In Germany, the word Mahlzeit (Mall-zayt; a composite of the German words for ‘meal’ and ‘time’) is a standard, yet baffling workplace greeting. And since language creates worlds, the proliferation of Mahlzeit can also reveal a great deal about German working culture.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is all about work. They have some of the highest levels of productivity in the world, with unemployment rates at a record low of just 4.1%.

This year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that Germany’s “employment growth is strong… growth is above potential, and the fiscal position keeps strengthening”. But Germans don’t fall neatly into the stereotype of rigid or robotic workaholics. Instead, Germans take more days off than anywhere else in Europe, when one counts annual leave and official holidays.