TS: What are the major differences in occupational health and safety regulations between France and the U.S.? TF: In the U.S., we’re taught that it’s all OSHA: OSHA this, OSHA that. But we’ve also learned through insurance and risk assessment that health and safety is related to productivity and sustainability: if we can be safer, we’re going to be more profitable and we’re going to have lower direct and indirect costs from accidents. So even though OSHA plays a large role in the U.S., most good companies—especially the large ones—are going to go well beyond OSHA regulations to run their safety programs. In France, federal and regional regulations are even more tied into insurance and workers’ compensation than in the U.S. In some cases, France doesn’t have the same detail of structure that we have in the U.S., but in other instances—even at the company level—they have very specific requirements. A company might require a specific type of risk assessment or the inclusion of certain details in a report, or there might be a specific regulation that describes how to satisfy France’s federal government. Another major difference is that across Europe there’s a very strong program for workplace violence and bullying, which they call “moral harassment.” Moral harassment is illegal, and in France it’s very well documented and the public and the workers take it very seriously. In the U.S., only a handful of states have any regulations about bullying or harassment. TS: What can IHs from the U.S. learn from those practicing in France? TF: Many aspects of occupational health and safety are done similarly in France and the U.S., but there are certain things that each country does better than the other. One example of an area that IHs practicing in the U.S. could learn more about is the EU’s Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), an incredible program that helps protect workers. Companies have to go through REACH in order to have a product with certain chemicals in it for market in Europe, and American companies are no exception. But it’s an extensive process to go through REACH to prove that a product meets the relevant requirements, so there’s this market in Europe where many American companies pay these REACH consulting firms to do all the paperwork to get their products registered. It’s my impression that most U.S. companies feel that it’s not worth the time to go through the process themselves, even though it could be a good learning experience. TS: What are some major cultural differences that IHs who have never worked in France can expect to find? TF: They frown upon working overtime, and that’s just the way it is in France. It’s been my impression from companies that they don’t even want you to take your laptop home with you. They want you to work your 37- or 40-hour week, and they don’t want you working more. Plus, most people working in France take around two hours for lunch and they don’t tend to work through their break. ​​ In my experience, a common frustration our French colleagues have with their American counterparts is that industrial hygienists from the U.S. often assume that the way things are done in the U.S. is better, which is not necessarily the case. American IHs need to understand that, in certain instances, their French colleagues may have corporate requirements or French industry standards they are expected to meet that may not be familiar to someone who’s used to working in the U.S. Overall, my experiences with French professionals have been very pleasant. They are open about their activities and operations, and they are extremely polite and gracious hosts.