French protest against raising 35 work week

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Hours worked in a week is something I can get facts and numbers on, Neglecting a famliy cant say I have seen studies of that in either Japan or the US. I doubt the numbers from any such study would be be that reliable either.

The cultures are different but perhaps not as different as you may think Japan imbraces American culture quite a bit and the US does so right back.

Culture, yes. But corporate culture? Absolutely not. America and Japan are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The japanese value loyalty and conformity, while the american system embraces indepence and risk-taking.

DE

You are correct about corporate culture that is different from really anything in the West. I remember reading about a thing they would do in Japan if you failed big time for a Company, I forgot the word but it translated to something like "a window seat" and they would put you in a side office somewhere out of the way instead of firing you but you would never really be in charge of anything important agian. You would just watch the rest of the company as a observer.

That is, in fact, exactly what happens. It's shameful- you still get paid, but you are effectively out fo the loop at work and after work. They make you a pariah.

Also, the social interactions between the managers and employs with one another is TOTALLY different than in the west. Japanese corporate culture is so interesting and complex, I wouldn't be suprised if its study was available at certain universities.

DE

A few days after I started my new job last month, I got a two-page document on my desk, titled "Ten pointers for succeeding in a leadership job".

One that really struck me was "Achieve a balance between professional life and personal life, without advantaging one over the other."

Words to the wise.

People that hold two jobs in the US.

At 7.2 million, not seasonally adjusted, the number of persons who held more than one job was about unchanged in January from a year earlier. These multiple jobholders represented 5.2 percent of total employment, the same proportion as in January 2004. (See table A-13.)

www.bls.gov...

Even people in the US that work, full time job and second jobs go hungry in our nation and use the help of services that now the government is going to give to faith base programs to help people because of cuts.

Yes Americans does go hungry in the US while working and is Americans that work two jobs.

The first economic reality is America's economic downturn.
Since 2001, the nation has lost 2 million jobs. Even with the recent economic recovery, the country remains 585,000 jobs short of where it was in 2001, economists say. The second trend driving up hunger in America, economists say, is structural changes in the nation's economy.

As the nation moves from an economy based on manufacturing to one based on service and retail, America is going through a structural change akin to the industrial revolution of the early 1900s.Consequently, millions of workers have been left on the sidelines or in jobs that pay much less than their previous positions.

The third trend, economists say, is that with housing, medical and home fuel costs rising much faster than the nation's salaries, many families find themselves pushed onto an even lower economic rung. Consequently, what were once considered emergency services, such as food pantries and food stamps, have become vital everyday needs.

"Folks simply don't have enough to get by, and they are living in poverty while working," said Stacy Dean, director of food stamp policy for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. She said, "It's a story that a lot of Americans don't understand, that Americans may be working two jobs, doing everything you expect them to do, and still living in poverty."

www.greatfallstribune.com.../20050110/NEWS01/501010302/1002

Originally posted by Carseller4

Another reason to hate the French.

Actually, on this forum you are not allowed to show hate against ANY nation.
35-hours working week is already a lot of work, I suppose you're a kid and you don't know how does 7-hours-of-work day look like.

Originally posted by AtheiX

Originally posted by Carseller4

Another reason to hate the French.

Actually, on this forum you are not allowed to show hate against ANY nation.
35-hours working week is already a lot of work, I suppose you're a kid and you don't know how does 7-hours-of-work day look like.

If that was the case the Blame America 1st crowd would be in trouble.

I regularly work 60+ hours a week. I would be in jail if I did that in France.

[edit on 8-2-2005 by Carseller4]

I wish this wouldn't have been started so inflammatory...

But really, what difference is there between working a 35 hour work week and a 40 hour work week? One hour a day. Ya, that's a lot more time they can spend with their families. I'll work 60+ hours in a week with no problem - I ask to do it. Making a grand in a week is worth my time. You know why that # doesn't work in America? For as lazy we're always portrayed, we like to work - and not be told how much of it we can do.

Trendy buzzword of the thread: Corporate slave.

It's so bloody hilarious to me how quickly everyone leaps to the defense of the poor French every time someone says something bad about them. Really - they suck as a nation for a lot of the same reasons you're all critical of America.

Originally posted by PistolPete
I wish this wouldn't have been started so inflammatory...

But really, what difference is there between working a 35 hour work week and a 40 hour work week? One hour a day.

In reality, that's three hours more of being a day short of a full forty-hour week. To me: hours = $$$

Ya, that's a lot more time they can spend with their families. I'll work 60+ hours in a week with no problem - I ask to do it. Making a grand in a week is worth my time.

I'd like to see a few years of 60+ hours a week myself!

More power to you PistolPete!

Info from iwantmyvacation.com:

26% of Americans take no vacation at all

Average Annual Vacation Days

Italy 42
France 37
Germany 35
Brazil 34
Britain 28
Canada 26
Japan 25
USA 13

Personally I would rather have more time off than more money to buy stuff I don't need. Thankfully I will be going into a profession that allows for that.