Work-life balance conversations don’t seem necessary in France

This week, with one of my high school classes, I’ve been talking about work life in the United States. As the intro to the unit, we put 10 comparisons between work life in the United States and that in France on the board. The comparisons included number of hours worked to be considered full time (40 in the US and 35 in France), amount of vacation provided by law to workers (none in the US and 5 weeks per year in France), break periods provided by law (varies by state in the US, but often none required and a minimum of 20 minutes in France for every 6 hours worked), and the idea of at-will hires and firings in the US compared to a French system where every job has a contract and where employees’ rights are fiercely protected.

Later in the same class, we also discussed a reading that explained what it’s like to work at the Google campus in Silicon Valley. The article mentioned some of the perks of working at Google such as access to free food at nice on-site restaurants, a climbing wall, a swimming pool, massages, places to play video and pinball games, and the ability to bring your dog to work. My students and I agreed that it sounded like a fun place to work. When I explained that the hours to be worked in a job are often not specified and that often in order to complete a job well, employees needed to work much beyond the forty hours per week model, my students were less convinced that this sounded so great. The idea of needing to work much longer hours, longer days, and even weekends did not appeal to them.

We talked about how for many Americans and for many employers, being productive is the most important aspect of the job and, thus, of the employee, and how there is a certain American pride in being able to brag about how much work we’ve done or about how very productive we’ve been. (I had flashbacks to the many Monday morning conversations with colleagues where it seemed like we were all expected to trot out a huge to-do list where everything had been checked off. It was rarer when just admitting to not having gotten out of our pajamas for all of Saturday might have felt acceptable.) I explained to them the concept of “workaholism” and also said that though Americans will generally agree it’s not a great thing, many wear it as a badge of honor.

After class, I was thinking about how difficult it was in the States in all lines of work to separate work and the rest of life and how easy it was for work to become such a huge part of life. Work-life balance is a popular topic and a concept with which many Americans struggle, so it’s not surprising that I see it come up on my LinkedIn feed and used to see it regularly on the evening news and daily press in the States. I think that some of the reason for that is the cultural emphasis on productivity, but I also think that the fact that health insurance and having enough money to survive and also put money away for retirement drive that need and desire to work as well. Plus, employees generally want to be seen as vital to the well-being of their employer by showing how very productive and committed to their work they are to hopefully avoid being “let go” since that can happen at any time with no warning or compensation.

In researching this topic a bit on-line, I came across an article in Forbes by Maura Thomas *, “What Does Work-Life Balance Even Mean?”, in which she writes about employees trying to decide on work-life balance:

“a major consideration in their decision is how their work-life balance will affect their career and how they are perceived in the organization. And that means that leaders have a lot of influence over the decisions that employees make.”

It seems to me that it’s hard to achieve work-life balance if a major consideration is how to make sure you’ll still be impressing your boss and assuring your career with your productivity and overall performance at work, especially without any real limits on how much work is too much work.

The French don’t have this problem. Since moving back, I have never seen a news report about work-life balance. I’ve never had any conversations in the staff room about work-life balance, no professional training on work-life balance. Over drinks or dinner with friends, work-life balance is never the topic of conversation. I believe that this is because French society has set up work-life balance for everyone, legalized it even.

In France, full-time work is 35 hours per week. Though it is possible to work more than that, this requires employers to jump through many hoops. It does happen, but the extra work hours are still limited and these occasions are extremely rare.

The Forbes article backs up this logic with the following: “A variety of studies show that working more than 45 hours per week is detrimental to both physical and mental health. A 2014 study by John Pencavel of Stanford showed that productivity per hour declines around 50 hours per week, and working more than 55 hours is pointless. And a study by time management author Laura Vandercam showed that around 38 hours of work per week produces the happiest employees.”

On top of the shorter work week in France, there are also many national holidays (12 to be exact) and the annual five weeks of paid vacation (2.5 weekdays per month worked) given to every employee regardless of if they are full or part-time and regardless of the type of job AND employees are required to take these vacation days! Sounds crazy, I know, and it feels a little crazy, too.

When I found out that as a teacher, I am not legally allowed to have any other job, even during vacation periods, unless it’s limited in hours and is directly related to teaching, I was initially furious - all this time off and I’m not allowed to work during any of it - but then I tried to see it as an opportunity rather than a punishment. It’s not easy - I’d rather just get a part time job - but I’m trying to be productive in a less productive way: catch up on sleep, enjoy long walks with my dogs when I don’t have to look at the clock at all, write more, read more, learn something new, and make time for friends.

The truth to the 35-hour work week is that salaries are lower and there is not really any opportunity to supplement your earned income with a second job, for example. Multiple contracts are generally not allowed - even for those working outside of education- unless both contracts are part-time, adding up to a total of 35 hours per week, from what I understand. For someone coming from the American work model which emphasizes production, this can be tremendously frustrating. In America, beyond the satisfaction that can come from working hard and accomplishing a lot, the greatest reward to the longer work weeks is often the salary. Increased salary brings pleasure and also peace of mind.

In France, the reward is time off. To compensate for lower salaries, there is the reassurance that the state will always provide health insurance, a certain retirement, and other financial assistance if needed throughout your life. In France, work is not your life because it isn’t your lifeline. Work is not your lifeline because it doesn’t have to be. When there is no possibility that work will become your life, when the entire culture and societal framework is designed to keep that from happening, talks or even thoughts of work-life balance cease to exist. They just aren’t necessary.

* Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurathomas/2022/07/26/what-does-work-life-balance-even-mean/

Thank you for being here for another Wednesday newsletter about my life as an American in the High French Alps. To best support my work, please consider liking, commenting, or sharing this piece. Also, if you’re not already subscribed (it’s FREE !), you can do so by clicking the button below.