Triple Dip

michaels

Kennyboy66 wrote: »

Not only are the french miles more productive the UK workers (per hour), investment has been greater than the UK over a long period (30 years).

I might put it the other way around:

Beacuse employing workers in France is expensive companies have been incentivised to invest to maximise output per person employed.

And the result - for those who can do the resulting higher skilled jobs life is good, although the high total employment costs do not necessarily show up in high take home pay; but ffor those who can't the only option is the dole. I can see pros and cons to both this and the Anglo-Saxon systems.

Edit: Economics also supports Generali's point about presenteeism - if workers are expensive (because of the large tax/social security wedge) then you will minimise their hours whilst trying to squeeze maximum ouput out of each hour worked.

chewmylegoff

Anecdotes are just as useless as statistics, however I will throw one in because it's funny. A friend of mine used to have to manage the small Paris office that his company opened - one of the French employees used to get a lift in with one of the others, who subsequently left. The remaining employee then stopped coming to work on the grounds that she had no way of getting to the office. It proved to be impossible to sack her and they had to keep paying her.

It's probably made up or exaggerated due to excessive alcohol consumption.

Kennyboy66

michaels wrote: »

I might put it the other way around:

Beacuse employing workers in France is expensive companies have been incentivised to invest to maximise output per person employed.

And the result - for those who can do the resulting higher skilled jobs life is good, although the high total employment costs do not necessarily show up in high take home pay; but ffor those who can't the only option is the dole. I can see pros and cons to both this and the Anglo-Saxon systems.

Edit: Economics also supports Generali's point about presenteeism - if workers are expensive (because of the large tax/social security wedge) then you will minimise their hours whilst trying to squeeze maximum ouput out of each hour worked.

Indeed, although its not employers who set out to minimise working hours.

The 35 hour week was introduced in 2000 with the intention of reducing unemployment. Hours were reduced by 10% (from 39 hr week), so that firms would supposedly have to hire more workers.

A neat combination of the 'lump of labour fallacy' and the 'law of unintended consequences'.

Road_Hog

Kennyboy66 wrote: »

Sounds a bit like "the french don't have a word for entrepreneur" - courtesy of George Bush

Not only are the french miles more productive the UK workers (per hour), investment has been greater than the UK over a long period (30 years).

Rubbish. I worked for a Japanese company for 20 years. I dealt with all the other European head offices. The French were worse than the Italians.


They are also corrupt. Two things stand out for me. One, the French service manager (who'd be on about £80k in today's money), decided to drink drive on a business meeting/evening. When I mentioned that it might cost him his job, he said with a Gallic shrug, no problem, these things can be sorted out. Meaning he would just bribe the police officer.


The other time, coming back from France, I was at the port, with a 7.5 tonner and I was 15 minutes over on the tacho. I needed to get back that evening as I had demo units for a show in London the following morning.


The customs office stopped me (absolutely nothing to do with a customs officer) and checked my tacho. I was a bit naïve back then and when he demanded money, I offered my company Amex, which he wouldn't take. It dawned on me when he asked for the bottle of Pernod I had, in lieu of payment. Out and out crooks, I doubt that you'd get a customs officer stealing a bottle of alcohol from you in this country.


Like I said, there is nothing productive about the French and anyone that has worked with them will know that.


BTW, try contacting a French firm in August, good luck with that.