A study by Randstad published by Atlantico, showed that 48.3% of employees say they are willing to work for longer hours without a pay increase.

However, the increased work without pay is not without limitations as employees stated they would only work more without extra pay temporarily or if their employer was experiencing difficulty.

The Randstad study is based on the 35-hour working week in France, although it states that now more than one in two (55.9%) employees have weekly hours of work equal to or greater than 36 hours. Including overtime, the share of employees working 36 hours or more per week reached 72% which shows that the vast majority of full-time workers in France are working more than the 35-hour work week.

Randstad states that a number of factors have led to the increased workweek including overtime quota increases and tax exemptions and Randstad predicts the new labour reform laws will also have an impact on the workweek.

In July, France passed through a controversial labour law which aims to lower unemployment but critics have said that it will make hiring and firing easier.