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French Culture - French Workforce

French Workforce- The workforce in France is unlike many around the world, typically known for their extensive vacation time and lack of work ethic. Contrary to popular belief, France has one of the highest productivity rates in the world. With healthcare and education virtually free they are putting more emphasis on family and pleasure rather than making a profit. [1][3]

1 Vacation
2 National Holidays
3 Employment and Productivity
4 Trends
5 References

Vacation Edit

Full-time workers guaranteed by law 5 weeks off, many take around 8 weeks of vacation.
Vacations are normally taken in July and August.
Many flee the major cities leaving many stores closed for the summer months.
While on vacation it is not expected to check-in, make work-related phone calls, or even check e-mail.

[1]

National Holidays Edit

There are 11 national holidays a year. When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday many workers will take off the Monday before or the Friday following the holiday.

Public Holidays include:

1 January New Year's Day (Jour de l'an)

1 May Labor Day (Fête du premier mai)

8 May WWII Victory Day (Fête de la Victoire 1945; Fête du huitième mai)

14 July Bastille Day (Fête nationale)

15 August Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Assomption)

1 November All Saints Day (La Toussaint)

11 November Armistice Day (Jour d'armistice)

25 December Christmas Day (Noël)

26 December 2nd Day of Christmas (in Alsace and Lorraine only)

[5]

Employment and ProductivityEdit

35 hour work week was adopted in 1998 to create more jobs for the unemployed by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. [2]
At 10% unemployment rate it is nearly double that of the United States. [2]
With shorter work weeks it allows for 22 more free days a year on top of the 5-8 weeks of vacation. [1]
France is one of the top 5 largest economies of the world. [1]
Productivity per hour is amoung the highest in the world, better than United States and 20% higher than European average.[2]

Trends Edit

Other countries in Europe are already moving towards increasing hours without increasing salaries. [1]
France has recently allowed for workers to be paid overtime with the launch of a new 220 hour overtime quota. [2]
With the launch of the quota of 220 overtime hours it has allowed workers to negotiate salaries and increased workload organization flexibility. [2]
7% of France’s GDP is spent on education and training. Designed to help employees quickly adapt to the competitive constraints of the business world. [2]
Growth in education and training has lead France to become the 2nd highest ranked in Europe for percentage of employees with a technical or scientific degree. [2]
Lifestyle in France is drawing more Americans to work in France and take advantage of the hours and paid time off. [1]
Corporate America is investing heavily in France, with over 3,000 companies branching out in France and creating over 500,000 jobs. [1]