The Monday after Pentecost (the 50th day after the Resurrection of Christ, on which the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles) has traditionally been a national holiday in France. After the tragic heat-related deaths of approximately 15,000 elderly people in 2003, government officials there introduced a law to create a special $2.6 billion fund for the elderly. The money for the fund would come from each French citizen working one day a year without pay. In 2003, over 70% of polled Frenchmen agreed with the idea. The law passed.
So reports today's New York Times. The image you see here is that of the government's newspaper advertisement explaining the policy.
Well, guess what? It's 2005, Monday's the day, and the French aren't happy. Latest poll: 67% opposed.
You can read the details for yourself in the Times piece, but the point that struck me was the amazing capacity we have for believing we can make complex things simple by declaration.
Here was the simple design brief for this idea:
Everybody works the day after Pentecost without pay and we give the money to old people.
OK, great.
To me, this sounds like one of those corporate "change" programs we see so often.
Product design work will now be split between the New York, San Diego, Tokyo and Berlin design offices so that we can take advantage of our round-the-clock design capabilities.
Wow, sounds smart.
Like their corporate brethren, French lawmakers believed all they needed to do now was "roll out the program."
But people don't work this way. Taking away a traditional holiday, for no matter how noble a cause, is a huge deal. Change the way design projects are handled, major upheaval.
And, you'll pardon the stereotyping here, the French are not know for their ready compliance with the wishes of those in authority. As the Times article quotes one official, "The French are a people who must oppose."
But not all that much more than the rest of us.
My favorite "solution" to the problem came from the French national railway operator: its workers would not work on the "Day of Solidarity" (as the holiday, stripped of its religious roots, is now known), but would work an additional 1 minute and 52 seconds every workday of the year to make up the time! There's a stroke of passive-aggressive managerial genius!
Ever seen anything like that in corporate America? I have.
So, what the French are faced with is the classic change program dilemma: push on in the face of major opposition; roll-back the program (things that roll do roll, afterall); ignore the problem and declare victory.
What's your bet about what they'll do?
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