Britain is flying high in the European workplace whinge table but the moaning French are top of the league when it comes to complaining.

A study of work attitudes among almost 14,000 employees in 23 countries showed the French were most unhappy with their pay and working hours, with staff from Britain and Sweden joint second.

The study by research group FDS also covered how people felt work impinged on their private lives.

More than one in three British workers said they did not get enough holidays, while one in five complained about the trials of commuting.

Two out of five workers in this country said they were not satisfied with their level of pay, compared with just 15 per cent in Ireland. The least whinging workers are in Holland.

Charlotte Cornish, managing director of FDS, said: "After the French, British employees are the most likely to be dissatisfied with their work situation, despite their relative good fortune.

"It's also interesting to note that after France, Britain and Sweden, the world's biggest workplace whingers are Americans, despite having by far the highest levels of income relative to their cost of living.

"Compare them to Thai workers. While real levels of income are more than eight times higher in the States, more workers in the US feel their pay is a problem than in Thailand.

"The UK and US, with their marked competitive individualism and unequal wealth distribution, both appear towards the top of the world's list of whingiest workers.

"The French come out on top - it seems unlikely that Nicolas Sarkozy's election and the likely shift to more Anglo-Saxon economic practices will make the workers in France any more happy with their lot."

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