Oh Lucien, Lucien, Lucien...

I was reading through some French websites over the past couple days and it looks like Lucien Bouchard has ruffled some feathers here in Quebec. If I’ve read it correctly, it seems ol’ Lucien has sounded off about the work week in la Belle Province (and no, not the fast food chain). Bouchard did an interview for TVA during which he said:

«On ne travaille pas assez. On travaille moins que les Ontariens, infiniment moins que les Américains! Il faut qu'on travaille plus.»

Very interesting. While he doesn’t call the Quebecois lazy, it’s still a pretty sharp comment. It shouldn’t surprise anyone, though. Bouchard has always had a Conservative outlook, so it makes sense that he would call out the more socialist mentality of Quebec. Needless to say, the union leaders were unimpressed. According to Sylvie Dugas:

Les chefs syndicaux rappellent que c'est l'ex-premier ministre Bouchard lui-même qui avait amendé la Loi sur les normes du travail pour réduire la semaine de travail de 44 à 40 heures, à la suite du Sommet sur l'économie et l'emploi en 1996.

She goes on to quote François Vaudreuil, President of the Centrale des syndicats démocratiques, who said that working more hours isn’t synonymous with the collective well-being and that this generation is more interested in family values than economics.

Despite the outrage expressed by the union leaders, Bouchard was essentially right. Take my job, for instance. In Ontario, I would likely be working 37.5 hours per week, but here my work week tops out at 33.75 hours. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. So would productivity increase by encouraging a longer work week? I see no reason why it wouldn’t. Sure, there will be the nay-sayers that will cry wolf about the potential for burnout, but I don’t think that it would become some sort of widespread epidemic if people put in a few extra hours per week.

This reminds me of a conversation I had on the way to the airport with a Fraternity brother from New York. He was recounting a discussion he had had with a European business colleague wherein he said (paraphrasing now, of course), “Why are we Americans the top economic power in the world? Because we put in the time and bust our asses for what we want. You don’t get something for nothing in this world. Put in the time and you’ll see the benefits.”

Obviously there’s more to the American success than work ethic, but I thought the comment was interesting. So what do you folks think? Should Quebecois work more? Feel free to discuss it in the comments section. Til next time…