Bonjour paresse

Last updated
Bonjour Laziness
AuthorCorinne Maier
Original titleBonjour paresse
TranslatorDavid Watson, Sophie Hawkes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
PublisherEditions Michalon
Publication date
2004
Published in English
2005
PagesApprox. 144

Bonjour paresse (Hello Laziness) is the title of an international bestseller by Corinne Maier, a French writer, psychoanalyst, and economist. The book is a highly cynical and humorous critique of work and contemporary French corporate culture (epitomized for Maier by the middle manager) that advocates various ways of undermining the system. Maier advocates that it is in the reader's best interest to work as little as possible. [1] The title is a reference to Françoise Sagan's novel Bonjour Tristesse . It is variously subtitled Jumping Off the Corporate Ladder, or Why Hard Work Doesn’t Pay depending on the edition. Because of their similar attitudes towards the workplace, Maier has been frequently compared to Dilbert creator Scott Adams.

Contents

Maier was subjected to a disciplinary hearing on 17 August 2004 by her employer, Électricité de France, for the writing and publication of Bonjour Paresse. The French newspaper Le Monde ran a front page article about the dispute at the end of July 2004, which did much to publicize the work.

Chapter titles and subheadings

As translated by Sophie Hawkes:

Maier's Ten Counterproposals

Sometimes referred to as the Ten Commandments for the Idle, these counterproposals have been widely reproduced on the Web in a shortened form:

  1. You are a modern-day slave. There is no scope for personal fulfilment. You work for your pay-check at the end of the month, full stop.
  2. It's pointless to try to change the system. Opposing it simply makes it stronger.
  3. What you do is pointless. You can be replaced from one day to the next by any cretin sitting next to you. So work as little as possible and spend time (not too much, if you can help it) cultivating your personal network so that you're untouchable when the next restructuring comes around.
  4. You're not judged on merit, but on whether you look and sound the part. Use much leaden jargon: people will suspect you have an inside track
  5. Never accept a position of responsibility for any reason. You'll only have to work harder for what amounts to peanuts.
  6. Make a beeline for the most useless positions, (research, strategy and business development), where it is impossible to assess your 'contribution to the wealth of the firm'. Avoid 'on the ground' operational roles like the plague.
  7. Once you've found one of these plum jobs, never move. It is only the most exposed who get fired.
  8. Learn to identify kindred spirits who, like you, believe the system is absurd through discreet signs (quirks in clothing, peculiar jokes, warm smiles).
  9. Be nice to people on short-term contracts. They are the only people who do any real work.
  10. Tell yourself that the absurd ideology underpinning this corporate bullshit cannot last for ever. It will go the same way as the dialectical materialism of the communist system. The problem is knowing when...

English translations

Bonjour Paresse has been translated by David Watson (as Hello Laziness) for The Orion Publishing Group Ltd in the United Kingdom, and in the United States by Sophie Hawkes (as Bonjour Laziness) for Random House.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Rule</span> Principle of treating others as one wants to be treated

The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as one would expect to be treated themselves. Various expressions of this rule can be found in the tenets of most religions and creeds through the ages. It can be considered an ethic of reciprocity in some religions, although different religions treat it differently.

Management is the administration of organizations, whether they are a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administration respectively. It is the science of managing the resources of businesses, governments, and other organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discipline</span> Action or inaction that is regulated to be by a particular system of governance

Discipline commonly refers to rule-following behaviour, regulation, order, control, and authority. It may also refer to the science of operant conditioning that studies how ideas and behavior are guided and managed with consequences that increase a behavior (reinforcements) or decrease a behavior (punishment). Discipline is used by those in authority to encourage routines, and automatic mechanisms such as habits, athletic performance, success, insight, and obedience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirkei Avot</span> Tractate of the Mishnah

Pirkei Avot, which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewish tradition. It is part of didactic Jewish ethical literature. Because of its contents, the name is sometimes given as Ethics of the Fathers. Pirkei Avot consists of the Mishnaic tractate of Avot, the second-to-last tractate in the order of Nezikin in the Mishnah, plus one additional chapter. Avot is unique in that it is the only tractate of the Mishnah dealing solely with ethical and moral principles; there is relatively little halakha (laws) in Pirkei Avot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TPS report</span> Type of quality assurance document

A TPS report is a document used by a quality assurance group or individual, particularly in software engineering, that describes the testing procedures and the testing process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Work ethic</span> Belief in the virtues of labor

Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. It is a set of values centered on importance of work and manifested by determination or desire to work hard. Social ingrainment of this value is considered to enhance character through hard work that is respective to an individual's field of work.

Robert Charles Pozen known as "Bob" is an American financial executive with a strong interest in public policy. He is the former chairman of MFS Investment Management, the oldest mutual fund company in the United States. Previously, Pozen was the President of Fidelity Investments.

<i>Fear and Trembling</i> (novel)

Fear and Trembling is a fictional, satirical novel by Amélie Nothomb, first published in 1999, and translated into English by Adriana Hunter in 2001. It was awarded the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française that year. It was adapted into the film Fear and Trembling in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew 5:23–24</span>

Matthew 5:23 and Matthew 5:24 are a pair of closely related verses in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. They are part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has just announced that anger leads to murder, and anger is just as bad as murder itself. And that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment himself. This verse states that resolving these disputes should take priority over religious rituals.

<i>Trip the Light Fantastic</i> (Sophie Ellis-Bextor album) 2007 studio album by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Trip the Light Fantastic is the third studio album by British singer and songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. It was released on 21 May 2007 by Fascination Records following the release of the lead single, "Catch You" and the second single, "Me and My Imagination". The album was available to stream via the internet on 18 May 2007, three days before the official release date. It debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number 7.

Sarah Lucinda Beeny is an English broadcaster and entrepreneur, best known for presenting Property Ladder (2001–2009), Britain's Best Home (2003), Streets Ahead (2005–2006), Property Snakes and Ladders (2009), How to Live Mortgage Free with Sarah Beeny (2017), Sarah Beeny's New Life in the Country (2020–present) and Sarah Beeny's New Country Lives (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin O'Leary</span> Canadian businessman and television personality (born 1954)

Terence Thomas Kevin O'Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful and Maple Man, is a Canadian businessman, investor, journalist, and television personality. From 2004 to 2014, he appeared on various Canadian television shows. These include the business news programmes SqueezePlay and The Lang and O'Leary Exchange, as well as the reality television shows Dragons' Den and Redemption Inc. In 2008, he appeared on Discovery Channel's Project Earth. Since 2009, he has appeared on Shark Tank, the American version of Dragons' Den.

Several alternatives to the Ten Commandments have been promulgated by different persons and groups, which intended to improve on the lists of laws known as the Ten Commandments that appear in the Bible. Lists of these kinds exist in many different cultures and times. They are sometimes given names – for example, the Hindu Yamas.

<i>Womenomics</i>

Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success is a non-fiction book written by ABC News' Good Morning America senior national correspondent Claire Shipman and BBC World News America Washington correspondent Katty Kay that was published by HarperCollins on June 2, 2009.

In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays is a 1935 collection of essays by the philosopher Bertrand Russell.

<i>Lean In</i> 2013 book by Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead is a 2013 book encouraging women to assert themselves at work and at home, co-written by business executive Sheryl Sandberg and media writer Nell Scovell.

While psychopaths typically represent a very small percentage of workplace staff, the presence of psychopathy in the workplace, especially within senior management, can do enormous damage. Indeed, psychopaths are usually most present at higher levels of corporate structure, and their actions often cause a ripple effect throughout an organization, setting the tone for an entire corporate culture. Examples of detrimental effects include increased bullying, conflict, stress, staff turnover, absenteeism, and reduction in both productivity and social responsibility. Ethical standards of entire organisations can be badly damaged if a corporate psychopath is in charge. A 2017 UK study found that companies with leaders who show "psychopathic characteristics" destroy shareholder value, tending to have poor future returns on equity.

Benchmark is a British game show that aired on Channel 4 from 1 June to 31 December 2015. It was hosted by Paddy McGuinness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corinne Maier</span> French author (born 1963)

Corinne Maier is a Swiss-born, French psychoanalyst, economist, and best-selling writer. She is best known for being the author of Bonjour paresse, a cynical critique of French corporate culture. In 2016, Maier was named as one of the BBC 100 Women.

<i>Bullshit Jobs</i> 2018 book by David Graeber

Bullshit Jobs: A Theory is a 2018 book by anthropologist David Graeber that postulates the existence of meaningless jobs and analyzes their societal harm. He contends that over half of societal work is pointless, and becomes psychologically destructive when paired with a work ethic that associates work with self-worth. Graeber describes five types of meaningless jobs, in which workers pretend their role is not as pointless or harmful as they know it to be: flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers, and taskmasters. He argues that the association of labor with virtuous suffering is recent in human history, and proposes unions and universal basic income as a potential solution.

References

  1. "Bonjour Laziness". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2018-06-28.