Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Lesson of the day: Ignore the French
French employees of a German car components plant have voted nearly unanimously to work an extra hour each week, the first such vote in French history. (#)
Why would anyone want to add hours to their working week and not ask for higher salaries? Answer: When the government forces companies and employees to negotiate on certain terms. The law-binding 35 hour work-week in France has proven that people want to control their hours and consider what is good for their employer - even when it means more hours at work! A remarkable discovery for sociologists, isn't it?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you certain that there is not any other ambitions behind? Stock-options, perhaps a high level of unemployment in the city (these workers give an extra hour to prove their loyalty) or something else. Just a thought though...

Besser

Geir said...

Of course there could be a number of different thoughts behind 98% of employers in a company agreeing on an extra hour per week. A few are listed in the report I linked on. Most likely the employers realized that if they bend under the 35 hour work-week they risk their companys future.