[maartenh]

Argh. We all have these stories of lost hours because of an assumption that proved to be wrong.

Nowadays, whenever I help someone debug an issue, I insist on starting from zero assumptions (by making self depricating jokes, and stating that I need to understand the context properly).

Furthermore, the culture/way of communicating in German might a _lot_ more direct and interpretable as negative than in Brazil. I'm Dutch, and we're known for our directness, but I've ben upset by some Germans before by how negative they can be about some work. They didn't intend this at all, they were just unaware of how their communication landed.

[serial_dev]

Just one more thing to consider: the OP (and you) might think that the negative experience is due to different cultures and that is certainly possible.

However, we also need to keep in mind the possibility that he/she is working with negative people, that are simply a*holes. If that is the case, I'd recommend looking for a new team.

I'm also an immigrant in Germany and so far my experience has been positive on most teams, so if someone feels that a team is hostile, negative, belittling, don't stay there too long only because "I must be too sensitive and I can't handle how Germans communicate". It's not always your fault.

[maartenh]

Agreed! And in any case, if the company culture doesn't suit the OP, assholes or not, don't stay. This can be a huge energy leak. I realized this only too late at one of my previous jobs.