There was another mini-scandal about Apple's manufacturing processes this week, after the Fair Labor Association found lots of "violations" at Apple's contract-manufacturing partner Foxconn.

To its credit, Apple responded quickly and forthrightly and promised to address the situation.

But most people missed the most startling aspect of the FLA's findings:

At least according to what they told FLA, the Foxconn workers want to work more, not less.


But here's the thing...

According to the FLA findings, at least, Foxconn's workers actually don't work ridiculously long hours. More importantly, by and large, Foxconn's workers want to work more.

Why do Foxconn's workers want to work more?

Because they want to make more money.

And working more, not less, is something that many workers the world over voluntarily choose to do--or have to do to earn enough money to live.  And the latter problem is not just limited to China. Many Americans, for example--the folks who are lecturing Chinese about their working conditions--work two or more jobs to make ends meet, despite being paid well more than minimum wage. This hard work, moreover, is especially common in short bursts, when teams are trying to finish important projects, just the way it is at Foxconn.




Of the hundreds of Foxconn workers the FLA surveyed, here'sdd what they found:

  • 48% of workers thought their hours were reasonable
  • 34% said they wanted to work more hours
  • Only 18% felt they worked too much

In other words, 82% of Foxconn's workers either think their hours are reasonable or want to work more hours.




So in short bursts, the workers worked very long hours for 7 days a week.



There are probably plenty of violations and serious employee issues in Apple's supply chain. And, as I've previously said, I'd love to see Apple invest more of its profits with its supply chain or other investments. But "long hours" at the Foxconn plants really shouldn't be the primary complaint.

The vast majority of Foxconn's workers say they are either happy with how much they work or want to work more.

