Judging by films, even renowned chefs in France have a tough time
As RFI reports, the list of the hardest and most labor-intensive professions was compiled based on a detailed sociological survey. The French were asked to rate the attractiveness of each profession, taking into account both positive criteria (public recognition, social support, safety) and negative ones (stress, intensity, work schedule, noise level, etc.). Monetary income as motivation was not taken into account.
The survey results were unexpected. The most popular and widespread professions in France were named the most difficult.
In first place in terms of labor intensity and harsh conditions is the profession of cook. And this despite the popularity and international prestige of French cuisine. The famous French chef, celebrated worldwide in Hollywood films and cartoons, is not to be envied: this profession is known for high stress levels, inconvenient working hours, increased noise and unpleasant odors, and confined spaces.
Second place for "harmfulness" went to workers in the hotel and restaurant business – waiters, head waiters, maids, and even sommeliers. Their working conditions are also characterized by increased noise levels and inconvenient schedules. In addition, representatives of these specialties are "insufficiently autonomous," the ministry considered. In other words, their work often depends on the whims of clients or higher-level staff, which significantly increases stress. France, where tourism is one of the main sectors of the economy and a source of income, should think twice, as almost all professions in the tourism sector made it onto the list of the hardest.
In third place is the job of hospital orderly. More precisely, female orderlies and caregivers, because this specialty is mainly worked by women. "The profession of orderly combines heavy physical, organizational, and psychosocial factors. Work comfort is significantly impaired," the ministry's report says.
Translated from bureaucratic language into ordinary language, this means that orderlies often complain about the heavy work pace, physical and especially moral fatigue, and that their work is not respected. Medical sector workers have repeatedly gone on strike due to harsh working conditions and acute staff shortages. Therefore, it is no secret that working conditions in French hospitals are among the hardest. Incidentally, the profession of nurse also made it onto the list of the hardest, though it ranks ninth.
In fourth place in terms of labor hardship in France, according to the ministry, are traditional crafts such as baker and butcher. Despite the fact that these professions have recently become popular and attract more and more young people, their working conditions cannot be called easy. For example, for customers to have warm croissants for breakfast, the baker must get up at 4 a.m. and serve customers until 8 p.m., while the shop is open.
In fifth place unexpectedly came the profession of bank clerk. Once respected and respectable, calm and clean, this profession has now become one of the most stressful and dangerous. The bank employee is responsible to their superiors not only for financial losses caused by fraud or robbery, but also for the integrity of other clients: France and Europe as a whole are fighting illegal transactions and money laundering, and state financial authorities severely punish banks for non-compliance with legislation. In addition, the development of online services threatens bank clerks with unemployment: employees at the lowest levels of the banking hierarchy are often laid off as redundant. Therefore, the ministry's report lists among the difficulties of the banking profession "numerous ethical conflicts" related to serving clients.
The next steps of the ranking of the most "unpleasant" professions are occupied by locksmiths and road workers, whose work is associated with noise and heavy physical conditions. By the same principle, construction workers, security guards, and metallurgists made the list, but they are at the bottom.
Unexpectedly, eleventh place out of fifteen went to farmers and foresters, whose work takes place outdoors and is often associated in the French mind with calm and tranquility. However, whether you feed cows, plant wheat, cut down or plant trees, the hardship of labor in this area consists of heavy physical exertion and a lack of public recognition of the profession's importance.
One in five French people regularly experiences stress at work. These are the data from the French Ministry of Health. For 30% of working French people, stress is the main reason for changing jobs. And more than 30% of French people say that employers have recently paid less attention to working conditions, which affect not only employee motivation but also their physical health.
So what is the easiest and most pleasant occupation in the world of French labor? A few days after the ministry's report was released, the newspaper Le Parisien published its recommendations. They included university professors, doctors heading departments in large hospitals, information analysts, and, for some reason, speech therapists. But the most unexpected thing is not this. In first place among the easiest professions in the survey is the specialty of sociologist-statistician, that is, the person who conducted this (and, indeed, all other) surveys.