Very well observed. In France, meetings are not about making a decision. They fulfill a social role. They make obvious who the persons in charge are. They publicly reinforce the relationships between the members of the staff. And when the decision has been taken by the top of the hierarchy, no one can complain, because "it's been debated already". But if the decision was not appropriate, the risk is to be ridiculed at the next meeting, subtly of course! Usually, important decisions are taken during the lunch that follows the meeting.
I couldn't agree less, I don't work or live in Paris but where I work we have a meeting once a week where we adress subjects that have been mailed 2 or 3 days earlier. Our boss doens't take any decision and is only here to make a it happen after havind discused it, in quite a "horizontal way". I actually never been to a place where it worked differently, neither have my acquaintances.
Well I lived and worked in Paris for more than 12 years and the only time a reunion didn't work like described by Not Even French and ahoj7720 is when I was working for a company that was from the US and had a branch in France. First time also when I had only 45 to 1h lunch breaks and a dress code. So maybe it's Paris that is different, but I doubt it, my father who worked more than 40 years in many different cities had the same experience as me and as he was a consultant he worked in many many different companies/cities
All that is described in the video is exactly true : french people never decide in meetings. (I am french). Decisions are always taken during small talks or diners. So, if you are foreigner, learn to argue about everything with intelligence, learn to talk about food and wine, remember some personal experiences to relate when eating with colleagues... and you will be successull at work. And especially, always think you can do better than you have already done. They are right when they say that teachers have difficulties to give 20 points marks to children. The maximum score is impossible to reach, because there is always better than you. This video analyses our culture with accuracy.
Thank you! I moved here 6 months ago to worked in the Head Office of a big French company. Previously I worked in an affiliate in my home country. And all you said in the video is so true! Some things like lunch and coffee time are manageable, but all the micromanagement and french-french relationships and promotions are a real ugggghhh....
The thing about people arguing during the meeting and then being friendly immediately afterwards isn't so much about the professional/personal separation than it's about the fact we french enjoy a good passionate debate! You've probably also seen this during dinners among French friends and family, the conversations often turn to passionate arguing/debating which often baffles foreigners who perceive it as agressive/fighting.
Not Even French And the reverse culture shock is pretty problematic for french people in 'consensus' cultures. We can destroy relationships easily when discussing ideas the 'french' way, leaving the other party stunned and personally offended, looking at us like we aggressively slapped them across the face when we were just discussing ideas. And we're like 'why are they such immature overly sensitive pussies'? And when we learn to adjust we really miss having these deep truthful challenging conversations.
Very well explained. Very interesting "outsider" point of view. You pointed out key differences which can help people to understand that things are not compulsorily against them. We are more challenging ideas than people themselves. Nothing personal.
What an intriguing dichotomy. A society / work environment based on human connection, but one in which personal information is so closely held. I suppose that's the essence of a coconut culture. This was another helpful video. Thank you Rosie and Isabelle (apologies if I spelled that wrong.)
Kimberly G. In France, working is hard to find. There is a lot of competition in each sector and people tend to be forced by the nature of things to slip apart the social life and the working life. However it also really depend on what sector your working and how the colleage handle themselves at the workplace
Donna Mendonca As a french who has worked in Germany and Canada, it's very interesting to see that different business cultures all have advantages and downsides that kind of complete each other's. For instance, the french are good at adapting, improvising and taking initiative, but bad at taking orders and executing them as asked. The germans are excellent at being reliable, doing exactly what was requested, but tend to be less flexible and think along the lines of "if I did exacty what I was asked, then it's not my fault if it doesn't work, even if I saw the flaw beforehand". It left me with the feeling that the french business culture is good for coming up with the ideas, the concepts, the decisions, like high level managers and engineers, but the german way is better for applying said decisions, like technicians and lower level management. As for North America, they merge personal life with professional life very heavily, something neither France nor Germany does. NA makes good willing slaves.
I really hate the networking culture in France. Being raised in an Eastern culture I tend to be very focused on my actual tasks and duties but...no, if you don't "ça va?" If you don't shake hands with half of the company, have lunch with everyone, do small talk, so on so forth, you don't stand a chance to integrate or being promoted. So, no country for shy people, after one year here, I'm still struggling to learn how to small talk and coffee breaks...
Hey @costin, I can relate to what you're saying, but I would encourage you to remain the way you are and the way that makes you confortable at work! After living for a while in Northern Europe and coming back to public sector in France, I ran into the same problem. One day one in my new job, I was introduced to the different coffee circles (e.g. the different office where people that appreciate each other gather at 10am and 3pm to have a 15min coffee break). I couldn't stand it, and I started skipping it. I had also taken the habit of eating lunch at my desk, or at unusual hours. In the morning I was saying hi to whoever I was seeing, but I was not entering each office to say "hey, ca va" every morning (as it is expected). As a result, my colleagues admitted later that they thought I was a rather unpleasant person, as if I was too good to lower myself to talk to them. Reality was that it was over my capabilities of small talk, and I was just extremely awkward. It took 8 months - not changing my behavior - to finally put behind me this bad start, to have my colleagues accept my difference, and start getting along with some of them. Of course each work place is different, and some colleagues might make more efforts to understand than others, but I guess what I'm saying is that you can be fine without all the chatty / salut ca va / coffee provided you don't have it look like you 'reject' the people. Habits die hard, but French are still changing. A bit. Slowly.
It really depends on the companies in which you work, France is big, there are micro-cultures that kind of thing. Between Paris, the North and the South the way of being is different.
indeed, and that's why probably I'm seen as being arrogant and so on. I have a bunch of people to whom I discuss daily but I avoid small talk and interaction with most of the people. If all this happens in an open space office, in Paris, it's even worse! Hopefully, I'll cope with it. Ca va? ça va être bien !:))
Costin Nitsoc Ah, as a French and an Asperger, I feel you very much. I experienced this networking system both in France and Canada, and in both cases I just don't like it. It takes a lot of energy I'd rather save for my work. Of course, me being a bit of a loner as a consequence tends to be perceived as arrogance, but I learned to not care. Besides, I'll be my own boss soon, which is nice. This whole workplace craziness isn't for me.
I really appreciate listening to your conversations about France and French culture. I found that a lot of what you were saying along the lines of open debate I found quite intuitive but I couldn’t figure out why as I am American and I know that open debate at work is not promoted or tolerated at all. In fact I was just called into a meeting to address my opinions and I was called aggressive. Fortunately I was able to calmly and logically explain that what may seem like aggression In a woman is simply assertiveness. In this way I was able to make them think that I am capable of calling their complaint against me discrimination. I refused also to sign their memo that they wanted to put in my file. Anyway, I digress. I have been asking myself why it is that I do believe in the benefits and positivity of open debate. And while I have not lived in France yet I have lived in Mexico and I am completely bilingual and have many friends from Mexico and Latin America and have traveled extensively both in Mexico and Latin America for months on end. So I believe it is similar. When I am with my Hispanic friends we are completely free to talk about anything and everything and we can raise our voices and we can have strong strong opinions about everything and nothing but at the end of the day we are still friends and we’re going to stay up all night and dance and drink beer and will be friends forever. So i want To thank you for confirming yet another culture who is reasonable along these lines. It’s like you said in your video, if you don’t discuss things then how will they ever change? If when you hear ridiculous and illogical things being proposed and all you are allowed to do is go quietly into the bathroom stall to roll your eyes, then where is the joie de vie?
Hello Be indulgent with my English ... Your experience is certainly more related to internal meetings. I am French and I work as a consultant for different types of clients (included for the luxury industry). I can say that apart from internal meetings, there are several types of meetings that are more or less structured. 1) Information meetings where most of the time there is only one speaker and which can end with questions / answers 2) Breamstorming meetings where there is often quacophony. 3) Workshop-type meetings where the facilitator guides participants to speak and work 4) Steering Committee, steering, etc ... where you have to be very synthetic, structured with decision-making ... 5) The follow-up meetings with planning, list of tasks, responsability, commitments And many others. In all cases there is at least an agenda. See you soon and thank you for your videos!
The " hum, pas mal but you can do better" is soooo true, my teacher at middle-school and college would say this at like 3/4 of the class me include and that was driving me crazy x)
In France, the words such as "excellent (!)" or " super ! " are rather reserved for the private life (Meal, music, purchases, do-it-yourself, etc.). And still even in a good meal in family or friends, in a restaurant, we can hear(understand) "not bad" or " " c'est pas dégueu(lasse) " ; French remain demanding, to see dissatisfied regular.. ; Myself, French little out of step with my fellow countrymen, sometimes me so expressed me when I was in the restaurant in family.
yes that's so true, "excellent" ou "super" seems to me to much emphatic to be used in the context of work... Only with friends en family, out of work. I think you can never be the best at work, one can always to better. And that's not wanted sometimes. As we often say : "le mieux est l'ennemi du bien". That means, trying to improve too much can result in a worse solution. So a good solution isn't always the better...
I feel like the description you make about your meetings and all are really more related to the field of work you are in than the country you are in. I mean i'm french but i work in a more technical field, with industry, and our meeting are really more about exposing things, like a presentation, or about finding a solution quickly. We don't take as much time to share ideas and talk just for talking. Sorry for my poor english
I’d love it if you could explore the topic of bullying / backstabbing in the workplace, which is rampant in Paris. and the work suicide epidemic here, which gets treated quite flippantly. i’m especially interested in your POV from and HR perspective- thanks!
Good video! I was kind of surprised by your surprise, so you must have hit the nail on the head! I didn't realized that some of the points you talked about were uncommon and unsettling to foreigners... Good job!
debordelful So true ! 😂 most of the times it ends with something like « Yeah well, let's agree to disagree and we will work on that during the next meeting » ! Great video btw ! 😘
Bonjour Rosie et bonjour à Isabel. Une excellente vidéo comme toujours. J'aime cette façon que tu as d'observer les français et leurs habitudes, autant personnelles que professionnelles. Il est vrai que l'on aime débattre et que cela peut paraître parfois assez violent et cela aussi bien dans la vie privé, en famille, autours d'un délicieux repas. Il est vrai que la table est un excellent moyen de faire connaissance, d'échanger et de s'exprimer. Ne change rien à tes vidéos et à ta façon d'être. Et comme tu le dis si bien, "A bientôt".
Hey Rosie you are pretty productive these days! many, many video in a short time to me, in a reverse way, what i discovered and shocked me was the "debate" things in meeting. I thought it was normal and the main goal of a meeting ... just imagine the shock when I end up alone defending my ideas on projects, and be perceived by my boss as a challenger of his authority... on the other side, meeting starting on time (especially in Germany) was a nice surprise! (how many meetings did I start ALONE in France...:( )
yes and no. They are very direct in the way of delivering a message (like straight to the point, in email or when they give you a task...) but as soon as the hierarchy is involved they don't debate (so much) what the boss says.
I didn't want to be so "frontal" with my description of the German system through my experience, but I totally agree with what you said. I also agree with your description of France: I used to say to my friends: France is the less Latin of the latin countries.
Awesome vids, thank you 🙏 I am French by blood but grew up abroad and English is my first language so it’s really cool to get what are obviously true overviews of the culture, spot on! 😍😍
A neat separation between personal life and work can be a very good thing. If at home life is hard, work time can be very refreshing, can give you the necessary time to recover emotionnally doing something totally different , and if at work you're struggling a little bit, it's nice to come home and forget during an evening your problems. If you mix up the 2 lives, you don't have recovery place anymore... Which can be a real problem when life is not so easy during some time...
Never really paid attention but having an outsider perspective explains a lot.. i think we even like watching those "réunions" on TV: The most successful shows in France (ONPC,TPMP,etc.) are often shows with a bunch of people fighting, i mean debating with each other.. On the contrary, shows (popular in anglo-saxons countries) where a host invite only one guest to have a "calm" conversation always have a hard time finding an audiance here in France. You're right for the nepotism. We have our flaws and we know it's a BIG one of ours but we really believe in meritocracy and hopefully it'll soon replace the injustice that is nepotism.
about the french debates : some foreigners friends have noticed that the french radios are more like "talking radios" than "music radios". You could also speak about the french tradition called "bon mot" : to find the good expression in little words to give the opponent the argument he won't be able to discuss anymore. This is a typical french sport ;-). It can be a play on words, a situation, some poetry, a sentence, a proverb, anything the other else.
I worked in 3 different companies in France and It wasn't like you described it. It was an industrial environnement, people with an engineering culture, and it ended with todo-list, planification, product development, providing solution to technical problems, we had to be on time at the meeting, meeting had to finish on time because you had a interview with an engineer from another company, etc. So it seems that it depend not only of the country but also of the nature of the business.
merci encore pour cette super vidéo qui a chaque fois me fais comprendre en quoi je suis français, car bien souvent on ne se rend pas conte de ces petites choses qui nous font tres francais
Hello ! I really love your videos, it's interesting to see a foreigner's point of vue. About this video, I can tell that the boring endless meetings where no decisions are made aren't liked by everyone. We are many to wait for meetings where a boss takes real decisions !
Your videos are so interesting! They make me understand things about my own culture and even myself. The meetings without real purpose and/or outcome is something that bothers French people too, actually. We are implementing solutions to go against our own nature. :) For exemple, in my company, we have a time keeper in every meeting to try to finish on time. Did you know we even have a name for the "disease" of having too many meetings ? We call it "la réunionite". :)
I knew there are French people with your mindset out there! Very cool. It's a matter of respect for another's time and to be prepared. If you want to have a longer chat, just go to dinner or a social event. Duh? Right? lol
Bonjour, tu as aussi le présentéisme très présent en France ! Par exemple, en Allemagne c'est très mal vu de rester tard le soir, d'ailleurs ils préfèrent venir à 8h et finir à 17h. Nous on préfèrera (en tout cas à Paris dans les bureaux) commencer à 9h30 et partir à 18h30-19h pour que quand le patron fait sa tournée, il nous voit encore au bureau. Idem les fameux mails envoyés tard ou le week-end. Pas mal de gens restent au bureau passé 17h30 mais discutent etc, juste pour "se faire voir" ;). Tes vidéos sont toutes extrêmement justes et si les mauvaises langues parlent de clichés, il ne faut pas oublier que cliché ne veut pas dire "mensonge" ! Tu as aussi la culture des congés, on doit tous poser nos congés en été et en hiver. Tu as aussi les statuts : employé VS cadre. Et je ne sais pas si c'est pareil ailleurs, mais tout ce qui est entretien annuel : faire le bilan de l'année, donner ses objectifs etc. Ah et aussi, jamais de la vie on ira voir votre boss et on demandera une augmentation. On attend que ça tombe par magie à chaque 1er janvier :)
Je n'y ai jamais personnellement pris part. Cependant, oui, il n'est pas rare d'être invité périodiquement dans une maison de patron pour un dîner, une fête, une fête, une fête de fin d'année, ou pour célébrer une sorte de réussite d'entreprise.
So... I'm puzzled about part of this. If it is inappropriate to discuss personal life but at the same time crucial to build strong interpersonal relationships, what do you speak about with your colleagues during lunch or other breaks? Work topics only? Thanks Rosie. I really enjoy your videos and hope you continue with a series of your husband's culture shocks in New Zealand!
this is so interesting. It's hard to see our own culture from an outside point of view. It's also really good to see that there are other perspectives in other cultures. I am employed in a public workplace and there is a huge difference between older employees, employees that have a CDI and those who don't. Those who are friends with boss and those who are not. A lot of untold rules that I don't understand and I feel quite unconfortable with, besides the fact that is my own country! For example CDI employees will take many breaks, will arrive late, and you can't say anything because they're friends with the boss who is doing the same things. But us are not allowed to arrive late, take many breaks ect.. and find it quite unjust.
Thank you for your xperience girls : i am a French teacher living and working in Australia and I agree with your culture of excellence a good and bad thing : pushes people to excell but also can make people feel very defeated !! Here in Australia is almost the opposite ......great to here Isabel story from a Germanic perspective !! The French revolution is in the French DNA girls !
I love watching your channel! I’m learning basic French and been wanting to visit France in the future. Your topics make it more interesting to visit the country. It’s nice that a lot of your actual experience is same as that of the examples on the book “The Culture Map” by Erin Meyer. Spot on on most of the examples in the book. Keep sharing your insights! Hello from the Philippines! 🇵🇭
Yep, we do love our private life to be .... private! But I think that for the friendly relationships with coworkers and the knick-knacs and family photos on your desk it must depend on your company and the kind of work you do.... and the company ethic/internal policy as well. It's actually writen black on white in the règlement of my company that you should always strive to be polite, say hello to everybody (handshake, la bise only to people you're friend with actually) and be respectful in any circumstance. And we have our 10am, 2pm and 4pm coffee breaks (yep, we're a R&D department so we need to feed our brains and take the pressure down....) where most of the people of the department will find themselve taking a well deserved pause... and happily hold conversations about anything and everything! If you're between friends you can speak about something that happened in your private life, I think it's more about news subjects and not private subjects when you don't know the people really well.... or when your boss make some wild apparition for coffee for example... Then I'm in engineering, it might be different in l'industrie du luxe...
yes, pas mal= no bad= good, very good. Funny, when i came in USA I used to say "no bad" for good or very good and people will tell me "ok do you think we can do better , I think it is fantastic". so I have to rephrase it. It is very good. American tend to overstate, this is FANTASTIC!! lol. you can get 20/20 in maths
En même temps, une réunion juste pour apporter des info, c'est une perte de temps, un email suffit^^ Si on y va pas pour discuter/débattre, on y va pour quoi?^^ En fait, c'est du brainstorming et il faut laisser décanter tout ça dans nos tête pour prendre les bonnes décisions donc on prend peu de décisions sur le moment. C'est vrai qu'on se dit toujours "on peut toujours faire mieux, tout est perfectible" (ce qui peut être un frein si on est pas très sur de soi ou pas très persévérant mais qui nous pousse aussi à nous améliorer en permanence). On dit souvent que les français ne travaillent pas beaucoup mais je pense que c'est juste qu'on ne travaille pas pareil. Les cadres travaillent beaucoup (ils ne connaissent pas les 35h^^ et c'est "normal" parce qu'ils font beaucoup de choses qui demandent de prendre son temps, plus intellectuels et la réflexion, travailler son réseaux etc ça demande du temps) et pour ceux qui sont aux 35h, il faut être efficace, on doit travailler dur pour tout faire dans un laps de temps réduit (on a pas le temps de discuter des enfants de pierre paul jacques^^).
Encore une vidéo qui a mon avis vise très juste sur des comportements culturellement très français. Bien joué une fois de plus! Je participe dans ma societé ou ça débat beaucoup autour des idées mais pour concrétiser ces idées et avancer, c est plus difficile. Les français sont très intellectuels mais pas très pragmatiques. En ce moment, je suis sur un projet qui a commencé en aout 2017. on s est fixé une fin et mis en pratique du projet pour février 2018. on a fait une réunion en conférence call 1 fois par mois depuis aout. on avait la solution depuis le 1er mois en fait... mais a chaque réunion, on parle on parle.. mais personne ne dit stop pour mettre en pratique et mettre fin au projet. Semaine dernière, on fait un point pour se dire finalement qu on a rien fait depuis 1 mois, on s engueule, on est tous un peu honteux, mais on se dit qu il faut vraiment sortir quelque chose...et donc ? on met en place une réunion dans un mois en se disant, c est la dernière....lol On fait beaucoup de procrastination je trouve.
Have you thought about hosting a Meet-Up? I’m here in Paris studying abroad until May, and I would love to have the chance to meet you and some other Not Even French fans!
Not Even French Again, feel free to make more video about this topic, I am fascinated! In Australia I was so surprised by the fact that you almost have to wear a dress/skirt to work. Unfortunately I've never worked in Germany so I can't make a comparison video about that and steal your idea 😅 I could do Australia vs Switzerland in the workplace though 🤔
Again, i learned a lot of things about my own country^^ I don't work for a big company (i'm a veterinarian nurse) so no meetings, most of my friends are or were colleagues and if i finish late it's beacause of an emergency.
I am american and I’ve had international business classes and have spoken to people and have many friends from my online game days from all of the world that share their corporate structure and I find it interesting that countries like France, and I’ve even heard Italy, are really big about family they have long lunch breaks, meetings are late and they run over and yet they have some of the most long-lasting, high end, respected brands whereas over here in the US everything is extremely regimented. You come to work and you don’t leave your desk until it’s your break or lunch time then you go back to work until it’s time to go home and if you take too many bathroom breaks people start looking at you weird. I find the difference in dynamic extremely interesting because the things from France and Italy are known all over the world, from their cheeses to their wines to fashion and vehicles and so many other things. What is the US known for around the world because I don’t feel like it’s much. I feel like knowing you can step away from your desk for smoke break if you need or that you can sit down and decompressed enjoy your lunch means that when you go back into work you’ll be more refreshed less stressed and able to produce better results.
One thing that struck me big-time when I lived in Paris was how much credkt/attention/respect is given to the "intellectual" class, in many ways. But, I ALSO noticed that the government does not consult these "intellectuals" in their decision making, does not absorb them into the giverment, etc. I contrasted that with the USA, where "intellectuals" are even now slightly looked down upon, the group/work-hard, play-hard/football-cheering/have-a-beer type persona is the one the country more defined by: if you read a lot you have to sort of make a joke about it in this culture. to out people at their ease BUT. The goverment actively seeks out and uses "intelletuals", without talking about it or making a fuss. That paradox struck me big when I lived there - never really did anything with the observation (lol) except continue to observe...
Super interesting video, thanks so much for sharing your perspective on working in France!!! So from what you said, I think the French style of working would be a little hard for me...I really like my meetings to have a set beginning and end and for them to end with a wrap-up or plan for moving forward in the future😁👍
In Mexico we also have family pictures on our desks! And we are totally personal with everyone at work, our colleagues are our friends, the ones we see must often!
We do invite colleagues at home, you just need to be close friend with that colleague for a few years :) Usually we don’t invite people that we don’t know well, so first restaurant or coffee then home!
Merci pour cette vidéo Rosy ! Tu pourrais parler du temps de travail ?... je crois que tu en as déjà un peu parlé d'ailleurs. De mon côté je travaille en théorie 39h par semaine avec environ 10 jours de RTT par an (+5 semaines de cp !). En vérité mes collègues et moi nous faisons tous entre 40 et 45h par semaine sans paiements des heures supplémentaires (depuis que je travaille je n'ai jamais eu d'heure sup payées)... donc les 35h c'est pas aussi facile. Le matin je pars à 7h30 et le soir je rentre à 19h30. Bref on a beaucoup de vacance c'est vrai mais quand on n'est pas en vacance on bosse bien... et puis la vie c'est pas seulement le boulot ! (Tu en as déjà parlé je crois) Biz! A+
It's refreshing as an American living in France to now be in a country that keeps personal and professional life separate. In the US, I was always guarded at work and professional and never got personal with coworkers and NEVER friends on social media. Americans don't understand this. They're all up in your business day one judging and ready to pounce on anything that can be taken out of context and appear to be something that's it not.
Le problème des réunions en France, c'est que les gens ont une logique proche du zéro. Premier point: les horaires Imaginions que tu as une première réunion de 9h30 à 10h30. Une personne de ton service ouvre son calendrier outlook et consulte ton calendrier et vois ça, quand vas il planifier sa prochaine réunion.....de 10h30 à 11h30 ==> mais bien sur, je vais me téléporter de ma première réunion à une autre réunion en 0 sec Perso, lorsque j'organise une réunion, je fait en sorte que les participants soient disponible 15 minutes avant et 15 min après, et surtout, on ne déborde JAMAIS ==> vos collègues ont faim c'est midi, un rendez vous, une activité sportive, peu importe, on respecte les horaires Second point : Les participants qui n'a jamais été dans une réunion sans avoir rien à dire et rien n'appris? On invite pas 36 personnes pour une réunion, une réunion, c'est soit une même équipe/département qui se regroupe, dans ce cas les gens de l'équipe sont ensemble, soit ce sont plusieurs départements qui discutent, dans ce cas, seuls les managers avec un ou deux membres de l'équipe au pire qui participent aux réunions, et ce sont aux managers de faire le pont avec leurs équipes en amont (points à aborder, à éclaircir) et plus tard (bilans et décisions). Troisième point : Une réunion, ça peut aussi se faire à distance appeler ça confcall, lync meeting... Bref tous les systèmes qui permettent de tenir une réunion avec son ordinateur. C'est beaucoup plus confortable, la parole est souvent plus libre, on a un meilleur support visuel avec le partage d'écran et surtout, et ce n'est pas un gros mot, les participants peuvent faire autre chose pendant la réunion, finir de rédiger un email, cloturer un dossier etc... en parallèle de la discussion y'aurait tellement d'autres point à aborder mais ça va m’énerver et je vais commencer à râler et soupirer (pfff)!!!
I think that when we say "pas mal", it's doesn't necessarily mean that you have a lot to improve : it's a set expression used 95% of the time as a litotes. It wouldn't shock anyone to see an athlete get a gold medal at the Olympics, and then hear sombody saying "Hé, pas mal!", sometimes we say "Pas mal du tout" to emphasize. You can also hear people saying "Il fait pas chaud, hein?", when it's -30°C outside, it's the same manner of speech. I heard that translating from French to English can be *really* hard for non-native French speakers, and it didn't surprise me at all. So, kudos to all of you learning French. :D
I think it’s important to mention that this is your experience and point of you, only. I agree with most of what you guys have said, there’s a pattern there, about meetings for instance, although I think it’s exaggerated. Some things are not what I know about the French work place. It’d be too long to detail again everything but it’s important to remind people that this should be taken with a grain of salt. As a side note, it makes me laugh that you think it’s a time flexible culture. Go to South America and you’ll understand what a time flexible culture is. Being 30 to 45 min late is the norme, even an hour can be fine with friends and family. I honestly don’t know how they do. My wife who’s Latina is still having a hard time adjusting to punctuality after 15 years now. At this point she’ll never get used to it LOL. But she has make her own about all other aspect of the French culture. She’s now as French as a French can get LOL.
Hey, I’ve watched almost all of your videos and I really much enjoyed them! I’m really impressed by how nuanced/differentiated your analysis of the French is. What’s the French take on tattoos? Do they value the individuality or are they seen as dubious?
Not Even French thanks for the fast answer! And yes, that makes sense to me haha I would’ve expected the French to be more uptight about it. Glad they’re not! In Germany getting a tattoo is probably the easiest way to completely ruin your career. Integrity and seriousness... what’s the general opinion on tattoos in New Zealand?
At school I had sometime 20/20 in math or physics. A History teacher told me one day that 20 is for god, 19 is for the teacher so student can't expect more than 18/20...
Some of us have a fixed income and a variable income. If you do a very good year and you've went even beyond what was expected, your boss will tell you "Wooo, amazing year, you get 92% of your variable income this year" !!! Never 100%
Yes, but we actually consider math as part of science. And we can also get 20 in foreign languages (when it's not an essay), like in grammar, vocabulary.
PennArgoat A 20 in philosophy is unheard of. Your professor was the exception, not the rule. Even a genius level essay wouldn't have earned more than a 19 in my time. Maybe you're some kind of uber genius.
Well it is correct in the secondary but in the superior giving a 20 is very uncommon in science as well. I never get one in my scolarship and since I am tutoring during my PhD I gave only one, amongs maybe 600 corrected works now... And 4 works get >17/20 (not counting the little works, like 5/5 in a directed work)
Sur la partie où culturellement les personnes ne s’invitent pas chez eux, ce n’est pas français, mais parisien. Les parisiens vivent dans des boîtes à chaussures et vivent par conséquent dehors. Dans le reste de la France, et sûrement aussi dans des entreprises à taille humaine où les relations interpersonnelles sont différentes, les gens s’invitent et à manger ou boire l’apéro, fort heureusement ;-)
Pour le fait de ne pas être invité par un collègue ce genre de truc ça dépend vraiment du caractère des personnes, de la société où tu travailles, de là où tu vis... vers chez moi il arrive que des collègues s'invitent etc... mais après faut que ce soit des anciens, de longues années à travailler au même endroit. Mais il faut avouer que ça se perd.
Thank you for this fun video! I guess I'm a little confused. You mention how there's a strict work/life line and you wouldn't get to know a colleague personally. And yet, the mention of the lunches and breaks and stuff being so important in getting to know a colleague. Is the latter just for getting to know someone on a work level only? I cannot imagine having a work-only focused conversation for an hour+ every day for weeks on end, at some point there's not a lot left to talk about work-wise.
So wait, if you don’t share much about yourself/personal life with your coworkers, but you have to hang out on breaks and lunch with them all the time, what do you talk about..? Politics, the weather ..?
People in France love to debate. So when we're not debating about work, we're generally debating about news, social issues, new technologies... Also, many french people do talk about their personal life with their coworkers, but only those they share a common personal preoccupation with. So it's often people of the same age and the same job level. Also parents. Kids is a top conversation subject between parent coworkers.
C'est tellement vrai le point sur les réunions.... je deteste les réunions à mon boulot. Rien n'est structuré, on n'avance pas, et au final aucune solution n'est trouvée....
Beaucoup de choses intéressantes dans cette vidéo, et des points abordés très vrais (on ne fait jamais assez bien, ça déprime parfois beaucoup mais ça pousse à l'amélioration constante, car les Français aiment pouvoir critiquer, pas que pour descendre ou rabaisser mais pour faire mieux, tout simplement !) Après, l'idée de séparer pro et perso dépend vraiment du milieu qu'on intègre, ma mère est très amie avec ses collègues à l'hôpital, elles se voient hors cadre professionnel, même ceux qui sont partis ailleurs ou à la retraite et elle personnalise son poste de travail avec des photos de famille. Pour ma part, je travaille en crèche et le côté amical est plus facile à aborder, on partage des anecdotes perso et on s'invite après le travail quand on s'entend vraiment bien. Mais je reste d'accord avec vous globalement, on a tendance à prendre le côté pro de manière pragmatique : je viens travailler, me faire des amis reste en option, surtout dans certains milieux.
Pour les réunions, je dirais que cela dépend grandement du domaine où on évolue. Je travaille dans l'informatique et je dirais que dans la plupart des entreprises où j'ai travaillé, les réunions ont toutes un ordre du jour et se terminent souvent avec un planning et des tâches à réaliser très précis (quitte à ce qu'il glisse un peu après) cela permet de maintenir un certain rythme et de ne pas trop glisser dans les délais. Pour les environnements de production c'est encore plus strict, il faut que ça produise coûte que coûte.
I had 20 in all sorts of fields, at school, except philosophy (because it's done bad, honestly, I had good notes though), so it's definitely not impossible... But you'll have to work hard for it ^^ (and I was definitely not the sole to have 20s in my class)
Not really 😓 It was just to point out that having a 20 is hard, especially in Lycée, but is far from being impossible (philosophy excepted). (PS : it's not false modesty ^^) I often heard from my anglo-saxon (partly ! I'm ain't French for nuffin ^^) father that anglo-saxon schools rely heavily on weird noting systems (especially in university, at least in USA) and counter intuitive learning process like doing MCA (QCM in French) instead of actually asking for the student to come up with the solution to a problem (wether it's a math, physic, biology, geology, history or literature problem), is it true though ? Or rather, could I have your opinion on this matter ? (I don't remember a video of you that dealt with this instance, even in Grandes Écoles) Anyway, thanks for your reply :)
Working in France can be very frustrating if you are educated to arrive on time, respect other people's schedules and time, I remember in my work my boss asked me to arrive 30 minutes before just to have these endless meetings that were more monologues, the work environment in france can be very toxic, these discussions of ideas can become real battles When I lived and worked in France I felt supremely tired and stressed, especially listening to these discussions every day, at some point I managed to ignore them and understand them but listening to people shout at each other is also not a pleasant thing to see, I worked in a large advertising company I find in general the French people quite immature need that the personal aspect goes well before being able to work with someone that is a waste of time you do business and if you are successful and responsible, you can open the personal field in France are experts in licking balls and in giving false compliments at some point I found it quite ridiculous. They do not know OR DONT UNDERSTAND that in less time more can be done if it is organized, it was a battle with my employees, they are used to justified their salaries being more time at work but not really being efficient.
My experience about the separation of personal and professional life is very much different. I always stayed in academia, so maybe that is the reason, but I find French colleague and especially supervisors, more open to share their personal life than it is the case in my country (Serbia). People in my country are generally more open and communicative than French but in academia the relations, especially between students and supervisors, are always kept very formal and quite cold. So I was really surprised when my bosses and supervisors shared with me their personal stories from the time when they were young, or when they shared about their family, children, and they were even interested to learn about my personal life and opinions. My former boss even had photos of his children in the office. :D Another surprising thing for me was the fact that in the labs all the people refer to each other with tu and not vous no matter how older or important in that field they are. I was always curious if this is the case everywhere in France at work or just in the labs. Could you share your experience at work, to whom you say tu and to whom vous? How is this working in business world? And I was always wondering, as a native English speaker how do you feel about this two forms (tu and vous) when you are using them? Do you think that Engish should also have two different forms? I am asking this because the lack of formal form (like vous) in English has always been causing an uncomfortable feeling for me because no matter which polite expressions I used in my communication, for me that could not replace vous and I always thought that the person will maybe not get the message that I respect him/her.
I’m confused because my French business partner shared about his child when we first met even though I, as a foreigner, never mentioned my personal life. Does that mean I can share about my family too?
Beaucoup de choses que vous dites dépend de la où vous travaillez. Mes parents ont déjà ramenés des amis du bureau, mon père a une photo de moi sur son bureau au travaille, etc...
As a french, I must confess I don't like that much small talk (unless it's with people I feel friend with !) I hate coffee and I don't smoke. I usually prefer staying inside on the Internet, reading or doing my job instead of going outside and small talk with the other.
Félicitations pour tous ces petites vidéos ,qui reflètent des images sur les français très réelles , c'est excellent et instructif d'entendre des vérités , ceci permet de se corriger , de ne pas se " regarder le nombril " ( ne pas écouter les autres ). Très bonne continuation , j'en profite pour dire à nos amis étrangers " WELCOME "
I always hate the fact that meetings are a success when ideas are discussed. For me, discussing ideas IS part of the meeting, but even though I'm probably a "true french" (in terms of family legacy) I'm more fan of a german-like meeting system: discuss ONE idea, and take at least ONE decision. If too much is discussed without decisions, it's leading to more meetings, more discussions, but still no act. It's really a reflect of how the government takes decisions: hundreds of people discussing a law project, but when a decisions has to be made, it takes months of debates and discussions (sometimes years) and less than 25% of the whole deciders finally vote. I recently stumbled upon an issue like this with the editing studio I work for as an extra job, we had a 3-hour long meeting and 6 of us had to discuss our personal feelings and express what we thought about the upcomnig year (like a "G6" meeting with the heads of the studio :p ), and it took 3 hours only because everyone was repeating stuff that was already said before, the chief coordinator was too exhaustive about some subjects we all knew about already, so it could have been halved by just organizing the meeting correctly and making decisions :)
concernant l'éducation, dans le passe c'etait bcp plus strict et exigeant ! a 14 ans vous aviez le niveau de quelqu'un de 18 ans ou plus aujourd'hui, et il y avait bcp de violence des professeurs.
Whoa, whatever you said was so true but we don't really realise we behave like that, I mean it's normal n natural for us, but you spoke the truth, made me laugh coz i was analysing our own behaviour with an extern person's POV lol
Very nice and interesting video, although (warning: French critique) I think on your last points your opinion is sliiiightly influenced by the company you are working for and the kind of job you are doing (I am guessing big group, French group, very conceptual/competitive job like marketing?). But for sure we like to talk and debate ^^
My father worked in many small companies and he's friends with a lot of ex-collegues and he invites them quite often to have a drink or for a barbecue. Also, a french (friend) might invite you to his home pretty fast compared to other countries like Japan, where you'll mostly always see your friends in town. :)
I don't think so, French like to separate things and don't really mix professional and personnal life. I've worked in multiple companies and we never invited each other, rather we would meet in a bar after work.
Louis Nio Maybe because you didn't 'click'. French invite friends home, not colleagues. A colleague can absolutely become a friend, but he doesn't have to.
I totally agree, I've worked in different companies in Paris, and I've always made friends to the point of inviting one another to our home. Not everyone obviously, but you often become close with a few persons and become like a group and see each other outside of work quite often. Also about the private life / children / etc. I find it quite easy to talk about that with almost all my colleagues, like on lunch breaks or coffee breaks. Other than that you're quite right about everything else ! ;) Anyway I love your videos, so keep going ;)
Salut je dois écrire en français car Google me change mes mots tous le temps ,Brravo pour tes commentaires et merci de nous aimés nous les français et j’espere Que ton petit ami t.epousera d.ailleurs pourquoi ne le t’il déjà pas fait tu trop mignonne et d’une positivité incroyable envers nous . Continue tes vidéos trop sympa dommage que je ne connaisse pas trop ton pays mais il est vrai que vous les anglo-saxons êtes plus positif que nous ,et si t-on petit amis ne te fait pas de demande de mariage je suis sur les rangs Salut un French fan
Can't conversation/Q&A be included in the meeting agenda? The two don't need to be mutually exclusive. I'm American and simply prefer operating with the German business culture. There really is no reason to make a meeting run long. IMO, it shows lack of respect for the other's time. Simply note the questions and schedule a follow up. This really only applies to online or board room meetings. This is why you take clients to dinner and other fun events to have a less formal exchange that both sides can feel out their style and personality :)
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On parle des notation scolaire... en fac de math jai réussi à avoir 5/20 en math et être dans le premier tiers des meilleurs eleve de ma classe en math... ( et jai eu mon année :D)
i would not get on working in France. I would.ask, what is this meeting about. What are we hoping to achieve etc because otherwise i am busy and have better things to do with my time. lol Also lunch is your time, not work time. If I can't chat about life with my ''colleague'then i'd rather be by myself. If seems very opressive and restrictive. I would definitely try to shake things up and i guess they'd fire me. They are sooooo serious!
Les notes en France sont très en débat, et actuellement elles n'ont plus leur rôle de ''pousser à l'excellence''. Elles sont plus vues comme des sanctions 😐
Very well observed. In France, meetings are not about making a decision. They fulfill a social role. They make obvious who the persons in charge are. They publicly reinforce the relationships between the members of the staff. And when the decision has been taken by the top of the hierarchy, no one can complain, because "it's been debated already". But if the decision was not appropriate, the risk is to be ridiculed at the next meeting, subtly of course! Usually, important decisions are taken during the lunch that follows the meeting.
I couldn't agree less, I don't work or live in Paris but where I work we have a meeting once a week where we adress subjects that have been mailed 2 or 3 days earlier. Our boss doens't take any decision and is only here to make a it happen after havind discused it, in quite a "horizontal way". I actually never been to a place where it worked differently, neither have my acquaintances.
Wow I had no idea
ahoj7720 ol
Well I lived and worked in Paris for more than 12 years and the only time a reunion didn't work like described by Not Even French and ahoj7720 is when I was working for a company that was from the US and had a branch in France. First time also when I had only 45 to 1h lunch breaks and a dress code.
So maybe it's Paris that is different, but I doubt it, my father who worked more than 40 years in many different cities had the same experience as me and as he was a consultant he worked in many many different companies/cities
All that is described in the video is exactly true : french people never decide in meetings. (I am french). Decisions are always taken during small talks or diners. So, if you are foreigner, learn to argue about everything with intelligence, learn to talk about food and wine, remember some personal experiences to relate when eating with colleagues... and you will be successull at work. And especially, always think you can do better than you have already done. They are right when they say that teachers have difficulties to give 20 points marks to children. The maximum score is impossible to reach, because there is always better than you. This video analyses our culture with accuracy.
Thank you! I moved here 6 months ago to worked in the Head Office of a big French company. Previously I worked in an affiliate in my home country. And all you said in the video is so true! Some things like lunch and coffee time are manageable, but all the micromanagement and french-french relationships and promotions are a real ugggghhh....
It's always so interesting. All your videos are always so positive, trying to take the best out of two cultures. Great job, I give you 18/20 ;p
We really put the "storm" in "brainstorming".
The thing about people arguing during the meeting and then being friendly immediately afterwards isn't so much about the professional/personal separation than it's about the fact we french enjoy a good passionate debate! You've probably also seen this during dinners among French friends and family, the conversations often turn to passionate arguing/debating which often baffles foreigners who perceive it as agressive/fighting.
Not Even French
And the reverse culture shock is pretty problematic for french people in 'consensus' cultures. We can destroy relationships easily when discussing ideas the 'french' way, leaving the other party stunned and personally offended, looking at us like we aggressively slapped them across the face when we were just discussing ideas. And we're like 'why are they such immature overly sensitive pussies'? And when we learn to adjust we really miss having these deep truthful challenging conversations.
davlmt I’m assuming you’re french, so as a french person are you able to be friends with people with completely different political beliefs to you?
BlueSkies11
Yes absolutely. I have 'far' right and far left friends.
davlmt That’s interesting
BlueSkies11
The most 'political' ones aren't friends to each other though. I don't think one's politics define the person, but unfortunately many do.
Very well explained. Very interesting "outsider" point of view. You pointed out key differences which can help people to understand that things are not compulsorily against them. We are more challenging ideas than people themselves. Nothing personal.
What an intriguing dichotomy. A society / work environment based on human connection, but one in which personal information is so closely held. I suppose that's the essence of a coconut culture. This was another helpful video. Thank you Rosie and Isabelle (apologies if I spelled that wrong.)
Kimberly G.
In France, working is hard to find.
There is a lot of competition in each sector and people tend to be forced by the nature of things to slip apart the social life and the working life.
However it also really depend on what sector your working and how the colleage handle themselves at the workplace
Donna Mendonca As a french who has worked in Germany and Canada, it's very interesting to see that different business cultures all have advantages and downsides that kind of complete each other's. For instance, the french are good at adapting, improvising and taking initiative, but bad at taking orders and executing them as asked. The germans are excellent at being reliable, doing exactly what was requested, but tend to be less flexible and think along the lines of "if I did exacty what I was asked, then it's not my fault if it doesn't work, even if I saw the flaw beforehand". It left me with the feeling that the french business culture is good for coming up with the ideas, the concepts, the decisions, like high level managers and engineers, but the german way is better for applying said decisions, like technicians and lower level management.
As for North America, they merge personal life with professional life very heavily, something neither France nor Germany does. NA makes good willing slaves.
I really hate the networking culture in France. Being raised in an Eastern culture I tend to be very focused on my actual tasks and duties but...no, if you don't "ça va?" If you don't shake hands with half of the company, have lunch with everyone, do small talk, so on so forth, you don't stand a chance to integrate or being promoted. So, no country for shy people, after one year here, I'm still struggling to learn how to small talk and coffee breaks...
Hey @costin, I can relate to what you're saying, but I would encourage you to remain the way you are and the way that makes you confortable at work! After living for a while in Northern Europe and coming back to public sector in France, I ran into the same problem. One day one in my new job, I was introduced to the different coffee circles (e.g. the different office where people that appreciate each other gather at 10am and 3pm to have a 15min coffee break). I couldn't stand it, and I started skipping it. I had also taken the habit of eating lunch at my desk, or at unusual hours. In the morning I was saying hi to whoever I was seeing, but I was not entering each office to say "hey, ca va" every morning (as it is expected).
As a result, my colleagues admitted later that they thought I was a rather unpleasant person, as if I was too good to lower myself to talk to them. Reality was that it was over my capabilities of small talk, and I was just extremely awkward.
It took 8 months - not changing my behavior - to finally put behind me this bad start, to have my colleagues accept my difference, and start getting along with some of them.
Of course each work place is different, and some colleagues might make more efforts to understand than others, but I guess what I'm saying is that you can be fine without all the chatty / salut ca va / coffee provided you don't have it look like you 'reject' the people. Habits die hard, but French are still changing. A bit. Slowly.
It really depends on the companies in which you work, France is big, there are micro-cultures that kind of thing. Between Paris, the North and the South the way of being is different.
iave so true !!
indeed, and that's why probably I'm seen as being arrogant and so on. I have a bunch of people to whom I discuss daily but I avoid small talk and interaction with most of the people.
If all this happens in an open space office, in Paris, it's even worse! Hopefully, I'll cope with it. Ca va? ça va être bien !:))
Costin Nitsoc Ah, as a French and an Asperger, I feel you very much. I experienced this networking system both in France and Canada, and in both cases I just don't like it. It takes a lot of energy I'd rather save for my work. Of course, me being a bit of a loner as a consequence tends to be perceived as arrogance, but I learned to not care. Besides, I'll be my own boss soon, which is nice. This whole workplace craziness isn't for me.
I really appreciate listening to your conversations about France and French culture. I found that a lot of what you were saying along the lines of open debate I found quite intuitive but I couldn’t figure out why as I am American and I know that open debate at work is not promoted or tolerated at all. In fact I was just called into a meeting to address my opinions and I was called aggressive. Fortunately I was able to calmly and logically explain that what may seem like aggression In a woman is simply assertiveness. In this way I was able to make them think that I am capable of calling their complaint against me discrimination. I refused also to sign their memo that they wanted to put in my file.
Anyway, I digress. I have been asking myself why it is that I do believe in the benefits and positivity of open debate. And while I have not lived in France yet I have lived in Mexico and I am completely bilingual and have many friends from Mexico and Latin America and have traveled extensively both in Mexico and Latin America for months on end. So I believe it is similar. When I am with my Hispanic friends we are completely free to talk about anything and everything and we can raise our voices and we can have strong strong opinions about everything and nothing but at the end of the day we are still friends and we’re going to stay up all night and dance and drink beer and will be friends forever.
So i want To thank you for confirming yet another culture who is reasonable along these lines. It’s like you said in your video, if you don’t discuss things then how will they ever change? If when you hear ridiculous and illogical things being proposed and all you are allowed to do is go quietly into the bathroom stall to roll your eyes, then where is the joie de vie?
Hello
Be indulgent with my English ...
Your experience is certainly more related to internal meetings.
I am French and I work as a consultant for different types of clients (included for the luxury industry).
I can say that apart from internal meetings, there are several types of meetings that are more or less structured.
1) Information meetings where most of the time there is only one speaker and which can end with questions / answers
2) Breamstorming meetings where there is often quacophony.
3) Workshop-type meetings where the facilitator guides participants to speak and work
4) Steering Committee, steering, etc ... where you have to be very synthetic, structured with decision-making ...
5) The follow-up meetings with planning, list of tasks, responsability, commitments
And many others.
In all cases there is at least an agenda.
See you soon and thank you for your videos!
That is true !
Time is money !
A+
The " hum, pas mal but you can do better" is soooo true, my teacher at middle-school and college would say this at like 3/4 of the class me include and that was driving me crazy x)
Yes a " c'est bien " if you are lucky, not more x)
In France, the words such as "excellent (!)" or " super ! " are rather reserved for the private life (Meal, music, purchases, do-it-yourself, etc.).
And still even in a good meal in family or friends, in a restaurant, we can hear(understand) "not bad" or " " c'est pas dégueu(lasse) " ; French remain demanding, to see dissatisfied regular.. ; Myself, French little out of step with my fellow countrymen, sometimes me so expressed me when I was in the restaurant in family.
yes that's so true, "excellent" ou "super" seems to me to much emphatic to be used in the context of work... Only with friends en family, out of work. I think you can never be the best at work, one can always to better. And that's not wanted sometimes. As we often say : "le mieux est l'ennemi du bien". That means, trying to improve too much can result in a worse solution. So a good solution isn't always the better...
I feel like the description you make about your meetings and all are really more related to the field of work you are in than the country you are in. I mean i'm french but i work in a more technical field, with industry, and our meeting are really more about exposing things, like a presentation, or about finding a solution quickly. We don't take as much time to share ideas and talk just for talking.
Sorry for my poor english
She said ( once) She worked at LVMH.
I’d love it if you could explore the topic of bullying / backstabbing in the workplace, which is rampant in Paris. and the work suicide epidemic here, which gets treated quite flippantly. i’m especially interested in your POV from and HR perspective- thanks!
One of your most interesting videos, especially the comments regarding meetings and networking.Thanks so much.
Good video! I was kind of surprised by your surprise, so you must have hit the nail on the head! I didn't realized that some of the points you talked about were uncommon and unsettling to foreigners... Good job!
"Et voilà" at the end of the meeting made me laugh so hard ! You're lucky if the meeting sticks by the agenda in the first place.
debordelful So true ! 😂 most of the times it ends with something like « Yeah well, let's agree to disagree and we will work on that during the next meeting » !
Great video btw ! 😘
Bonjour Rosie et bonjour à Isabel. Une excellente vidéo comme toujours. J'aime cette façon que tu as d'observer les français et leurs habitudes, autant personnelles que professionnelles. Il est vrai que l'on aime débattre et que cela peut paraître parfois assez violent et cela aussi bien dans la vie privé, en famille, autours d'un délicieux repas. Il est vrai que la table est un excellent moyen de faire connaissance, d'échanger et de s'exprimer. Ne change rien à tes vidéos et à ta façon d'être.
Et comme tu le dis si bien, "A bientôt".
Hey Rosie
you are pretty productive these days! many, many video in a short time
to me, in a reverse way, what i discovered and shocked me was the "debate" things in meeting. I thought it was normal and the main goal of a meeting ... just imagine the shock when I end up alone defending my ideas on projects, and be perceived by my boss as a challenger of his authority...
on the other side, meeting starting on time (especially in Germany) was a nice surprise! (how many meetings did I start ALONE in France...:( )
yes and no. They are very direct in the way of delivering a message (like straight to the point, in email or when they give you a task...) but as soon as the hierarchy is involved they don't debate (so much) what the boss says.
I didn't want to be so "frontal" with my description of the German system through my experience, but I totally agree with what you said.
I also agree with your description of France: I used to say to my friends: France is the less Latin of the latin countries.
Jin Shanmu My German friends in the uk took a long time to get their head around rhetorical questions haha that’s how blunt they are
Awesome vids, thank you 🙏 I am French by blood but grew up abroad and English is my first language so it’s really cool to get what are obviously true overviews of the culture, spot on! 😍😍
A neat separation between personal life and work can be a very good thing. If at home life is hard, work time can be very refreshing, can give you the necessary time to recover emotionnally doing something totally different , and if at work you're struggling a little bit, it's nice to come home and forget during an evening your problems. If you mix up the 2 lives, you don't have recovery place anymore... Which can be a real problem when life is not so easy during some time...
Never really paid attention but having an outsider perspective explains a lot.. i think we even like watching those "réunions" on TV: The most successful shows in France (ONPC,TPMP,etc.) are often shows with a bunch of people fighting, i mean debating with each other.. On the contrary, shows (popular in anglo-saxons countries) where a host invite only one guest to have a "calm" conversation always have a hard time finding an audiance here in France.
You're right for the nepotism. We have our flaws and we know it's a BIG one of ours but we really believe in meritocracy and hopefully it'll soon replace the injustice that is nepotism.
about the french debates : some foreigners friends have noticed that the french radios are more like "talking radios" than "music radios". You could also speak about the french tradition called "bon mot" : to find the good expression in little words to give the opponent the argument he won't be able to discuss anymore. This is a typical french sport ;-). It can be a play on words, a situation, some poetry, a sentence, a proverb, anything the other else.
I worked in 3 different companies in France and It wasn't like you described it. It was an industrial environnement, people with an engineering culture, and it ended with todo-list, planification, product development, providing solution to technical problems, we had to be on time at the meeting, meeting had to finish on time because you had a interview with an engineer from another company, etc. So it seems that it depend not only of the country but also of the nature of the business.
merci encore pour cette super vidéo qui a chaque fois me fais comprendre en quoi je suis français, car bien souvent on ne se rend pas conte de ces petites choses qui nous font tres francais
Hello ! I really love your videos, it's interesting to see a foreigner's point of vue. About this video, I can tell that the boring endless meetings where no decisions are made aren't liked by everyone. We are many to wait for meetings where a boss takes real decisions !
Your videos are so interesting! They make me understand things about my own culture and even myself.
The meetings without real purpose and/or outcome is something that bothers French people too, actually. We are implementing solutions to go against our own nature. :) For exemple, in my company, we have a time keeper in every meeting to try to finish on time.
Did you know we even have a name for the "disease" of having too many meetings ? We call it "la réunionite". :)
You don't know the pain when I get homework on French business etiquettes and don't get how to know your culture
I knew there are French people with your mindset out there! Very cool. It's a matter of respect for another's time and to be prepared. If you want to have a longer chat, just go to dinner or a social event. Duh? Right? lol
Bonjour, tu as aussi le présentéisme très présent en France ! Par exemple, en Allemagne c'est très mal vu de rester tard le soir, d'ailleurs ils préfèrent venir à 8h et finir à 17h. Nous on préfèrera (en tout cas à Paris dans les bureaux) commencer à 9h30 et partir à 18h30-19h pour que quand le patron fait sa tournée, il nous voit encore au bureau. Idem les fameux mails envoyés tard ou le week-end. Pas mal de gens restent au bureau passé 17h30 mais discutent etc, juste pour "se faire voir" ;). Tes vidéos sont toutes extrêmement justes et si les mauvaises langues parlent de clichés, il ne faut pas oublier que cliché ne veut pas dire "mensonge" !
Tu as aussi la culture des congés, on doit tous poser nos congés en été et en hiver. Tu as aussi les statuts : employé VS cadre. Et je ne sais pas si c'est pareil ailleurs, mais tout ce qui est entretien annuel : faire le bilan de l'année, donner ses objectifs etc. Ah et aussi, jamais de la vie on ira voir votre boss et on demandera une augmentation. On attend que ça tombe par magie à chaque 1er janvier :)
I don't usually watch these kinds of videos but you're way too cute and well informed for me to pass on these.
c'es vrai que ça ne m viendrai jamais à l'esprit d'inviter des collègues chez moi. ça m'a beaucoup étonné quand tu l'as dit
Je n'y ai jamais personnellement pris part. Cependant, oui, il n'est pas rare d'être invité périodiquement dans une maison de patron pour un dîner, une fête, une fête, une fête de fin d'année, ou pour célébrer une sorte de réussite d'entreprise.
So... I'm puzzled about part of this. If it is inappropriate to discuss personal life but at the same time crucial to build strong interpersonal relationships, what do you speak about with your colleagues during lunch or other breaks? Work topics only? Thanks Rosie. I really enjoy your videos and hope you continue with a series of your husband's culture shocks in New Zealand!
this is so interesting. It's hard to see our own culture from an outside point of view. It's also really good to see that there are other perspectives in other cultures. I am employed in a public workplace and there is a huge difference between older employees, employees that have a CDI and those who don't. Those who are friends with boss and those who are not. A lot of untold rules that I don't understand and I feel quite unconfortable with, besides the fact that is my own country! For example CDI employees will take many breaks, will arrive late, and you can't say anything because they're friends with the boss who is doing the same things. But us are not allowed to arrive late, take many breaks ect.. and find it quite unjust.
Thank you for your xperience girls : i am a French teacher living and working in Australia and I agree with your culture of excellence a good and bad thing : pushes people to excell but also can make people feel very defeated !! Here in Australia is almost the opposite ......great to here Isabel story from a Germanic perspective !! The French revolution is in the French DNA girls !
I love watching your channel! I’m learning basic French and been wanting to visit France in the future. Your topics make it more interesting to visit the country. It’s nice that a lot of your actual experience is same as that of the examples on the book “The Culture Map” by Erin Meyer. Spot on on most of the examples in the book. Keep sharing your insights! Hello from the Philippines! 🇵🇭
Thanks for sharing! You were both very interesting and brought up good points. :)
Yep, we do love our private life to be .... private!
But I think that for the friendly relationships with coworkers and the knick-knacs and family photos on your desk it must depend on your company and the kind of work you do.... and the company ethic/internal policy as well.
It's actually writen black on white in the règlement of my company that you should always strive to be polite, say hello to everybody (handshake, la bise only to people you're friend with actually) and be respectful in any circumstance.
And we have our 10am, 2pm and 4pm coffee breaks (yep, we're a R&D department so we need to feed our brains and take the pressure down....) where most of the people of the department will find themselve taking a well deserved pause... and happily hold conversations about anything and everything! If you're between friends you can speak about something that happened in your private life, I think it's more about news subjects and not private subjects when you don't know the people really well.... or when your boss make some wild apparition for coffee for example...
Then I'm in engineering, it might be different in l'industrie du luxe...
yes, pas mal= no bad= good, very good. Funny, when i came in USA I used to say "no bad" for good or very good and people will tell me "ok do you think we can do better , I think it is fantastic". so I have to rephrase it. It is very good. American tend to overstate, this is FANTASTIC!! lol. you can get 20/20 in maths
En même temps, une réunion juste pour apporter des info, c'est une perte de temps, un email suffit^^ Si on y va pas pour discuter/débattre, on y va pour quoi?^^ En fait, c'est du brainstorming et il faut laisser décanter tout ça dans nos tête pour prendre les bonnes décisions donc on prend peu de décisions sur le moment. C'est vrai qu'on se dit toujours "on peut toujours faire mieux, tout est perfectible" (ce qui peut être un frein si on est pas très sur de soi ou pas très persévérant mais qui nous pousse aussi à nous améliorer en permanence). On dit souvent que les français ne travaillent pas beaucoup mais je pense que c'est juste qu'on ne travaille pas pareil. Les cadres travaillent beaucoup (ils ne connaissent pas les 35h^^ et c'est "normal" parce qu'ils font beaucoup de choses qui demandent de prendre son temps, plus intellectuels et la réflexion, travailler son réseaux etc ça demande du temps) et pour ceux qui sont aux 35h, il faut être efficace, on doit travailler dur pour tout faire dans un laps de temps réduit (on a pas le temps de discuter des enfants de pierre paul jacques^^).
Encore une vidéo qui a mon avis vise très juste sur des comportements culturellement très français. Bien joué une fois de plus! Je participe dans ma societé ou ça débat beaucoup autour des idées mais pour concrétiser ces idées et avancer, c est plus difficile. Les français sont très intellectuels mais pas très pragmatiques. En ce moment, je suis sur un projet qui a commencé en aout 2017. on s est fixé une fin et mis en pratique du projet pour février 2018. on a fait une réunion en conférence call 1 fois par mois depuis aout. on avait la solution depuis le 1er mois en fait... mais a chaque réunion, on parle on parle.. mais personne ne dit stop pour mettre en pratique et mettre fin au projet. Semaine dernière, on fait un point pour se dire finalement qu on a rien fait depuis 1 mois, on s engueule, on est tous un peu honteux, mais on se dit qu il faut vraiment sortir quelque chose...et donc ? on met en place une réunion dans un mois en se disant, c est la dernière....lol On fait beaucoup de procrastination je trouve.
Have you thought about hosting a Meet-Up? I’m here in Paris studying abroad until May, and I would love to have the chance to meet you and some other Not Even French fans!
Definitely learned a lot in this video. Had no idea working in France is so different
+Danica Christin Same here!! I had no idea about these differences and found it really interesting to learn about them😊
Not Even French Again, feel free to make more video about this topic, I am fascinated! In Australia I was so surprised by the fact that you almost have to wear a dress/skirt to work. Unfortunately I've never worked in Germany so I can't make a comparison video about that and steal your idea 😅 I could do Australia vs Switzerland in the workplace though 🤔
come on go work in japan or Asia in general and you will see what "different" means. i don't think our occidental countries are that different.
Antoine I'm currently working in Africa and I have previously worked in Asia. It's a whole different world there 😅
yeah that's what i said ^^ English coutries and France, Spain etc are pretty close compared to Asia, Africa
Again, i learned a lot of things about my own country^^ I don't work for a big company (i'm a veterinarian nurse) so no meetings, most of my friends are or were colleagues and if i finish late it's beacause of an emergency.
Very interessting video as usual. The fun fact was that Isabel sounds like a french girl :D
Great video. Looking for part two. I love how you mean well when describing things. Please continue!
Could you do a part 2 please !! I find it very interessting !!
I am american and I’ve had international business classes and have spoken to people and have many friends from my online game days from all of the world that share their corporate structure and I find it interesting that countries like France, and I’ve even heard Italy, are really big about family they have long lunch breaks, meetings are late and they run over and yet they have some of the most long-lasting, high end, respected brands whereas over here in the US everything is extremely regimented. You come to work and you don’t leave your desk until it’s your break or lunch time then you go back to work until it’s time to go home and if you take too many bathroom breaks people start looking at you weird. I find the difference in dynamic extremely interesting because the things from France and Italy are known all over the world, from their cheeses to their wines to fashion and vehicles and so many other things. What is the US known for around the world because I don’t feel like it’s much.
I feel like knowing you can step away from your desk for smoke break if you need or that you can sit down and decompressed enjoy your lunch means that when you go back into work you’ll be more refreshed less stressed and able to produce better results.
One thing that struck me big-time when I lived in Paris was how much credkt/attention/respect is given to the "intellectual" class, in many ways. But, I ALSO noticed that the government does not consult these "intellectuals" in their decision making, does not absorb them into the giverment, etc.
I contrasted that with the USA, where "intellectuals" are even now slightly looked down upon, the group/work-hard, play-hard/football-cheering/have-a-beer type persona is the one the country more defined by: if you read a lot you have to sort of make a joke about it in this culture. to out people at their ease
BUT. The goverment actively seeks out and uses "intelletuals", without talking about it or making a fuss.
That paradox struck me big when I lived there - never really did anything with the observation (lol) except continue to observe...
More videos like this, plz and thank you!
Rosie, great video! Can you do somo more related videos with job? Perhaps differences in interviews or proper wardrobe to go to work?
Super positif comme vidéo j’ai adoré !
Super interesting video, thanks so much for sharing your perspective on working in France!!! So from what you said, I think the French style of working would be a little hard for me...I really like my meetings to have a set beginning and end and for them to end with a wrap-up or plan for moving forward in the future😁👍
In Mexico we also have family pictures on our desks! And we are totally personal with everyone at work, our colleagues are our friends, the ones we see must often!
We do invite colleagues at home, you just need to be close friend with that colleague for a few years :) Usually we don’t invite people that we don’t know well, so first restaurant or coffee then home!
inviting people at home is so private... i won't do this except with real friends. It takes time to be real friends, even if you are close co-worker.
Bien vu vos dernières observations sur l'importance du réseau au travail au détriment du mérite. Cela en est déprimant.
Merci pour cette vidéo Rosy ! Tu pourrais parler du temps de travail ?... je crois que tu en as déjà un peu parlé d'ailleurs. De mon côté je travaille en théorie 39h par semaine avec environ 10 jours de RTT par an (+5 semaines de cp !). En vérité mes collègues et moi nous faisons tous entre 40 et 45h par semaine sans paiements des heures supplémentaires (depuis que je travaille je n'ai jamais eu d'heure sup payées)... donc les 35h c'est pas aussi facile. Le matin je pars à 7h30 et le soir je rentre à 19h30. Bref on a beaucoup de vacance c'est vrai mais quand on n'est pas en vacance on bosse bien... et puis la vie c'est pas seulement le boulot ! (Tu en as déjà parlé je crois) Biz! A+
It's refreshing as an American living in France to now be in a country that keeps personal and professional life separate. In the US, I was always guarded at work and professional and never got personal with coworkers and NEVER friends on social media. Americans don't understand this. They're all up in your business day one judging and ready to pounce on anything that can be taken out of context and appear to be something that's it not.
Le problème des réunions en France, c'est que les gens ont une logique proche du zéro.
Premier point: les horaires
Imaginions que tu as une première réunion de 9h30 à 10h30. Une personne de ton service ouvre son calendrier outlook et consulte ton calendrier et vois ça, quand vas il planifier sa prochaine réunion.....de 10h30 à 11h30 ==> mais bien sur, je vais me téléporter de ma première réunion à une autre réunion en 0 sec
Perso, lorsque j'organise une réunion, je fait en sorte que les participants soient disponible 15 minutes avant et 15 min après, et surtout, on ne déborde JAMAIS ==> vos collègues ont faim c'est midi, un rendez vous, une activité sportive, peu importe, on respecte les horaires
Second point : Les participants
qui n'a jamais été dans une réunion sans avoir rien à dire et rien n'appris? On invite pas 36 personnes pour une réunion, une réunion, c'est soit une même équipe/département qui se regroupe, dans ce cas les gens de l'équipe sont ensemble, soit ce sont plusieurs départements qui discutent, dans ce cas, seuls les managers avec un ou deux membres de l'équipe au pire qui participent aux réunions, et ce sont aux managers de faire le pont avec leurs équipes en amont (points à aborder, à éclaircir) et plus tard (bilans et décisions).
Troisième point : Une réunion, ça peut aussi se faire à distance
appeler ça confcall, lync meeting... Bref tous les systèmes qui permettent de tenir une réunion avec son ordinateur. C'est beaucoup plus confortable, la parole est souvent plus libre, on a un meilleur support visuel avec le partage d'écran et surtout, et ce n'est pas un gros mot, les participants peuvent faire autre chose pendant la réunion, finir de rédiger un email, cloturer un dossier etc... en parallèle de la discussion
y'aurait tellement d'autres point à aborder mais ça va m’énerver et je vais commencer à râler et soupirer (pfff)!!!
Pas mal ,j aime bien!
Love it, keep going !!1
Merci, Rosie¡¡ toujours adorable vos vídeos et votre personne et vos invités.
" Pas mal " est une expression française synonyme de qualité
I think that when we say "pas mal", it's doesn't necessarily mean that you have a lot to improve : it's a set expression used 95% of the time as a litotes.
It wouldn't shock anyone to see an athlete get a gold medal at the Olympics, and then hear sombody saying "Hé, pas mal!", sometimes we say "Pas mal du tout" to emphasize. You can also hear people saying "Il fait pas chaud, hein?", when it's -30°C outside, it's the same manner of speech.
I heard that translating from French to English can be *really* hard for non-native French speakers, and it didn't surprise me at all. So, kudos to all of you learning French. :D
very interesting video. i ll keep watching
I think it’s important to mention that this is your experience and point of you, only. I agree with most of what you guys have said, there’s a pattern there, about meetings for instance, although I think it’s exaggerated. Some things are not what I know about the French work place. It’d be too long to detail again everything but it’s important to remind people that this should be taken with a grain of salt.
As a side note, it makes me laugh that you think it’s a time flexible culture. Go to South America and you’ll understand what a time flexible culture is. Being 30 to 45 min late is the norme, even an hour can be fine with friends and family. I honestly don’t know how they do. My wife who’s Latina is still having a hard time adjusting to punctuality after 15 years now. At this point she’ll never get used to it LOL. But she has make her own about all other aspect of the French culture. She’s now as French as a French can get LOL.
Hey, I’ve watched almost all of your videos and I really much enjoyed them! I’m really impressed by how nuanced/differentiated your analysis of the French is. What’s the French take on tattoos? Do they value the individuality or are they seen as dubious?
Not Even French thanks for the fast answer! And yes, that makes sense to me haha I would’ve expected the French to be more uptight about it. Glad they’re not! In Germany getting a tattoo is probably the easiest way to completely ruin your career. Integrity and seriousness... what’s the general opinion on tattoos in New Zealand?
At school I had sometime 20/20 in math or physics. A History teacher told me one day that 20 is for god, 19 is for the teacher so student can't expect more than 18/20...
Some of us have a fixed income and a variable income. If you do a very good year and you've went even beyond what was expected, your boss will tell you "Wooo, amazing year, you get 92% of your variable income this year" !!! Never 100%
Hey hey :) Are you hiring right now ?
4:20 only in science you can get 20/20 because if you are correct there can be no debate
SirRubis yea the worst is philosophie and french 😁 when you have 15/20 it s the best day of your life 😂
Yes, but we actually consider math as part of science.
And we can also get 20 in foreign languages (when it's not an essay), like in grammar, vocabulary.
PennArgoat
A 20 in philosophy is unheard of. Your professor was the exception, not the rule. Even a genius level essay wouldn't have earned more than a 19 in my time. Maybe you're some kind of uber genius.
PennArgoat
Different times then. Would never ever have happened in my time (I'm 39). Even Spinoza would never have got a 20 rated essay.
Well it is correct in the secondary but in the superior giving a 20 is very uncommon in science as well. I never get one in my scolarship and since I am tutoring during my PhD I gave only one, amongs maybe 600 corrected works now... And 4 works get >17/20 (not counting the little works, like 5/5 in a directed work)
Sur la partie où culturellement les personnes ne s’invitent pas chez eux, ce n’est pas français, mais parisien. Les parisiens vivent dans des boîtes à chaussures et vivent par conséquent dehors. Dans le reste de la France, et sûrement aussi dans des entreprises à taille humaine où les relations interpersonnelles sont différentes, les gens s’invitent et à manger ou boire l’apéro, fort heureusement ;-)
Pour le fait de ne pas être invité par un collègue ce genre de truc ça dépend vraiment du caractère des personnes, de la société où tu travailles, de là où tu vis... vers chez moi il arrive que des collègues s'invitent etc... mais après faut que ce soit des anciens, de longues années à travailler au même endroit. Mais il faut avouer que ça se perd.
Ben après si on fait trop copain copain avec ses collègues si un jour on se disputent , au travail cela va devenir gênant
Thank you for this fun video! I guess I'm a little confused. You mention how there's a strict work/life line and you wouldn't get to know a colleague personally. And yet, the mention of the lunches and breaks and stuff being so important in getting to know a colleague. Is the latter just for getting to know someone on a work level only? I cannot imagine having a work-only focused conversation for an hour+ every day for weeks on end, at some point there's not a lot left to talk about work-wise.
I was just wondering about that as well! :)
my closest co worker (some drunk karaoke stories) doesn't even know how many kids i have ^^
So wait, if you don’t share much about yourself/personal life with your coworkers, but you have to hang out on breaks and lunch with them all the time, what do you talk about..? Politics, the weather ..?
gossip time
People in France love to debate. So when we're not debating about work, we're generally debating about news, social issues, new technologies...
Also, many french people do talk about their personal life with their coworkers, but only those they share a common personal preoccupation with. So it's often people of the same age and the same job level. Also parents. Kids is a top conversation subject between parent coworkers.
Agree with all these points 😁
C'est tellement vrai le point sur les réunions.... je deteste les réunions à mon boulot. Rien n'est structuré, on n'avance pas, et au final aucune solution n'est trouvée....
Beaucoup de choses intéressantes dans cette vidéo, et des points abordés très vrais (on ne fait jamais assez bien, ça déprime parfois beaucoup mais ça pousse à l'amélioration constante, car les Français aiment pouvoir critiquer, pas que pour descendre ou rabaisser mais pour faire mieux, tout simplement !) Après, l'idée de séparer pro et perso dépend vraiment du milieu qu'on intègre, ma mère est très amie avec ses collègues à l'hôpital, elles se voient hors cadre professionnel, même ceux qui sont partis ailleurs ou à la retraite et elle personnalise son poste de travail avec des photos de famille. Pour ma part, je travaille en crèche et le côté amical est plus facile à aborder, on partage des anecdotes perso et on s'invite après le travail quand on s'entend vraiment bien. Mais je reste d'accord avec vous globalement, on a tendance à prendre le côté pro de manière pragmatique : je viens travailler, me faire des amis reste en option, surtout dans certains milieux.
Pour les réunions, je dirais que cela dépend grandement du domaine où on évolue. Je travaille dans l'informatique et je dirais que dans la plupart des entreprises où j'ai travaillé, les réunions ont toutes un ordre du jour et se terminent souvent avec un planning et des tâches à réaliser très précis (quitte à ce qu'il glisse un peu après) cela permet de maintenir un certain rythme et de ne pas trop glisser dans les délais. Pour les environnements de production c'est encore plus strict, il faut que ça produise coûte que coûte.
I had 20 in all sorts of fields, at school, except philosophy (because it's done bad, honestly, I had good notes though), so it's definitely not impossible... But you'll have to work hard for it ^^
(and I was definitely not the sole to have 20s in my class)
Not really 😓
It was just to point out that having a 20 is hard, especially in Lycée, but is far from being impossible (philosophy excepted).
(PS : it's not false modesty ^^)
I often heard from my anglo-saxon (partly ! I'm ain't French for nuffin ^^) father that anglo-saxon schools rely heavily on weird noting systems (especially in university, at least in USA) and counter intuitive learning process like doing MCA (QCM in French) instead of actually asking for the student to come up with the solution to a problem (wether it's a math, physic, biology, geology, history or literature problem), is it true though ? Or rather, could I have your opinion on this matter ? (I don't remember a video of you that dealt with this instance, even in Grandes Écoles)
Anyway, thanks for your reply :)
Du coup la Suisse c'est parfait, vu que c'est un peu un mélange entre l'échange mais avec un fil conducteur quant-même.
Working in France can be very frustrating if you are educated to arrive on time, respect other people's schedules and time, I remember in my work my boss asked me to arrive 30 minutes before
just to have these endless meetings that were more monologues, the work environment in france can be very toxic, these discussions of ideas can become real battles
When I lived and worked in France I felt supremely tired and stressed, especially listening to these discussions every day,
at some point I managed to ignore them and understand them but listening to people shout at each other is also not a pleasant thing to see, I worked in a large advertising company I find in general the French people quite immature need that the personal aspect goes well before being able to work with someone
that is a waste of time you do business and if you are successful and responsible, you can open the personal field in France are experts in licking balls and in giving false compliments at some point I found it quite ridiculous.
They do not know OR DONT UNDERSTAND that in less time more can be done if it is organized, it was a battle with my employees, they are used to justified their salaries being more time at work but not really being efficient.
I love the collaboration videos
My experience about the separation of personal and professional life is very much different. I always stayed in academia, so maybe that is the reason, but I find French colleague and especially supervisors, more open to share their personal life than it is the case in my country (Serbia). People in my country are generally more open and communicative than French but in academia the relations, especially between students and supervisors, are always kept very formal and quite cold. So I was really surprised when my bosses and supervisors shared with me their personal stories from the time when they were young, or when they shared about their family, children, and they were even interested to learn about my personal life and opinions. My former boss even had photos of his children in the office. :D
Another surprising thing for me was the fact that in the labs all the people refer to each other with tu and not vous no matter how older or important in that field they are. I was always curious if this is the case everywhere in France at work or just in the labs. Could you share your experience at work, to whom you say tu and to whom vous? How is this working in business world? And I was always wondering, as a native English speaker how do you feel about this two forms (tu and vous) when you are using them? Do you think that Engish should also have two different forms? I am asking this because the lack of formal form (like vous) in English has always been causing an uncomfortable feeling for me because no matter which polite expressions I used in my communication, for me that could not replace vous and I always thought that the person will maybe not get the message that I respect him/her.
Try to have a great LinkedIn profil if you want to improve your networking, this is very important for business jobs
I’m confused because my French business partner shared about his child when we first met even though I, as a foreigner, never mentioned my personal life. Does that mean I can share about my family too?
Beaucoup de choses que vous dites dépend de la où vous travaillez. Mes parents ont déjà ramenés des amis du bureau, mon père a une photo de moi sur son bureau au travaille, etc...
As a french, I must confess I don't like that much small talk (unless it's with people I feel friend with !) I hate coffee and I don't smoke. I usually prefer staying inside on the Internet, reading or doing my job instead of going outside and small talk with the other.
Félicitations pour tous ces petites vidéos ,qui reflètent des images sur les français très réelles , c'est excellent et instructif d'entendre des vérités , ceci permet de se corriger , de ne pas se " regarder le nombril " ( ne pas écouter les autres ). Très bonne continuation , j'en profite pour dire à nos amis étrangers " WELCOME "
Anyone know how to actually get the French to work? I cant find a way to get my team motivated! constant sand bagging
I always hate the fact that meetings are a success when ideas are discussed. For me, discussing ideas IS part of the meeting, but even though I'm probably a "true french" (in terms of family legacy) I'm more fan of a german-like meeting system: discuss ONE idea, and take at least ONE decision. If too much is discussed without decisions, it's leading to more meetings, more discussions, but still no act. It's really a reflect of how the government takes decisions: hundreds of people discussing a law project, but when a decisions has to be made, it takes months of debates and discussions (sometimes years) and less than 25% of the whole deciders finally vote.
I recently stumbled upon an issue like this with the editing studio I work for as an extra job, we had a 3-hour long meeting and 6 of us had to discuss our personal feelings and express what we thought about the upcomnig year (like a "G6" meeting with the heads of the studio :p ), and it took 3 hours only because everyone was repeating stuff that was already said before, the chief coordinator was too exhaustive about some subjects we all knew about already, so it could have been halved by just organizing the meeting correctly and making decisions :)
concernant l'éducation, dans le passe c'etait bcp plus strict et exigeant ! a 14 ans vous aviez le niveau de quelqu'un de 18 ans ou plus aujourd'hui, et il y avait bcp de violence des professeurs.
Au collège on a des 20 ! 😊
yessssssssssssssssssssssssss for part 2
Whoa, whatever you said was so true but we don't really realise we behave like that, I mean it's normal n natural for us, but you spoke the truth, made me laugh coz i was analysing our own behaviour with an extern person's POV lol
Brilliant
Very nice and interesting video, although (warning: French critique) I think on your last points your opinion is sliiiightly influenced by the company you are working for and the kind of job you are doing (I am guessing big group, French group, very conceptual/competitive job like marketing?). But for sure we like to talk and debate ^^
My father worked in many small companies and he's friends with a lot of ex-collegues and he invites them quite often to have a drink or for a barbecue. Also, a french (friend) might invite you to his home pretty fast compared to other countries like Japan, where you'll mostly always see your friends in town. :)
I don't think so, French like to separate things and don't really mix professional and personnal life. I've worked in multiple companies and we never invited each other, rather we would meet in a bar after work.
Louis Nio
Maybe because you didn't 'click'. French invite friends home, not colleagues. A colleague can absolutely become a friend, but he doesn't have to.
We clicked rather well actually, but not up to the point of becoming more than colleagues
I totally agree, I've worked in different companies in Paris, and I've always made friends to the point of inviting one another to our home. Not everyone obviously, but you often become close with a few persons and become like a group and see each other outside of work quite often.
Also about the private life / children / etc. I find it quite easy to talk about that with almost all my colleagues, like on lunch breaks or coffee breaks.
Other than that you're quite right about everything else ! ;) Anyway I love your videos, so keep going ;)
Salut je dois écrire en français car Google me change mes mots tous le temps ,Brravo pour tes commentaires et merci de nous aimés nous les français et j’espere Que ton petit ami t.epousera d.ailleurs pourquoi ne le t’il déjà pas fait tu trop mignonne et d’une positivité incroyable envers nous .
Continue tes vidéos trop sympa dommage que je ne connaisse pas trop ton pays mais il est vrai que vous les anglo-saxons êtes plus positif que nous ,et si t-on petit amis ne te fait pas de demande de mariage je suis sur les rangs
Salut un French fan
Can't conversation/Q&A be included in the meeting agenda? The two don't need to be mutually exclusive. I'm American and simply prefer operating with the German business culture. There really is no reason to make a meeting run long. IMO, it shows lack of respect for the other's time. Simply note the questions and schedule a follow up. This really only applies to online or board room meetings. This is why you take clients to dinner and other fun events to have a less formal exchange that both sides can feel out their style and personality :)
On parle des notation scolaire... en fac de math jai réussi à avoir 5/20 en math et être dans le premier tiers des meilleurs eleve de ma classe en math... ( et jai eu mon année :D)
i would not get on working in France. I would.ask, what is this meeting about. What are we hoping to achieve etc because otherwise i am busy and have better things to do with my time. lol Also lunch is your time, not work time. If I can't chat about life with my ''colleague'then i'd rather be by myself. If seems very opressive and restrictive. I would definitely try to shake things up and i guess they'd fire me. They are sooooo serious!
haha i have completly opposite experience !! ;)
Les notes en France sont très en débat, et actuellement elles n'ont plus leur rôle de ''pousser à l'excellence''. Elles sont plus vues comme des sanctions 😐