French workers fight for the right to be lazy

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Vesayen
I have an OVERWHELMING hatred of France and its people but this almost makes me want to move to France.... how is job stability there :?

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by General Ludd
I'm not the one who's having trouble subtracting 35 from 50.

What's the difference between the two? And no, the answer isn't "fifteen hours"

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


What's the difference between the two? And no, the answer isn't "fifteen hours"

I'm sorry, but it is. 15 hours a week is the difference between a 35 hour week and a 50 hour week.

A "debilitating effect" of both, is that you are obliged to devote a certain amount of time to a job every week. The difference between a 35 hour week and 50 hour week is that a 50 hour week requires 15 more hours every week than the 35 hour one, and so, it has a greater "debilitating effect" in terms of time consumption than a 35 hour week would have.

[Kuciwalker]

You haven't shown that 15 hours is necessarily significant. You haven't stated anything but "X hours is bad because it's X hours".

[Ming]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
You haven't shown that 15 hours is necessarily significant. You haven't stated anything but "X hours is bad because it's X hours".

Anybody with a real job doesn't need for somebody to prove the difference between a 35 hour week and a 50 hour week. While some lazy bastards probably whine about a 35 hour week, a 50 hour week does take it's a toll on a person. Too many of those in a row, and you start becoming a zombie

[BeBMan]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
You haven't shown that 15 hours is necessarily significant. You haven't stated anything but "X hours is bad because it's X hours".

Then go 15hrs/week more to college

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
You haven't shown that 15 hours is necessarily significant.

Yes I have, you just choose not to acknowledge it.

Or maybe you're still having trouble with the math. How many times do I need to go over simple subtraction and addition before you get it? What is the signifigance of 15 in 35+15=50? 15 added to 35 results in a larger sum - that is, more time spent working and less time to yourself.

[DanS]

50 hours of work a week won't make you a zombie in most jobs.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by General Ludd
Yes I have, you just choose not to acknowledge it.

Or maybe you're still having trouble with the math. How many times do I need to go over simple subtraction and addition before you get it? What is the signifigance of 15 in 35+15=50? 15 added to 35 results in a larger sum - that is, more time spent working and less time to yourself.

Same for 35 + 1. But no one is arguing that OMG 36 HOUR WORKWEEK IS SATAN!!!!!1111

[Kidlicious]

I'm just glad he stopped arguing with me.

[DanS]

In 1963 there were 727 hours worked per head of population in the US compared to 861 in the EU15, in 1983 789 hours per head were worked in both and by 2003 the US had reached 860 and the EU 754 - so over the forty-year period the US and EU have changed places.

Germany saw the largest fall in hours worked per head over the period at 36%.

France has the lowest level of hours worked per head, at 564 this is only two-thirds of the US level

Almost all countries saw faster growth in hours worked per head during 1983-03 than during 1963-83 (the exceptions being Canada, Finland and Japan which saw slower growth and Germany and the United States which saw no change), the biggest turnaround was Spain which saw a 26% fall in 1963-83 turned into a 31% rise in 1983-03.

Excellent. Now my questioning of the wisdom of France going to a 35 hour work week has some backing. It's not that it's a bad thing to do in principle, but in the context of extra vacation, longer lives, and increased global competition, it's skating near the edge.

I question whether France will be able to continue to increase its productivity beyond what others are experiencing. If its productivity growth moderates -- as seems likely -- France will have to settle for standards of living that are improving much slower than they are in the US, for instance. While this is the French people's choice, I hope they are well informed about the consequences of choosing less work in their particular circumstance.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


Same for 35 + 1. But no one is arguing that OMG 36 HOUR WORKWEEK IS SATAN!!!!!1111

Well, this is the first time a 36 hour work week has been mentioned in the thread. A 35 hour work week is preferable to 36.... but there's a much more signifigant difference between 35 and 50, than there is between 35 and 36.


Regardless, i was just pointing out the obvious negative effect to a 50 hour work week - that you have to spend 50 hours working. I wasn't comparing it to a 35 hour week, but obviously the greater the number is, the greater the effect is.

[Ming]

Originally posted by DanS
50 hours of work a week won't make you a zombie in most jobs.

Depends on what you are doing. 10 hours of actual time per day for 5 days (and I'm not counting lunch) drags on the system. If you take an hour for lunch, we are talking about starting your work day at 8am, and not finishing until 7pm. That doesn't leave very much time for communting back and forth to work, getting ready for work, eating, sleeping, and just having some time to yourself. I do 50+ hours weeks when I have to, and they get to be a drag... but it's not something that is normal... and I don't expect my staff to do it on a regular basis either.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by DanS
I question whether France will be able to continue to increase its productivity beyond what others are experiencing. If its productivity growth moderates -- as seems likely -- France will have to settle for standards of living that are improving much slower than they are in the US, for instance. While this is the French people's choice, I hope they are well informed about the consequences of choosing less work in their particular circumstance.

Typical conservative. "People should be happy to be slaves! How dare the proles try and enjoy their lives other than by consuming!"

[DanS]

I also take a look at Germany's situation. It has worse demographics than does France, but almost works as few of hours as France. This situation seems ripe for correction.