturally many companies operate that way. It's easy to fire someone within the first ~6 months; if you've been somewhere for awhile, you give longer than 6 weeks notice; and if you've been somewhere for awhile, you get severance.

[throwawayboise]

At many (well managed) US companies, there is a more formal HR process for dealing with poor performance, such as formal reviews, action plans, etc. that does not apply during the initial probationary period.

[atlasunshrugged]

I think it's common across Europe (was the same with my Estonian and now French contract) but wasn't in the US because it's "at will" hiring in most states where they can fire you anytime... so why have a contract?

[nicbou]

What's uncommon is the period after. Most employment contracts have a 4 weeks to 3 months notice period, both for the employer and the employee. This is very different from the US and Canada, where people give a 2 week notice.