Despite the gloomy economic climate, the state of emergency and the recurring strikes, the vast majority of Parisian employees say they are attached to their city (77 %). So much so that they don't want to move: given the choice between London and Paris, only 20 % of Parisian employees would choose to work in London. Conversely, 17 % of Londoners would cross the Channel if given the opportunity. The two cities therefore enjoy comparable attractiveness, even though the dynamics in terms of employment and salaries are more favourable in London.
The Parisians seem surprisingly serene given the context: 80 % of employees in Paris-intramuros say they do not feel unsafe on their journey to workThis figure rises to 81 % in the areas targeted by the 2015 attacks (10th and 11th arrondissements).
The 3 words that best define Paris, according to Parisians: beautiful, dynamic, festive. Parisian employees attribute to their city the qualities of an economic and cultural capital. The 3 words that Londoners say best define London: open to the world, dynamic, innovative - they paint a portrait of a cosmopolitan, pioneering city.
The only problem was the weather. In both Paris and London, 4 out of 10 employees say that the climate in their city weighs on their morale".
Relationship to the workplace - radically different local cultures
The symbolic and social importance of the workplace is much greater in Paris than in London. 89 % of Parisians believe that their office has an impact on their well-being (compared to 64 % for the English) and 80 % that it has an impact on company performance, compared to 53 % for the English.
Parisians are also twice as likely as Londoners to believe that socialising with colleagues is one of the three main reasons for going to work. (42 % versus 18 %). They see it as a place for socialising, in which meals play an essential role: Parisians take an average of 1 hour 12 minutes for lunch, compared with just 48 minutes for Londoners, and 84 % regularly have lunch with colleagues (compared with 58 % in London).
A contrario, Londoners see the workplace primarily as a functional tool for efficient individual and collective work. They are in favour of everything to do with fluidity: mobile working, ease of movement within the building, offices open 24 hours a day. Socialising takes place outside the office at afterwork, which remains sacred: 70 % of London employees regularly have drinks with colleagues after work, compared with 25 % of Parisians.
Another manifestation of cultural differences is the level of acceptance of open space: 80 % of Londoners in open-plan offices say they are satisfied with their offices, compared with just 54 % of Parisians.s. Conversely, 82% of Parisians working in closed offices (individual or shared) are satisfied with their office.
It has to be said that in London, the open space has become a way of life: 58 % of Londoners work in open-plan offices, compared with 43 % in Paris. Londoners are also three times more likely than Parisians to have no dedicated workstation (10 % vs 3 %). In Paris, 54 % of employees work in closed offices (compared with 32 % in London).
Where is the best place to work: Paris or London?
When it comes to travel time to work, Paris wins hands down: Parisians spend 24 minutes less each day on public transport than Londoners. Over the course of a year, that's the equivalent of 8 working days! The density of Paris and the cost of housing, which is half that of London, mean that employees can live on average within a "reasonable" distance of their place of work.
For the layout of the offices and the services on offer, avantage Londres : Londoners are 3 to 10 points more satisfied with items such as the quality of connections, workstation comfort, the design of common areas and the quality of meeting rooms. How can this difference be explained? Faced very early on with the rising cost of a square metre, London companies have managed to optimise space while improving the user experience, by taking care with the overall design, the collaborative spaces and the services on offer.
When it comes to the quality of the neighbourhood and the working environment, it's a draw: Levels of satisfaction with safety, the quality of the living environment and the presence of shops and restaurants are almost identical in Paris and London. Paris is slightly ahead of London when it comes to architectural quality, and London is ahead of Paris when it comes to green spaces.
Working hours:** Parisian employees spend an average of 8 hours 06 minutes in the office, compared with 8 hours 24 minutes for Londoners**. In short, Parisians spend less time on public transport, more time at the table and less time at the office... for an overall quality of life that is therefore satisfactory.
