Now that all eyes are on the 2024 Olympics, it’s time we had a chat about work-life balance.
And no, I don’t mean that mythical concept your HR department keeps banging on about while piling more work on your desk.
I’m talking about real, honest-to-goodness, French-style work-life balance.
Oui, you heard me right. French.
Work-life balance, the French way
Despite what Americans want you to believe, the French aren’t lazy; they’re smart. And it’s high time we South Africans took a page out of their book.
Picture this: It’s 8 PM, you’re about to tuck into a lovely braai with family, when ping! There’s your boss, asking for that report… again.
In France, that’s not just rude; it’s illegal. Since 2017, French workers have had the legal right to ignore work-related messages outside office hours.
It’s known as ‘the right to disconnect.’ Imagine that, hey?
Lunch: A verb, not just a noun
Remember lunch breaks? Those fleeting moments when you inhale a sad sandwich at your desk?
Well, in France, lunch is an event.
It can last hours, often involves a glass of wine, and is actually subsidized by employers. No, I’m not joking. It’s called “ticket resto,” and it’s a beautiful thing.
Vacation: Use it or lose it (but seriously, use it)
South Africans, we need to talk about our leave days.
Stop hoarding them like they’re the last rusks in the tin.
The French get five weeks of paid vacation, and they use every. Single. Day.
And guess what? The French economy hasn’t collapsed. In fact, they’re doing pretty well for themselves.
Retirement: More than just a pipe dream
While we’re scraping together pennies for our golden years, only 4.4% of French retirees live below the poverty line. Compare that to 51% in the US.
Why? Because France has a very generous pension system. It has three pillars:
- State penions.
- Compulsory supplementary pension.
- Voluntary private pension.
If you’ve worked for at least 42 years, you qualify for full French state pension, and it allows retirees to draw a maximum of 50% of their annual average earnings. (The laws will be updated by 2035).
The compulsory supplementary pension works on a pay-as-you-go basis. Pension rates are calculated based on points accrued during your working career.
Meanwhile in South Africa…
I want to say: “Maybe it’s time we started thinking less about working until we drop and more about, oh I don’t know, enjoying our lives?”
But that’s not really going work in our South African reality, where most people don’t have the luxury to ‘just enjoy life.’
Here, 18.2 million people live with less than $1.9 / R35 PER DAY. Which is the international absolute poverty threshold defined by the World Bank.
This is according to Statista, based on 2023 data. The same report states: “An individual living in South Africa with less than R1,058 (roughly $55.23) per month was considered poor.”
And we can wax lyrical about just enjoying our lives and not working ourselves to death, but that doesn’t change the fact that our country’s poverty is related to extreme income inequality.
South Africa has the highest income Gini index globally at 63% (as of 2018, based on datasets from 2014). SA is followed by:
- Namibia with 59.1%
- Colombia with 54.8%
- Eswatini with 54.6%
- Hong Kong with 53.9%
And unfortunately, one of the crucial obstacles to combating poverty and inequality is linked to job availability.
What work-life balance, SA?
If we didn’t have income inequality, work wouldn’t be our entire identity. Imagine if we could, like the French, centre our lives around family, friends, and personal interests instead?
Anyway, I digress. And I’m not saying French work culture is perfect. They’ve got their own battles to fight.
But still, 75% of French workers say they’re satisfied with their jobs, compared to 51% of Americans.
In South Africa, 27% said they were fairly satisfied, 29% said they were very satisfied, and 21% completely satisfied, according to this very outdated study.
Food for thought, isn’t it?
Vive la révolution… de travail!
