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Paris and Lyon work the fewest hours in the world according to UBS study
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A traditional restaurant in Lyon, aptly named Les Lyonnais
According to a UBS study on purchasing power carried out in 73 worldwide cities, workers log the fewest hours in Lyon, followed directly by Paris.
According to the study titled "Prices and Earnings," the average worker puts in 1,902 hours per year. A Parisian spends 1,594 hours on the clock and a Lyonnais a mere 1,582. Compare that to workers in Cairo—2,373 hours—and in Seoul, where 2,312 hours of every year are spent at work. No surprise, Asian countries held many of the top spots, with Middle Eastern countries following close behind. Western cities filled in many of the bottom ranks.
The study did not, however, differentiate between time spent at the workplace and time spent actually working.
So does this mean that the French live up to their stereotype of the world's laziest, ahem, work force?
Not exactly. According to The Business Insider, the French may work fewer hours than Americans, but they cram more work into those hours, effectively doing more in less time than it would take the average American worker.
Judging by the storm of scathing comments on the website of Le Monde, France's leading newspaper who published the results of the UBS report, the French hardly agree with the study and perhaps for good reason. France's legal work week lasts 35 hours. UBS used this figure, plus the number of paid vacation days and paid holidays to calculate a city's annual work volume.
I personally don't know many people who work 35 hours a week, especially in the hotel and restaurant sector, which makes up a decent part of Paris and Lyon's employment. Indeed the study has Parisian cooks spending 36 hours in the kitchen, 39 for the famous Lyonnais cuisiniers.
When asked about the official French work week, one cook scoffed, "35 hours? I do that in three days!" The same could almost be said for many of France's executives, but also of its bus drivers, farmers, and artisans. So perhaps the study is erroneous holding France's cooks up to only 36-39 hours of work per week. Same could be said for many of the other 14 professions cited in the study.
Judging by the reaction on some French websites, looks like this will be another touchy topic for French workers.
What do you think? Does this study reflect the reality of work in France's two biggest cities, or are the French just stuck with a bad reputation as a country of workaphobics? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
What about the French when they're not at work? Click here to find out how they fare as tourists in other countries.
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