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Who offers the du, and the other rules of a first day
The move from Sie to du is the one piece of German office etiquette that genuinely matters, and year 1's lesson 41 introduced it. Here is the working version. Inside a team, du is now normal almost everywhere, and someone will tell you in the first five minutes, as Tobias does. Upwards it is different: keep Sie with anyone senior until they offer otherwise, and the offer belongs to them, not you. It comes as Wir können uns duzen or simply by them using du and their first name. Once offered it cannot be withdrawn, which is why some people are slow to offer it. If you get it wrong in the safe direction — Sie to someone who expected du — the correction is friendly and instant. The other direction is awkward, so default to Sie with anyone whose position you are unsure of. A few other conventions that make a first day easier. Greet people: entering an office, a lift, or a waiting room, Germans greet the room, and saying nothing reads as rude rather than shy. Morgen or Guten Morgen until about eleven, then Hallo or Guten Tag, and Tschüss on the way out. The handshake is still common on a first meeting. The Kaffeekasse is real: a coffee kitty, a jar or a list, and putting a few euros in during your first week buys more goodwill than it costs. Bringing cake is a custom too, but for your own birthday, not your arrival — Germans bring cake for themselves, which surprises everyone once. Finally, the day ends. Feierabend is not a suggestion, and someone leaving at exactly half past four has not left early, they have finished. Staying late to be seen staying late is not a currency here, and in a company with a Betriebsrat (lesson 83) recorded overtime is a matter of law rather than of enthusiasm. On the first day, ask what the core hours are — die Kernzeit — and follow them exactly.