Our first full day in Brest and second day in Paris started off with some housekeeping. Not the literal kind, but rather the we have no luggage, and much less important but still high on the list, our internet logins aren’t working kind of housekeeping. Since I have Verizon, my phone would not have worked in France. So I was without a means of sending a quick text or email to let everyone know I was alive and made it in one piece.
Our savior in Brest got to work on our luggage and internet issues, while we were treated to a breakfast of French champions: croissants. We then were joined by several business professors from IBO, who presented on a variety of subjects in the few minutes we had. We learned about the university at which we’re staying, as well as the history of Brest, an overview of the companies we’re visiting this week, and human resources in France. Since this is a business course, I’ll focus on the three key points I took from the presentations:
They have a 35 hour work week in France, as well as 5 weeks of vacation. Women also get a 12 week paid maternity leave and new dads get 2 weeks. France – 1 US – 0
French managers do not want to have interpersonal relationships with their employees. In this case I have to give the point to the US. Since you spend a significant part of most days at work, having a trusting and friendly relationship with your boss and coworkers leads to happier workers. And we all know happy workers are productive workers. They’re also not hanging themselves in the office in a very public suicide, as has been the case in France. France – 1 US – 1
Another interesting component of the French culture and workforce is that there is very little mobility. The French are incredibly tied to their home and are unwilling to tear up their roots for a bigger and better opportunity. While I can understand ties to home, I’m far more the home is where your heart is type. However, for a lot of Americans, home is wherever there is a bigger paycheck and better opportunities. While we may not get 5 weeks vacation (unless of course you’ve earned it) and 5 fewer working hours, we aren’t frozen in a location because of our roots. Often times a better opportunity means a better life, and few Americans will say no to that. France – 1 US – 2
They have a 35 hour work week in France, as well as 5 weeks of vacation. Women also get a 12 week paid maternity leave and new dads get 2 weeks. France – 1 US – 0
French managers do not want to have interpersonal relationships with their employees. In this case I have to give the point to the US. Since you spend a significant part of most days at work, having a trusting and friendly relationship with your boss and coworkers leads to happier workers. And we all know happy workers are productive workers. They’re also not hanging themselves in the office in a very public suicide, as has been the case in France. France – 1 US – 1
Another interesting component of the French culture and workforce is that there is very little mobility. The French are incredibly tied to their home and are unwilling to tear up their roots for a bigger and better opportunity. While I can understand ties to home, I’m far more the home is where your heart is type. However, for a lot of Americans, home is wherever there is a bigger paycheck and better opportunities. While we may not get 5 weeks vacation (unless of course you’ve earned it) and 5 fewer working hours, we aren’t frozen in a location because of our roots. Often times a better opportunity means a better life, and few Americans will say no to that. France – 1 US – 2
This is obviously a snapshot into the French working life and I’m sure it barely scratches the surface. Yet my initial impression is that I am glad to be working in the US. After all, I’m getting my MBA for a higher lifetime earning potential, not because I loved school so much I wanted to keep spending thousands to learn more.
After the presentations, we were treated to lunch in the business building. I was actually pretty impressed with the overall spread. There were even some carnivores eying my vegetarian plate with envy.
The best part of today? Being able to use the internet. Without it, I would not have discovered that they had located our luggage and it is on its way to us. The relief! I’m definitely not a low maintenance girls and I really want my things that I so carefully packed last Friday night. Aaaaaaaaaaand I finally got to email my boyfriend and let him know I was alive after about 38 hours of no communication.
The second half of our day was critical, since we’re still without our luggage. We were supposed to go to ALGO PLUS, but we rescheduled for Thursday morning so we could head out and shop. So we headed off on foot to buy some clothes and other essentials. Trust me, after this I’ll be packing my carryon very differently. In fact, this would have been a trip I really could have used some light carryon packing.
We split up and the girls headed to H&M, where I got a few essentials to get me through the next day or two. Despite having taken 5 years of French, I was pretty useless in the dressing room when the saleswoman starting talking to me. I’m so surprised no one picks up on the blank stares and looks of bewilderment they’re on the receiving end of.
We made our way back to the dorms and headed to the residence hall for dinner. Thankfully they had vegetarian options, but it was cafeteria style food. Bland and not all that appetizing, but it did the trick for the night. I knew I was going to miss our home cooked meals that are infused with so much flavor, but tonight’s dinner reminded me how good I have it at home.
That’s pretty much all for tonight. Tomorrow we head out for two company visits in Brest and dinner out, which surprisingly we have not done yet.
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