5 ms·

U.S. CEO Blasts French Work Habits

20 points by hariis 14y ago

melkisch 14y ago
Have you read his letter to the French Minister Arnaud Montebourg? (at the bottom of this article http://www.lesechos.fr/economie-politique/france/actu/0202575775894-goodyear-l-incroyable-courrier-du-pdg-de-titan-a-montebourg-540113.php http://www.lesechos.fr/economie-politique/france/actu/020257...) WSJ talks about "blistering critiques of French work habits". I just think he's pretty objective about the situation.
- D_Alex 14y ago
  Thanks for this link. It is interesting that the overwhelming majority of the (French) readers' comments are in agreement with the Titan's CEO's view that the government should worry about maintaining a competitive French industry, and not about preserving the "French way of life". I expected they would have been more parochial.
tquai 14y ago
I've lived/worked in both the USA and France, and this guy's comments are so transparently uninformed. To simplify things greatly: In France, there is more time off, but people are more sérieux while at work. In France, time off is taken outside of work, while in the US, time off is taken at work -- at the coffee machine, on reddit, chatting about banal stuff with coworkers, complaining about stuff (that's usually related to working too much)... On a different note, I've noticed numerous CEOs lately bringing up politics in reference to their work. The most common example is, "my company isn't doing as well as expected, and it's a certain politician's fault, not mine." Gotta love the personal responsibility, there.
- austenallred 14y ago
  "In the US, time off is taken at work." I never thought of it that way, but that is spot on. As an entrepreneur I used to wonder how people work 8 hour days behind a computer for $10 an hour. After a while I realized they don't.
- KingMob 14y ago
  Saw the same thing in the Netherlands. At work, you work. As a result of little idling, few work late, and most head out right at 5 or 6.
aaron695 14y ago
Meh. Old article and quotes like - "Though productivity in France is higher than Germany's and close to that of the U.S. according to 2011 data " "Can I remind you that Titan…is 20 times smaller than Michelin…and 35 times less profitable?" Are a good comeback. It just seems like a sore loser who wanted a cheap deal but didn't get it under his terms so he's crying. A sad story really. When France is a laid back nation that values home life over work AND is poor and in crisis then these business leaders might have a point.
- rhizome 14y ago
  The US has not yet been able to shed its history with slavery, so it strikes many American businesspeople as illogical that workers be left with any spare life at all if there's any way for their job to use it. EDIT: Downvote all you like, but if you read the article, a large part of the problem is that French unions are standing up for themselves and, consequently, the workers.
  - OGinparadise 14y ago
    The US has not yet been able to shed its history with slavery, so it strikes many American businesspeople as illogical that workers be left with any spare life at all if there's any way for their job to use it. :) that and US employers still give out blankets with chicken pox to union employees. The simple truth is that capitalism in US is less regulated.
ajross 14y ago
This is an example of the kind of dumb partisan journalism that the Journal has been doing more and more of. Who cares what some "U.S. CEO" subjectively thinks of "French Work Habits". That's a question the CEO is answering to a newspaper. And sure, it's going to be colored by the fact that the CEO is almost certainly an anti-labor Republican. The question the same management is asking on behalf of its shareholders, however, is an entirely quantitative one: how much will it cost to open a factory in France? Obviously labor policy (not "work habits") is a factor there. But how much? The article doesn't say. So what was the point of my reading this?
- MarcBodnick 14y ago
  This story was covered by lots of outlets. I don't understand why you think this is partisan on the Journal's part - seems like a reasonable recap of the story.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

20 points by hariis 14y ago

Have you read his letter to the French Minister Arnaud Montebourg? (at the bottom of this article http://www.lesechos.fr/economie-politique/france/actu/0202575775894-goodyear-l-incroyable-courrier-du-pdg-de-titan-a-montebourg-540113.php http://www.lesechos.fr/economie-politique/france/actu/020257...) WSJ talks about "blistering critiques of French work habits". I just think he's pretty objective about the situation.

D_Alex 14y ago
Thanks for this link. It is interesting that the overwhelming majority of the (French) readers' comments are in agreement with the Titan's CEO's view that the government should worry about maintaining a competitive French industry, and not about preserving the "French way of life". I expected they would have been more parochial.

tquai 14y ago

I've lived/worked in both the USA and France, and this guy's comments are so transparently uninformed. To simplify things greatly: In France, there is more time off, but people are more sérieux while at work. In France, time off is taken outside of work, while in the US, time off is taken at work -- at the coffee machine, on reddit, chatting about banal stuff with coworkers, complaining about stuff (that's usually related to working too much)... On a different note, I've noticed numerous CEOs lately bringing up politics in reference to their work. The most common example is, "my company isn't doing as well as expected, and it's a certain politician's fault, not mine." Gotta love the personal responsibility, there.

austenallred 14y ago
"In the US, time off is taken at work." I never thought of it that way, but that is spot on. As an entrepreneur I used to wonder how people work 8 hour days behind a computer for $10 an hour. After a while I realized they don't.
KingMob 14y ago
Saw the same thing in the Netherlands. At work, you work. As a result of little idling, few work late, and most head out right at 5 or 6.

aaron695 14y ago

Meh. Old article and quotes like - "Though productivity in France is higher than Germany's and close to that of the U.S. according to 2011 data " "Can I remind you that Titan…is 20 times smaller than Michelin…and 35 times less profitable?" Are a good comeback. It just seems like a sore loser who wanted a cheap deal but didn't get it under his terms so he's crying. A sad story really. When France is a laid back nation that values home life over work AND is poor and in crisis then these business leaders might have a point.

rhizome 14y ago
The US has not yet been able to shed its history with slavery, so it strikes many American businesspeople as illogical that workers be left with any spare life at all if there's any way for their job to use it. EDIT: Downvote all you like, but if you read the article, a large part of the problem is that French unions are standing up for themselves and, consequently, the workers.
- OGinparadise 14y ago
  The US has not yet been able to shed its history with slavery, so it strikes many American businesspeople as illogical that workers be left with any spare life at all if there's any way for their job to use it. :) that and US employers still give out blankets with chicken pox to union employees. The simple truth is that capitalism in US is less regulated.

ajross 14y ago

This is an example of the kind of dumb partisan journalism that the Journal has been doing more and more of. Who cares what some "U.S. CEO" subjectively thinks of "French Work Habits". That's a question the CEO is answering to a newspaper. And sure, it's going to be colored by the fact that the CEO is almost certainly an anti-labor Republican. The question the same management is asking on behalf of its shareholders, however, is an entirely quantitative one: how much will it cost to open a factory in France? Obviously labor policy (not "work habits") is a factor there. But how much? The article doesn't say. So what was the point of my reading this?

MarcBodnick 14y ago
This story was covered by lots of outlets. I don't understand why you think this is partisan on the Journal's part - seems like a reasonable recap of the story.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]