Whine Country

A new study just out reports that French workers are the world's biggest whiners. But don't go high-fiving right away - the US is right up there.

Britons come second to their Gallic cousins in the moaning stakes, followed by Sweden, the United States and Australia. Japanese workers have the lowest morale, but don't complain so much.

The lowest levels of whining were found in the Netherlands, Thailand and Ireland, according to the study by the FDS research group.

"It is interesting to note that after France, Britain and Sweden, the world's biggest workplace whingers are Americans, despite their having by far the highest levels of income," said FDS chief Charlotte Cornish.

"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," she added.

The study, entitled "What Workers Want, A Worldwide Study of Attitudes to Work and Work-Life Balance", draws on data from 14,000 employees in 23 countries.

They were notably asked about their satisfaction with issues including pay levels and their work-life balance, as well as average working hours.

Part of the reason for some of the dissatisfaction is very likely due to a media which continuously accentuates the negative. That coupled with certain politicians and organizations who love to invoke class warfare at every turn. The authors of the study point out that these world-class, whining, French workers may spell trouble for Nicolas Sarkozy if he tries to change things in France. See: there goes that media thing again.

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  By Chris, Tuesday, 15 May , 2007 @ 8:25 am

  Most of the whining that goes in in our company has to do with our management’s incompetence. Almost all of my whining is about things that, if rectified, would make the company better. And yes, I can be a world-class whiner. The French couldn’t touch the threads of my jock.

Other Links to this Post

1. Maggie's Farm — Tuesday, 15 May , 2007 @ 1:38 pm