French workers are the world's biggest whiners, according to a study published
Monday which said the Irish complain least about their lot.
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 whiners 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.
In terms of worker morale, Dutch workers are the happiest, followed by
their Thai and Irish counterparts. The lowest morale of all is found in
Japan, followed by Germany, said the study.
The study's authors noted that French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy
shouldn't expect things to become happier anytime soon, as he prepares to
shake up notoriously strike-prone France.
"The UK and US, with their marked competitive individualism and unequal
wealth distribution, both appear towards the top of the world's list of
whiniest workers," said Cornish.
"The French come out on top -- it seems unlikely that Nicolas Sarkozy's
election and the likely shift to more Anglo-Saxon economic practices will
make the workers in France any more happy with their lot," she added.
