MittelstandsWiki

All bosses wishing to motivate their employees to perform even better should occasionally make presents to them. This is the finding of a study by the Bonn-based Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA). In the course of an experiment a Canadian company paid its employees a one-off bonus independently of the performance given before. On the day the present was made the productivity of employees increased by more than ten percent. The longer an employee had already worked with the company in question, the longer the positive effect of the bonus lasted. +++

Not only to the young generation has the internet become an integral part of life: More and more seniors surf on the internet. Half of all Germans aged between 55 and 64 use the internet at least occasionally. In the age bracket between 65 and 74 years one quarter of people is online, says the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM). +++

While in the German Länder the new laws on non-smoker protection are still being prepared a survey by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) shows that most German gastronomers are in favour of these new laws. As was reported by the DIHK the number of non-smoker restaurants and inns with special designated smoking areas has almost doubled in Germany over the two recent years. +++

In terms of exports German entrepreneurs are on the one hand even more confident than their European neighbours. But on the other hand the long-term economic development in the Euro zone is seen more sceptical than by Europe as a whole. This was revealed by a Deloitte survey „Made in Europe» on the future of Europe as an economic and production location. It also showed that most of the 200 European companies questioned would like to co-operate closer with universities and research institutions. +++