Friday, May 18, 2007

French workers whine the most but the United States isn't far behind

For those of us who find endless humor in the French, a recent study by the FDS research group that crowned workers in that country as the biggest whiners in the world was just another piece of the puzzle that explains why those folks are so salty.

However, what really caught my eye was that U.S. workers ranked fourth in the study. Fourth? America is one of the most economically blessed countries in the world yet we are ranked fourth in whining?

Now, before you say it, let me beat you to the punch. Studies like these cannot always be taken at face value because it is important to always look at the motives and/or possible biases of those performing the study. I gladly concede that I don’t know anything about the FDS research group and what might have been their reasoning for gathering this data.

Still, the study’s results do make me squirm a little. If a person spends just a little time looking around them, they will quickly know that our society does like to groan and moan about things they do not like. Take it from somebody who has spent years in the customer service industry, I know first hand how folks won’t think twice about pouring out their wrath on you.

I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to believe that the impatience many show in their personal life will also show up in their attitude toward their employer.

Oddly, workers in Thailand ranked toward the bottom on the list of whiners, meaning they don’t whine much at all. Compared to the wealthy United States, that country is quite poor. Given what our materialistic world tells us, the wealthiest should be the most content.

But, then again, I guess it all depends on how you define ‘wealthy.’

No comments: