French Workers Are the Biggest Whiners in the World

A Study of Workers in 23 Countries Says French Are the Whiniest

Adding to the growing list of unfavorable views of France and its citizens, French workers have now been categorized as the whiniest workers in the world. In a study conducted by the FDS research group, which gives high marks to the Irish as the happiest workers, the French have unfortunately been deemed the biggest whiners.

Despite the large amount of job dissatisfaction American workers experience, they ranked fourth on the list, with Britain and Sweden beating them in the whining category.

FDS chief Charlotte Cornish said of American workers, "Compare them to Thai workers: while real levels of income are more than eight times higher in the States, more workers in the US feel their pay is a problem than in Thailand."

The study found that beside the Irish, workers in Thailand and the Netherlands also ranked the lowest on the whining scale.

FDS conducted its study using data from 14,000 workers based in 23 countries, researching specific variables such as pay levels and the average length of the work day, among other factors.

The study, entitled "What Workers Want, A Worldwide Study of Attitudes to Work and Work-Life Balance", also states that Dutch workers have the highest morale, with Japan and Germany suffering from extremely low morale. However, the study still gives the French workers the unfortunate title of being the world's biggest whiners, since the workers in Japan and Germany, despite having the lowest morale while on the job, tend not to complain about their jobs as much.

FDS chief Charlotte Cornish also said that job unhappiness amongst the French is unlikely to change anytime soon as a result of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the current movement toward Anglo-Saxon economic practices.

Job satisfaction is a big issue in much of the world, and can often affect people's lives in disastrous ways should stress and unhappiness on the job follow workers home. Numerous studies are being conducting regarding the workplace, finding more evidence that significant wedges are being driven between the average American worker and those who manage them.

Source:

AFP