In the past few weeks, I’ve had a few conversations with some humanities PhDs looking to move to France and with some humanities PhDs in the US who have been changing jobs. This has led me to reflect a bit on the differences between the work cultures in the US and France.
Although I never held a full-time job in the US (while PhD students/candidates are paid by the universities where they study, they are not considered employees for tax purposes, which is its own can of worms…), I worked as a contractor in the US throughout my PhD, had internships prior during my undergraduate studies, and given I am American, I have a basic understanding of how it works. However, since I’ve been living and working in France for the past 6 years now, I’m going to structure this based on realities of working in France and let the reader make the comparison for him or herself.
Types of Contracts
In France, there are permanent contracts (CDI — Contrat à durée indéterminée), temporary contracts (CDD — Contrat à durée déterminée) and then you can also freelance with a statut auto-entrepreneur. Personally, I’ve only had CDIs, but I’ve also had and maintained a statut auto-entrepreneur (freelance status) for my consulting work.
For CDI and CDD, there are mandatory trial periods that the employee must pass in order to benefit from increased job security. During the trial period, your “préavis” or notice period is shorter, both for the employee and the employer. What does this mean in practice? Ultimately, both employee and employer have a short period (typically 3-4 months for “statut cadre” or management-level positions, shorter for CDD or lower-level positions) where they are free to end the contract. For instance, if the employer decides the employee isn’t what was expected, the employer can end the contract; likewise, the employee can decide that the company isn’t what was promised and choose to leave without having to stick around for the post-trial period notice period.
Employer/Employee Protections
Once the trial period is passed, the employee and employer are bound by French laws that ultimately protect both parties. For instance, if the employee quits, there is a mandatory notice period, much longer than in the US. It isn’t “two week’s notice,” but the French préavis is often 3 months long. This can be shortened, of course, if the company and employee agree, but ultimately I’ve found that it protects both parties. If an employee is fired, for instance (unless the employee is fired for faute grave or a particularly bad reason), that employee is paid the full 3 months of the préavis, and the company can also allow the employee not to work during that time. On the other hand, if the employee quits, he/she can request to shorten the préavis, but in this case won’t be paid for time not worked.
Since I’m on the topic of ending contracts, I should mention that there is another way to end a French contract without being fired or quitting: a rupture conventionnelle allows employees and employer to come to a mutual agreement to end their association. This often reduces the time until the employee can leave (to a little over a month, depending on how quickly you complete the paperwork) and can come with a bit of extra money if the employee negotiates well.
Employee Benefits
Once again, I’m not particularly well informed about the benefits available to employees in the US. I suspect they vary widely based on the type of company, sector, state, and more. In France, however, benefits are more standardized. For instance, there is a mandatory 5 week minimum for paid time off and many companies will offer more to distinguish themselves and recruit top talent. My first job had 6 weeks of PTO, but with the odd caveat that taking a Friday counted as two days. My second job had a LOT more vacation, about 8 weeks in total, but much of that time was mandated (3 weeks I was required to take in August along with 1 mandatory week between Christmas and NYE).
All companies are also required to reimburse 50% for public transportation so the employees can come to work, and some reimburse up to 100%. Every job I’ve had has reimbursed just 50%, but my husband had a job that even reimbursed 50% of his gas when he drove to the office! Another mandatory benefit is the mutuelle, a private health insurance that complements the public French health insurance. Companies will offer different private insurances, each of which varies. Sometimes, there are even family plans, where it is free or much cheaper to add your spouse and/or children to your plan.
I wouldn’t be able to write this post without mentioning the quintessential French benefit: tickets restaurant. In my opinion, these restaurant vouchers aren’t the huge deal everyone thinks they are. Essentially, both the employee and the employer contribute part of the face value of the vouchers (today, most aren’t literal vouchers — but are dematerialized and function like normal debit cards). My current job is my first time experiencing these vouchers—I pay 4.75 euros per day and the company pays 6.25, for a total of 11 euros per day that I work that I can spend at restaurants or at grocery stores. Other companies don’t offer anything but a break room with a fridge and microwave (like SAE) or have a company restaurant (like ESSEC did, though the food was awful!) where employees benefit from discounted meals.
There are other benefits as well, like life insurance (prévoyance), stock in the company, bonuses based on company performance (intéressement), and more.
Work Culture
While you’ve probably understood by now that I’m a fan of the benefits available with the French system, there are fundamental differences in the work culture between the two countries that I still fail to appreciate. Perhaps it is just my American mindset, but I am a really hard worker and don’t think I will ever understand the way that many employees in France seem to aim for the strict minimum. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, of course (I’ve met plenty of French people who have excellent work ethics), but many of those people have expressed the same frustrations that I have. One of the reasons I left ESSEC, for instance, was that the mentality was just too drastically different from my own, with many colleagues complaining at the slightest change, refusing to work, and letting other colleagues pick up the slack. I’ve found that in younger companies (like Quest) or smaller companies (like SAE), the work ethic is much better as they need results.
That said, there are other aspects of French work culture that I don’t think I’d be able to do without! The long lunch breaks, the relaxed office culture, the fact that no one is expected to work during holidays (and that it’s even illegal for an employer to ask an employee to work), and more!
Conclusion
Overall, this post is just an overview. There are a lot more specificities than what I can cover in 1000 words, but for someone considering making the move to France, this should be a good start! For others who have moved from the US or other company to France, what are some of the major differences you have experienced? I’d love to hear them!