French workers fight for the right to be lazy

[chequita guevara]

We should be trying to emulate them, not forcing them to live as badly was we do.

[DanS]

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

Several of the few French people who I know personally are very unsatisfied with the results of the tradeoff in the less work approach. I would be happy to have those sort of people working in the US and contributing to our national wealth rather than France's, so it doesn't matter to me one whit that the French choose to be lazy.

Also, I wonder whether the French people are really clued in to the results of this tradeoff. At a minimum, they will be fighting over an economic pie that isn't growing very fast. Social cohesion could take a vacation for a while...

[Kidlicious]

The idea is to maintain the same pay for workers, but decrease the work week. That would maintain the tax base. And increasing labor costs are incentives to increase productivity.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

I've got three 70-hour weeks coming up, of which 45 hours will be stand-up training delivery. It sucks monstrously.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by DanS
France will have to settle for standards of living that are improving much slower than they are in the US, for instance.

This "standards of living" is so passe. Now people measure quality of living instead.

[aneeshm]

Originally posted by Kidicious
Come on Ozzy. School is not a real job. College is not even a job. Job = stress and responsibility.

I think I need to introduce you to the Indian school system . . . . . . . .

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp


That's not 35 hours working, is it? Factor in time spent staring thunderstruck at the budding bodies of your female colleagues, and helpless insecurity about whether your genitals are ever going to come up to scratch, and you're looking at about 6 hours of actual work.

I would write a rebuttal to your later post directed at me, but I find your posts funny enough that I will let them stand.

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by OzzyKP




Ageist. See avatar.

I'm hardly old man myself at 27. But I do have experience of the real world, unlike some who are definitely still under the wing of daddy. He is completely inexperienced to discuss the situation...

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Ming
College is difficult, and can be very stressing. However, once upon a time, my father gave me a piece of advice...

"Enjoy college while you are there... because once you graduate, you have to join the real world"

Unless you are doing brain dead work or manual labor, a job is harder and far more demanding and stressful than going to school.

I agree but it is funny. I never found myself particularly cut out for academia, so despite the fact I do a lot less than I do now I found it a much greater chore than I do now, and as that means I can get stuck into my job more and thus achieve things, I enjoy my job more, so despite being under more pressure, I am a lot less stressed than I was as a student/PhD Go figure...

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by aneeshm


I think I need to introduce you to the Indian school system . . . . . . . .

Don't you have to work for your right to go to school? We need to send Kuci over there to get a better understanding of the world, although I see it hasn't helped you any.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
Here's how this thread has gone down:


People that have jobs = look at the 35 hour law favorably

Kids that are still in school and have never worked = Call the French lazy

So wrong.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Odin

Having luxuries is one thing, but being obsessed with luxuries in another, and that is what conspicuous consumption is.

Actually conspicuous consumption is an activity for the status obsessed. The materialism is a means to an end in this instance.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Chemical Ollie
shelter and food.

Let's go for umbrella drinks then - They provide both...

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp

That's not 35 hours working, is it? Factor in time spent staring thunderstruck at the budding bodies of your female colleagues, and helpless insecurity about whether your genitals are ever going to come up to scratch, and you're looking at about 6 hours of actual work.

For me its about 20 hours a week surfing the net and 20 working mostly alone with my music blaring through the empty office.

[el freako]

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.

I fail to see how you arrive at the conclusion that French productivity growth will slow, do you have any rationale or data to back up your supposition?

For your information French hourly productivity went from 112% of the US level in 1990 to 114% in 1996 and 120% in 2002.