HIsorily, the demands on working conditions and those spent working was closely linked, what we understand at the time when work was for many workers a work that ate a large part of their lives. But today, if the question of “working better” remains topical, that of the quantity of work arises very differently than in the XIXe and xxe centuries.
The opposition to the recent pension reform can be read as the sign that too many French people are not happy in their use: the subject on the quality of the work has not disappeared. We know for example that France is distinguished by a high labor accident rate and by very vertical management practices.
But on the quantity of work, the reality for the least qualified is no longer that they work too much but, on the contrary, that they are too often excluded from the labor market. A Recent note from the Economic Analysis Council (CAE) On full employment indicates that the average number of hours worked by the less qualified has collapsed by 40 % in thirty years, much more than in other comparable countries. This is due to the fact that many of them are unemployed or inactive.
Full-employment objective
The challenge is therefore certainly not to work less – the claim of the past -, but to work all. In addition, too many employees in France, in particular women, are in part -time jobs when they would like to be full -time, or at least work more. You have to work to facilitate this.
The objective of full employment is also justified by economic considerations. The total hours worked in France correspond to a hundred hours less per year per capita than with our European neighbors (and three hundred hours less than in the United States). This implies less social contributions and tax revenue and more expenses, with the consequences that we know.
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