BlogBreak

By Brit Vixen

May 21, 2007 9:38 AM | Link to this

It is such a harsh reality to only get two weeks off in the U.S. In England, a month is usually the minimum and I once worked for a company that gave us 6 weeks off! That alone, made long trips abroad such a treat!

By Irene

May 21, 2007 9:44 AM | Link to this

I have no qualms about using up all my vacation days because I know that I earned them! Sometimes, I don’t even necessarily go anywhere. It’s nice to be at home with the kids when they are on vacation and we take a lot of roadtrips with the minivan!

By Koz

May 21, 2007 10:05 AM | Link to this

I think Delta used to give 7 weeks off. Not any more.

By MrLiberty

May 21, 2007 10:10 AM | Link to this

Vacation time is something that should be agreed upon by employer and employee and nobody else.

That being said, lets look at the government’s $2.3 Trillion budget (and that’s just the federal government). Let’s look at the estimated $40-75 Trillion unfunded obligations like Social Security, Medicare, interest on the debt., etc. All of this is being shouldered by big business and small business alike. Look at the ridiculous labor laws that businesses already have to deal with. Look at all the fees. Look at all the money wasted just in complying with the ridiculous tax code. Its estimated that tax compliance takes more time than all the hours spent manufacturing all american made automobiles for the entire year ! The tax code itself is structured so that vacation time, insurance benefits, bonuses, etc. are all addressed in their own unique manner. I don’t know the specifics, but any law that disincentivizes vacation time is only hurting. Then there are the laws governing temporary workers, etc. Part time labor laws impact things further.

Whatever “problem” is seen in these statistics (and don’t get me wrong, I would love to have way more vacation time than I have), the government should not try and solve it with some law forcing more vacation time on employers. So many folks can barely afford to be in business now. A new law will only but them out of business. The government could start by cutting spending by at least 90%, get rid of the ridiculous tax laws that already make life miserable for business, and look at every tax, regulation, fee, and otherwise that they charge and then waste to see if any of these are making it more difficult for employers to reward their employees with additional paid time off.

Frankly, maybe if we started seriously cutting back on how much time government employees get off, the rest of society could afford more. I mean these folks don’t produce anything, and only get their funding through the theft of our hard-earned tax dollars. For those jobs that aren’t eliminated outright, the others should be cut back to 1 week vacation and 5 paid holidays.

By Barbara

May 21, 2007 10:34 AM | Link to this

Mr. Liberty makes some very good points. Also, if you look at what welfare states the European countries have become, then you’d think twice about the amount of time and government mandated vacation days. Their taxes are higher (somebody has to pay for time off), and they don’t have nearly the choices of opportunities of things to purchase or do over there. Their jaws drop when they see what we have to offer. When you work more, you produce more. I worked for Dow Corning Corporation in the mid-’80s. By your second year of employment, you had three weeks of vacation. At your fifth, you had four plus another (they labeled it differently), plus two weeks of sick leave and some personal leave. It didn’t matter what position you held within the company. Nobody ever took sick days (unless they absolutely needed it), nor did they take all their vacation. It would have been impossible to perform your tasks if you did. People there wanted to do a good job, as was the culture of the whole company. Also, only once in the then 40 year history of the company did they have one labor strike. Nobody ever left the company because of the loyalty and benefits. They also didn’t take advantage of the company. It was the model of what corporate America should be! BTW, salaries were at the higher end of the scale, so there you have it. Welfare states decrease productivity, period!

By lovelyliz

May 21, 2007 11:04 AM | Link to this

Given that several European countries that beat the United States in standard of living (Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden), have more vacation time that’s actually used for vacations and still manage high levels of productivity, makes you wonder what we might learn from them.

Who is working more and who’s working smarter?

By TiredTeacher

May 21, 2007 11:10 AM | Link to this

As a teacher I get 4 weeks paid vacation and 8 weeks unpaid (the summer months). My job is so stressful that I need every day that I get off. I only use my 2 of my 3 personal days to volunteer at each of my kids schools. Other than that, I work until the next break comes!

By anna

May 21, 2007 12:35 PM | Link to this

Europeans gain much more vacation time but they do have better pay for the positions they have as well. So, with more in the bank (even though taxes are high, it pays for their health care as well) they can instead take the “holiday” and it is so encouraged that they usually set aside at least a month (August) to do so. They don’t feel “beholden” to the company is shut down during this time and so no one is competing with another worker for status or work to do. Our company “forces” the employees to take their two weeks every year before July 1, therefore, there is no way to accrue enough vacation time to see family, or even hike the AT (which has always been a goal of mine), or even bike from Alabama to Michigan (another goal I’d love to pursue). One would like to think we live in a democracy. We do not. We live in capitalism which means all for the BUCK. All our time, all our health, all our chasing the glass ceiling!

By Scrappy

May 21, 2007 12:51 PM | Link to this

I agree with anna… Our system is totally unfair and unbalanced. I went into quite a lot of debt to spend the summer after my college graduation in Australia, just because I knew I would never be able to go that far again until retirement. It today’s work environment where there seems to be no company loyality (either on the part of the employer or employee) and no opportunties to gain vacation time, the most time I foresee ever having for vacation is 3 weeks, IF I am lucky. Currently I am about to get married, but my 2 weeks of vacation doesn’t even allow enough time off for a wedding and a honeymoon in the same year, and forget about visiting people on Christmas or any other holiday…

By Maria

May 21, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this

Americans often get accused of being less well-traveled than our first-world counterparts. I don’t think this is because Americans don’t want to travel, but simply because so many of us don’t have the resources to do so — time, money, or both.

I worked overseas for a year when I was in my early 20s — it was a wonderful experience, and I racked up more stamps in my passport during that one year than I have in subsequent years. I’m thankful for having been able to travel so much, but it makes me sad that a lot of Americans (my aging parents included) may never have the opportunity to spend time getting all jet-lagged and culture-shocked the way I did.

I’d like to visit some places in southeast Asia that I missed going to last time I was in that part of the world, but these days I work at an office where I’m allowed 12 vacation days a year. And I’ve already used 7 of those days. To go to, say, Thailand or Malaysia, I’d need to allow for a 12-hour flight there, a couple days of jet lag, and a 12-hour flight back. You wouldn’t want to plan for any less than a 10 or 12-day trip. And how many working Americans have the resources for that kind of leisurely (and somewhat expensive) trip?

Hence why we see a lot of Americans spending all their vacation days to visit their families, or to take quick trips to Las Vegas, or New York, or beaches in the southeast. I’m thankful that my parents live in Atlanta and that my in-laws live in neighboring states. If they didn’t, I’m sure that most of my vacation time would be earmarked as “family time.”

By JR

May 21, 2007 2:22 PM | Link to this

I now get 32 days per year of vacation and let me tell you, I will use every last one of them. My manager knows it and usually doesn’t argue especially when I plan and request it well in advance.

By ughh!

May 21, 2007 2:28 PM | Link to this

I only get 5 days in my second year on the job. ~~ >: /

By jj

May 21, 2007 2:34 PM | Link to this

My office gives us an additional week after every five years of employment. I am now up to one month (four weeks) of vacation. Please we get 10 sick days, and 2 personal days, not to mention holidays, 10 of those tooooo…..

I take each and every vacation day I am allotted, although any unused days get rolled over to the following year. I don’t know how people can work, and work and never take time off.

I love to travel, and enjoy my time off. sometimes though, I do just take a long weekend and stay around the house.

By yeh

May 21, 2007 2:44 PM | Link to this

The amount of time you get is not only the issue, but when you are allowed to take that time. Some companies designate certain time of year for vacation time. Then there is senority, by the time your turn comes around it is a week in the year that does not work for your family, because everyone is in school etc.

By Angel

May 21, 2007 3:10 PM | Link to this

I definitly don’t think American workers as a whole get enough time off. I know that some people get a lot of time off after being with a company for many years but most people don’t stick around the same company for 10+ years anymore. It was always a huge struggle for me at my last job because we only earned 12 PTO days per year and that included any sick time you needed (AND you didn’t start earning that until you’d been with the company for a year!). Try only taking 12 days off a year when you have a child who gets sick and consequently can’t go to daycare or school. We also had to use this time for doctor and dentist appointments. I was lucky to get 1 week of actual vacation a year there.

When I started looking for a new job, time off was a HUGE consideration for me. I now work for a Canadian-owned company and we earn 3 weeks of vacation per year plus 4 floating holidays (we have 6 standard holidays as well). We also have no limit on sick leave - their theory is that if you are sick, you shouldn’t come to work and get everyone else sick. But we all have laptops and can work remotely so you’re pretty much expected to do some work unless you physically can’t get out of bed. But this is fine with me. This is a huge benefit for those of us with children because now we aren’t “punished” if our child can’t go to school- I can work from home. We are allowed to carry over 1 week of vacation per year as well so if we really wanted to take a long vacation one year, we can plan ahead and save up time-off accordingly.

I think most well-managed companies realize that employees NEED time off in order to be dedicated and efficient workers. Plus, something has to motivate all of us who sit in 8X6 cubicles 8-10 hours per day- it certainly isn’t the free coffee!!

By JJ

May 21, 2007 3:10 PM | Link to this

I have a friend who works for a company that only gives 5 days off per year, you either use them for vacation or sick days…… If you get sick after taking a week of vacation, it comes out of your paycheck. And this company is an insurance agency. I don’t know how they keep their employees……the pay must be outrageous for people to stay……

By JJ

May 21, 2007 3:18 PM | Link to this

My company is very good about letting us off for doctor/dentist appointments, and sick kids. We don’t have to use vacation time for that.

By JD

May 21, 2007 3:28 PM | Link to this

www.fivedayweekend.org

That is all I have to say

By lovelyliz

May 21, 2007 3:50 PM | Link to this

There are a lot of people who work and get no paid time off. Those of us who get any vacation time should count ourselves lucky. Even those who have fairly generous vacation plans often loath to take any of those days because of the American work ethic: look busy and appear to be essential at all times.

If you take 2 weeks off, what is that going to say to your boss?

Will you still have a job if things run smoothly without you?

By MrLiberty

May 21, 2007 4:03 PM | Link to this

Again, without the high taxation, the horrible devaluation of the dollar courtesy of the illegal Federal Reserve, and all the regulations, businesses in this country would be fluorishing. Instead, businesses are hurt by all of this and we employees have to compete for everything we get. If the roles were reversed as they should be, you and I would be sought after and pay, benefits, vacation time, etc. would all be up for negotiation. Companies would have to offer more to compete and we would all win.

Just remember that the next time you cheer at some big company with falling sales, etc. The more success in the marketplace, the more we all win. The less government, the more we all win.

By WorkAlot

May 21, 2007 4:38 PM | Link to this

The harsh reality in most jobs is that if you are away, things can happen. You get thrown under the bus, blamed for things, and serve as a scapegoat. I work in a job where the company gives 4-5 weeks depending on seniority but it is like those who actually take their vacation are frowned upon. If you are in a high stress job and almost everyday is critical, I can see people not using perfectly good vacation time. Personally, I don’t care if people get mad. I will use every bit of vacation, personal, sick, whatever. In the end, most merit increases are roughly the same anyway. You might impress somebody with these herculean work habits but ultimately, it’s not healthy to work without taking a break.

By Prootwadl

May 21, 2007 4:42 PM | Link to this

As a senior programmer/analyst, I get five weeks a year from my employer plus an additional five days I can push from a previous year, so I normally have 40 days to play with. I normally don’t take it all so I can push five days to the next year. :-)

My wife (who works in the corporate office for a large corporation based in Atlanta) only gets seven (7) days, though I guess it goes up to 14 days next year (after her 2nd anniversary with the company).

Guess why we don’t take many vacations?

By Noelle

May 21, 2007 4:44 PM | Link to this

I think most people in the US certainly need more time off than they get. My company (a very big name) gives 11 vacation days to start, which sounds great — until they tell you that you only get 4 “personal” days, including sick time. Catch the flu, and you have three choices: go to work sick, dip into your vacation time, or go without pay.

What others have said about companies preferring “busy work” to efficiency is absolutely true. Using vacation or sick leave is a sign of weakness to (bad) managers. Smart managers encourage employees to take time for themselves. Having healthy, happy employees is more important to a company’s bottom line than having them on the job for 40 hours every week.

By Katie

May 22, 2007 8:45 AM | Link to this

I have quite a bit of vacation leave, probably 8 weeks. I don’t use it because nobody does my job when I’m not here. I did take a week off when I got married and I had a week worth of work on my desk when I returned. I know I should take some leave, go out and have some fun but I know that I’ll be punished with work when I get back. Instead, I take a Friday off here or there.

By Todd

May 22, 2007 8:49 AM | Link to this

It is capitalism. The government should not dictate what everyone gets; otherwise, there is no opportunity to offer more, such as higher pay, more vacation days, more sick days, more retirement, and so on. Roosevelt and Johnson did enough damage to this country with their welfare trash. Good intentions—bad results.

Same here. Sure it would be nice to have a month off every year, and some of use do—but that is a part of the incentive to work where we work. I hate my pay, but love my benefits (I work for the government). Some love their pay and hate their benefits (like many self-employed).

Stop trying to make everyone equal in life. We are not. Some are athletes, some are brains, some are creative, some are nearly all, some are nothing but trash.

By bluemoon

May 22, 2007 8:50 AM | Link to this

Well, seeing as how Mexico is the only “industrialized” nation in the world with less vacation time than us I’d say it’s time for a change. I just don’t think the governement should mandate it.

I would however, love to see employers show a little intelligence and figure out that rested, happy employees make better, more productive employees that would actually want to stay where they are at. The bottom line though is the only line they care about and so they get what they give. Employees who don’t care one single solitary bit about the company and will just ship at the first chance. Treat us right and give us good benefits and just try getting rid of us. It wouldn’t be easy.

And as for why we don’t take our vacation…easy….fear of reprisal, like it’s a sin to take off of work. Sorry Big Business, family comes first and then you’re somewhere down the line. I have an upper middle management job for a multi billion dollar company and I get all of 10 vacation days for the first 5 years of service. Offering those few days should be criminal. God forbid I get the flu, miss a week and lose half of my vacation for the year. Until Corporate America shows they care, we sure won’t either.

Give me more vacation days, I’m taking them.