Work, Workers | featured news

With its long vacations, short hours and myriad workers' rights, France has a reputation for being a hard place to do business. Now add this to the mix: A law working its way through parliament would grant amnesty to workers who have ransacked their company's offices or threatened their bosses during a labor dispute.

At a time of lingering economic malaise, gyrating markets and high unemployment, it's not surprising that workers around the world are less than content at their jobs. They're also feeling a diminished sense of loyalty, according to a new global analysis of data gathered by Mercer, the giant New York City-based human resources consulting firm.

Residents of Swiss financial center Zurich know that their country has more to offer than world-class chocolate and precision watches. They can now brag that, on the whole, they earn more than anyone in the world. Zurich-dwellers rake in $22.60 per hour in average net pay, according to a wage survey released August 19. The runner-up city is less than 200 miles southwest: Geneva, where jobs pay $20.40 per hour.