Lucien says we are a buncha lazy slobs
In a recent interview with TVA, former Premier of Quebec, Lucien Bouchard, stated that Quebecker’s do not work enough, or hard enough.
The Globe and Mail in a editorial, agreed. Needless to say, you know what has hit the fan over this.
Mr Bouchard might want to follow the average work day of your average tech worker.. I can assure you, us slaves who work in the IT industry put in MORE then our fair share of hours.
But alas, that’s not who he’s referring to. He’s referring to our public sector, say, I dunno, maybe Montreal’s blue collar workers? The Globe and Mail sites as example that our famous Cols Bleus have in their contracts a mandatory 4 day work week and many pauses during the day.
We love to hate our cols bleus and their supposed laziness. Le Journal de Montreal takes great pride in showing our cols bleus goofing off.
But the question really is this: what kind of a life do you want ? Do you buy into the Protestant Work Ethic ? Do you believe that working insane hours during your working years will yield you a better life later on? Or do you, say as many in France do, believe that living well now, that is not working yourself to the bone, is a better way to live? Because this is the heart of the question. We here in Quebec straddle the two. On the one hand we believe that working hard is important, mais pas trop OK?
The more years I work, the more I think that this Ontarian and American idea that we need to slave day in and day out in order to be “productive” is really, all for not. More and more I am inclined to think that a four day work week and a nice long lunch is a better way to be, even if it means living with less in the long run. Why are we here ? Are we here to enjoy life and live with less or to work and consume more ? Because that’s really what it comes down to.
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Here’s the thing, according to this graph, France, with its 4 day work weeks and six weeks paid vacation, is actually more productive than Japan, with its morning corporate anthems and 70 hour work weeks.
So I’d say as long as we’re producing well, let’s take a humane approach to work life.
Of course, I work 55 hours per week and am totally stressed most of the time so I don’t where these slack offices are in Quebec or where I can find one.
I thought what made Quebec distinct was our work to live approach vs. others’ live to work ethic. Anyway, at the time that Lucien Bouchard stepped out of politics, didn’t he cite that one of the reasons was to spend more time with his young sons? What makes his time more precious than that of the average working stiff? I agree that it’s unacceptable to slack off while on the job and work ineffeciently but it is surely taking a step back to encourage more workaholism. It doesn’t take 5 people to fill one pot hole as I witnessed recently, but it’s an insult to the majority of honest people in Quebec who are already working themselves to the point of burn- out. A sweeping generalization is not appreciated. Technology was supposed to give us more free time but people are now always connected to work. I’m guilty of handling work email while home sick or on vacation. Am I not working enough? How much is enough? Every system is already overloaded. Patients can’t get timely treatment, children can’t get the special ed services that they need, the disturbed are not getting the psychiatric help that they need. People are already overworked. Maybe some of the underlying problems should be addressed first. People have to be healthy in order to contribute meaningfully to society.
Having moved here from the states, my impression thus far is that people here have a way better work/life balance. Quebecers don’t appear to ME to be “slackers”, just better adjusted to being human. But my sample set is still pretty limited…
Tech workers in the states are suicidal. The burnout rate is very high.