Good job / Bon emploi
Etude des réponses
Posted by gaelle on February 24, 2004
En observant nos réponses et lmes votres concernant ce sujet, je remarque que deux idées reviennent régulièrement, et ce des deux côtés. Il y a l'idée du bonheur procuré par un bon job et l'idée de bonne rémunération pour subvenir à ses besoins. On peut remarquer cependant que la notion de "passion" n'est apparue qu'au sein des réponses US. Comment, selon vous, peut-on associer passion et travail, de nos jours?
Well...
Posted by Katherine on February 24, 2004
It kind of seems that passion, for the most part, is subsumed by the need to enjoy one's work (in which passion fits with). And that's actually a point I was wondering about...how is it that, in the US, enjoying one's work is so important and in France, it seems that there's barely a reference of it? It seems that the French find it important to have an interesting working experience, but as that's a rather ambiguous word (interesting, that is), I'm not sure it covers the same ground, so to speak. Does the word interesting have a more positive connotation in France? Because, it has a very neutral tone here.
S'epanouir
Posted by Alicia on February 25, 2004
In America, when someone says that they "have a passion" for their work, it means that they really enjoy it and love it. I noticed, as observed by Katherine, that on the French side, there was little mention of enjoying or liking/loving one's work. However, I did notice that the word "s'epanouir" came up a few times. In English, "s'epanouir" translates to "to blossom." I was wondering, what is the French meaning of "s'epanouir" in the context of working? Does it refer to the ability to grow, perhaps to be promoted, at one's work? Or is it more a personal blossoming that comes from enjoying one's work?
happiness vs. enrichment
Posted by Howard on February 26, 2004
For Americans, it seems like being happy at the job is very important since phrases like "that is fun" and "that you enjoy" came up many times. However, for the French, it seems like the utility of the job, i.e. what you learn from doing the job, is most important. Words related to "utile" and "enrichissant" came up several times. Is enrichment more important than happiness at work for the French?
intéressant : une connotation positive en France.
Posted by gaelle on February 26, 2004
Tout d'abord, le mot intéressant a une connotation positive en France. La vision qu'il faut en avoir n'est pas le but de s'enrichir mais plutôt l'idée de s'épanouir, de retirer des intérêts personnels, d'"enrichissement", comme on dit, "personnel". Je comprend que cette notion peut paraître ambigüe pour vous. L'enrichissement personnel en France signifie, non pas un enrichissement matériel (argent) mais plutôt une augmentation de son savoir dans un domaine motivant. Selon les personnes, la notion de travail intéressant n'aura pas la même signification. Certain pourront penser qu'il correspond à un travail comportant des responsabilités, d'autres qu'il doit privilégier les relations avec le public........ Cela dépend. En tout cas, je pense que l'idée majeure est de ne pas avoir à se forcer pour se lever le matin et pour aller travailler!!
En gros, l'idéal serait un travail qui paie bien mais non appréhendé comme une corvée, un effort énorme, et ce chaque jour de l'année. Do you agree?
harcèlement sexuel...
Posted by vincent on February 26, 2004
certes cette question n'a peut être pas sa place ici mais je me la pose depuis un certains temps:
Je voudrais savoir pourquoi il y a autant de procès pour harcelement sexuel aux USA..? J'ai l'impression que l'on est plus libre aux USA et que l'on doit faire attention à tous ce que l'on dit ou fait pour ne pas se retrouver devant le juge. Alors comment faites vous la différence entre une personne qui drague et une personne qui vous harcèle?
Harassment vs. Fun
Posted by Alicia on February 26, 2004
I think there is definitely a fine line between harassment and "making fun" of someone. Everyone has their own different limitations of comfort when it comes with interacting with other people (as you can see from the "My privacy is invaded when..." responses). In general, I think most people would say that if Person A makes it clear that they are uncomfortable with Person B's behavior towards them and then Person B continues behaving the same way, it becomes harassment. Of course, this means that from case to case, the definition of harassment changes depending on how sensitive the "victim" is.
Agree with Gaelle
Posted by Alicia on February 26, 2004
I think I understand and agree with what Gaelle was trying to explain about the importance of "growth" and "personal enrichment" from one's job. I think that in America, this is also a very important aspect of a good job. You can sort of see this in the American responses such as "enjoyable" or "have a passion." These words imply that a good job, as Gaelle pointed out, should not just pay well but also be something that one likes to do and perhaps even learns from. I don't think we really have a good translation of the word "s'epanouir" in English, but that kind of sense is still there in our thinking in the sense that a good job is one that you can grow from.
enjoyment = passion
Posted by Nicholas on February 27, 2004
At least in my case, when I am passionate about something, I enjoy it, as well. I don't think that our responses are as different as we make them out to be. It is true that many Americans would rather have a relaxed working environment in which they have fun than have a stressful one in which they are passionate, but lots of Americans would in fact prefer the latter. One interesting fact is that American workers on average take less vacation time than those of any other developped country. Is this due to our greater desire for money? Judging from the responses, perhaps that is the case, as compensation was referred to much more frequently on the American side. How do the French Students feel about this? Do you know anything about the relative amount of time your citizens work compared to other countries? Do you think it is correlated with the value placed on money in your country?
Enjoyment, Passion, Interesting
Posted by Katherine on February 27, 2004
In light of the French meaning behind the word 'interesting,' I completely agree with Gaelle. In our case, we like to use the word 'enjoy' because 'interesting' in the US just implies difference. And difference can be either good or bad. Thus, interesting is a very neutral word. However, as Nicolas stated, while enjoyment is definitely an important part of the American definition of a good job, in practice we tend to prefer 'money' over leisure. And that actually brings up a question I have. I have heard that the French are not allowed to work more than 35 hours a week while Americans tend a minimum of 40 hours a week (full-time job). If that is indeed true, I would like to know how that came to be about and how you, the French students, feel about it. Would you prefer to work more and earn more? Or do you like things the way there are now?
Les 35 heures
Posted by gaelle on March 2, 2004
Il est vrai qu'une loi a été votée il y a quelques temps maintenant (par le gouvernement de Jospin). Celle-ci avait pour but de diminuer le chômage (entre autre) : La durée de travail des salariés alors réduite à 35 heures aurait permis d'engager d'autres travailleurs. Cependant, il est important de souligner que ces salariés ont en fait souvent la possibilité de travailler plus que 35 heures. Ces heures complémentaires permettent de pouvoir prendre ce que nous appelons ici des "RTT" ou "réduction du temps de travail". Ce système est toujours présent dans beaucoup d'entreprises mais a été relativement freiné par le gouvernement suivant, car les 35 heures sont couteuses. Cependant, il est vrai que cette réforme s'est vue sollicitée par beaucoup de travailleurs car elles permet, si on le souhaite, de travailler comme auparavant mais de profiter de plus de jours de repos. Cela dit, ce système n'est pas applicable à toutes les entreprises. Autre sujet : que pensez du SMIC qui correspond en France au salaire minimum que l'on peut recevoir suivant le nombre d'heures de travail réalisées?
35 hours
Posted by Nicholas on March 2, 2004
I find it astonishing that such a practice exists in France. In the United States, working 35 hours a week isn't even full time. I couldn't go into exactly what measures are taken to reduce unemployment here, but I know it's based in creating more jobs, not dividing the same amount of jobs among more people. On a slightly different subject, how are the unemployment benefits in France? I hear they are much more generous than in the US, to the point were not having a job isn't even that big of a deal.