‘Our own worst enemy’ — French management and the 35-hour week

Abstract

Having carried out a survey on how the reduction in working time has been implemented for management personnel in ‘pioneer’ companies in France — ahead of the second law on the 35-hour week — we explore the roots of the problems encountered, which basically relate to keeping up with a heavy workload. We look in detail at the sort of experiences these skilled workers have at work, and how there is every indication that other workers are also beginning to experience the same. Target and deadline constraints are internalised and dealt with in a relatively ‘independent’ manner: job interest, career commitment and the personal-challenge culture all encourage managers to be self-reliant in fulfilling their professional responsibilities and meeting their targets. However, individual feelings of professional guilt are not the only things to come out of this: managers also want to have a more regular relationship with their work and the company and exert collective control over the factors which determine workload.