jct

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070514...d_070514143148

Mon May 14, 10:31 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - 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 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.

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 rightwing 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 whingiest 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.

OldYeller

A victory for Whisky over Wine!!

xdorkx

Well sheesh, one thing goes wrong and the french get upset and complain and go on strike...when i was in paris in 2001, the subway workers were on strike so the subways were LITEREALLY COVERED in trash, all over the floor...pretty discusting....the airlines were thinking about going on strike while i was there, which means they would go out and block the runway.......i'm glad the airlines were fine, but still...damn french!

On the other hand, being 50% irish, I can see why the Irish are so happy...they just get stinkin drunk and dance their blues away, go irish!!

Oh, for those who want proof of the irish, watch the first 20 seconds of this clip of family guy! LOL (specifically seconds 15-20) But the rest is great too!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gKuPtDq2kFU

krustytheclown

Stinking Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys, what has the french ever done to benefit anyone? All they can do is surrender, eat cheese, and smell bad.

draxcaliber

LOL, damn you krusty, you stole my favorite simpsons quote! the french complain and strike all the time because once you have worked for a company for like a year or two, it is impossible to get fired.

xdorkx

Hey, did you guys hear about France's NEW national flag? It's a white circle, on an all white background....

tC4italy

I will refrain from commenting

draxcaliber

oh come on claudia, since you have live much closer to those stinky cheese eating surrender monkeys, you must have some kind of opinion on those bagguette munching wine gluttons!

tC4italy

you pretty much summed it up

italians n french don't go along very well...

I took AirFrance a couple of weeks ago, what a bunch of stuck ups CLEARLY they saw I had an italian and an american passport, why would they continue to speak in French

A couple in front of me at the security check point got quite upset at the fact that they were telling them what to do in french and threw their hand up in the air and yelled "I DO NOT SPEAK YR FREAKKING LANGUAGE!!!"


but yeah...anyhoose....

jct

if i ever go over there i'll speak loud and slow and clearly in english make that mexican spanish instead

draxcaliber

do italians and the french have a rivalry between who can be snottier to americans?

tC4italy

I dunno but yr sure being a dic* to me lately =)

draxcaliber

how do you figure that? it was only a funny little question. when have a i ever mistreated you? besides, we all know your going to even the score this sunday.