The afternoon shift this week meant I could sleep in a little as I stepped into my apartment elevator. I pressed the button for the lobby floor and leaned against the mirrored wall, phone pressed to my ear.

“You were saying?” Mateo’s deep voice rumbled through the line, warm and patient.

I rubbed my temple, trying to shake off the last traces of laziness. “I was thinking about getting a doctor’s note to stop working earlier, or maybe an Aufhebungsvertrag — you know, the mutual termination thing. According to the law here, if I just resign it takes three to four weeks notice. I don’t want to drag it out.”...