Britons whinge more about work than any other nation except the French, a new report showed today.

A study of work attitudes among almost 14,000 employees in 23 countries showed that the French were the most unhappy with their pay and working hours, despite the 35 hour working week introduced by Jacques Chirac.

Staff from Britain and Sweden came joint second, in the study by FDS, a research group. 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.

Americans came fourth, while the workers who grumbled least were in Holland, the study found.

Charlotte Cornish, managing director of FDS, said: “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 any more happy with their lot.

“After the French, British employees are the most likely to be dissatisfied with their work situation, despite their relative good fortune."

Ms Cornish said that high levels of pay did not make workers grumble less.

“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," she said.

“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 study 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.

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