Americans are more concerned with finding enjoyment in their work, while the French show a more pragmatic view in their responses. For the French, work is an obligation, a necessity devoid of passion or popular choice.

Which aspects of French society downplay the emphasis on passionate work, and how could they become more accommodating to those desiring the American model? Would incentives or performance bonuses be effective in shaping a new work ethic in France? How would the French respond?

By lucky coincidence, my macroeconomics class was just discussing the other day the difference in countries' wealth. One of the comparisons my professor brought up was the idea of productivity. The argument went something like this: the United States has a much larger GDP (gross domestic product) than the French and we consume much more, but do we necessarily have the better economy? One of the factors to be included should be productivity of the workers in an economy. The French have a lot fewer workers than we do, and work less hours than the Americans in general, so if we were to look at GDP as GDP per worker, the French would have a much higher ratio, indicating that their nation was more productive than the U.S. because each worker makes more in comparison. However, another factor that my professor argues was that our economy was the better one because we are able to employ more people and that people can find employment fairly easily whereas in France, the average duration of unemployment is duration. So I guess this has something to do with the discussion on work because I wonder why the French have such a problem with unemployment. Are there really not enough jobs? Is there something about how the French government organizes its economy that makes it difficult for people to find work?

A propos du chômage, il y a pas mal d’aides qui permettent de vivre sans travailler en France, de plus, les petits boulots permettent à peine de gagner plus que les aides, donc pas mal de français (pas tous non plus) préfère ne pas travailler. Il y aussi une grosse mésentente entre les employés et les patrons. D’un coté, les employés aimeraient gagner plus, sans avoir vraiment de notions sur la réalité d’une entreprise et de l’autre coté, les patrons ignore le besoins d’argent des employés pour faire face au coût de la vie qui augmente. C’est un problème très complexe, et dès qu’un gouvernement veut changer quelques choses, c’est la grève, chacun défendant ses acquis.
Je pense que cela peut en parti expliquer le fait que les français s’investisse moins dans leur entreprise. Mais bon, ce n’est pas non plus une généralité, il est sur que je vais plus m’épanouir dans l’informatique que si j’étais caissier dans un magasin…
Une autre remarque, en France il n’est pas si évident de quitter un travail pour en retrouver un autre rapidement.
Est-ce que la majorité des américains sont carriériste ?

Many consider America to be a land of opportunity and I agree with that statement. It is much easier to find a job, and even start a career here than anywhere else. I agree that Americans are interested in finding satisfaction in their work, although many still must start out with low paying jobs to climb the corporate ladder. I think the ultimate goal with respect to careers for Americans is to make the most money for doing what they love most to do. It is hard to find that exact combination, but I think if one is determined, he or she will find it easy to do.

Minister Villipend tried, last year, to pass a law making it easier for employers to fire their youth workers. The stated purpose was to decrease unemployment. The law made sense. When it is prohibitively difficult to fire someone, why risk their incompetence by hiring them at all?

But instead French college students staged numerous rallies in opposition to the law, to which Chirac yielded, effectively undermining his Prime Minister.

I believe this course of events to be a great tragedy.

1. The power and credibility of the Prime Minister was undermined. Villipend is not nearly so much a political force as before.

2. The french youth stymied the law most apt to improving their position. Unemployment amongst french youth is very high. Certainly i agree there exist even better laws than the one under discussion. Still, it was better than nothing.

3. French college students were the minority least likely to benefit from the law's passing. People with college degrees didn't need the law, indeed, they only suffered because of the increased job insecurity (maybe a good thing). Rather, those in place most to gain were not those in college! And so one section of French Youth struck a terrible blow at their less fortunate banlieu neighbors. Is this indicative of greater problems?

Andrew, Il est évident qu’une loi diminuant le chiffre du chômage est une bonne chose. Les étudiants qui ont manifesté contre cette loi et qui ont au final obtenu son retrait avaient peut être tort. Il y avait quelques avantages, comme par exemple la possibilité de quitter son employeur du jour au lendemain pour un nouveau job tout au long du contrat
Ceci dit, il existe déjà un certains nombres de contrat de travail en France, avec plus ou moins de flexibilité pour l’employeur et le salarié. Par exemple, le CDD (Contrat à Durée Déterminé) peut être utilisé de la même manière que le CPE (Contrat Première Embauche), certes il est moins souple. Ceci dit les contrats prévoient une période de probation à la fin de laquelle on acquiert tous les droits liés aux contrats, cette période peut aller jusqu’à 6 mois. Est-ce qu’un employeur ne peut pas se faire une idée d’un salarié en 6 mois ? Je doute. Combien de temps penses-tu qu’il faut pour se faire une idée d’un employé ?
D’autre part, pour simplifier la vie de tout le monde (employeur et employé), il aurait été plus bénéfique de diminuer le nombre de contrat de travail en les rendants plus souple à l’utilisation. Cela aurait avantagé autant les salarié que les patrons. Qu’en penses-tu ?
Concernant l’autre aspect de ta remarque, à savoir la confiance envers Chirac et De Villepin de la part de la population, je dirais que ça va, ça vient…Et je ne sais pas si c’est une victoire de la démocratie ou une défaite…en tout cas, ça n’améliore pas l’opinion des français envers nos politiques.

I think the time it takes to get to know your employees and what kind of workers they are takes varying amounts of time, and cannot be generalized, as it changes on a case-by-case basis.