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Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

economist.com

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Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#11

Post by Ididntdothis »

DanFeldman wrote: post #6
alistairSH wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious, how much vacation do your peers at the company take each year? Rough guess is fine. I ask because I've heard that "unlimited vacation" actually results in LESS vacation being taken because employees are afraid to be seen as the one abusing the system (even though taking 4+ week/year should be norm). Somewhat related, I loathe the trend of grouping sick and vacation time into a single bucket (for those in the…

It's easy to not take enough vacation at companies w/ unlimited vacation. Anecdotally, most of my peers at companies w/ unlimited vacation take less vacation than traditionally counted vacation days. I work at a place w/ unlimited vacation and take about 4-4.5 weeks per year. A big reason I actually get to take this much vacation is because our founders & senior leadership also take vacation. I could easily see a wor…

I get 4 weeks guaranteed and I make sure to take them. In Germany I had 6 weeks. If “unlimited” translates to 4 and you feel lucky that you actually get that much then “unlimited” feels like a scam to guilt trip people into less vacation and not having to pay out any when people leave. I guess you also don’t accrue any for a longer trip if you take off less one year.

Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#12

Post by xur17 »

alistairSH wrote: post #5
glitchcrab wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My company gives us unlimited time off - provided your team isn't going to be left with too few people then you just stick it in the calendar. It's incredibly liberating not having to plan your holidays to ensure you stay within X days, not having to request approval etc.

Curious, how much vacation do your peers at the company take each year? Rough guess is fine. I ask because I've heard that "unlimited vacation" actually results in LESS vacation being taken because employees are afraid to be seen as the one abusing the system (even though taking 4+ week/year should be norm). Somewhat related, I loathe the trend of grouping sick and vacation time into a single bucket (for those in the…

> Curious, how much vacation do your peers at the company take each year? Rough guess is fine.

I worked at a place with unlimited vacation in the past, and took ~4 weeks per year. To be honest, if anything, my boss pushed me to take more.

In the end I really think it comes down to your boss.

Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#13

Post by pfisch »

alkonaut wrote: post #4

Just shutting down for a month like many companies in parts of Europe is great. Means you don’t even have “time off work”, it means work doesn’t exist because no one else works either. You return after (at least) a month to an empty inbox.

Almost no tech company could operate like that. What would you do just shut down your services for a month? Offer no support?

Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#14

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

Another thing that helps is that having a person out helps you find places where only one person can do something. There shouldn't be any processes that hinge on a single point of (human) failure, but it's easy for them to sneak in, so it's good to check every now and again: What would happen if this person were hit by a bus?

Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#15

Post by philwelch »

pfisch wrote: post #13
alkonaut wrote: post #4

Just shutting down for a month like many companies in parts of Europe is great. Means you don’t even have “time off work”, it means work doesn’t exist because no one else works either. You return after (at least) a month to an empty inbox.

Almost no tech company could operate like that. What would you do just shut down your services for a month? Offer no support?

Makes me nostalgic for the days software actually shipped in a shrink wrap box.

Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#16

Post by rubber_duck »

alkonaut wrote: post #4

Just shutting down for a month like many companies in parts of Europe is great. Means you don’t even have “time off work”, it means work doesn’t exist because no one else works either. You return after (at least) a month to an empty inbox.

That's usually done in manufacturing when I worked in that - you can shut down whole production lines for big maintenance, plan delivery (demand is seasonal for eg.) and optimize workers required (eg you are running 3 shifts 24 hours you need 3 crews - having flexible vacation and working all year means you need more backup guys than if you just shut down for x days and send everyone off).

This sucks for workers because you don't have flexibility on when you want to use your vacation.

Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#17

Post by hirundo »

alkonaut wrote: post #4

Just shutting down for a month like many companies in parts of Europe is great. Means you don’t even have “time off work”, it means work doesn’t exist because no one else works either. You return after (at least) a month to an empty inbox.

Most businesses have customers that will go elsewhere if you ignore them for a month. If my employer tried that I would have no job to come back to.

Maybe it would work for a dominatrix. "You are unworthy to see me for the next month, that will be $5,000, you may pay me now."

Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#18

Post by donretag »

alkonaut wrote: post #4

Just shutting down for a month like many companies in parts of Europe is great. Means you don’t even have “time off work”, it means work doesn’t exist because no one else works either. You return after (at least) a month to an empty inbox.

This practice is causing huge issues in Italy. The entire country historically takes off for the week around August 15th. However, this mass holiday causes vacation prices to soar, which means many blue collar workers can no longer afford to go away, and stay at home during their forced vacation.

The government is trying to convince companies to stagger their closures. Not closing would be a good start.

Re: Holidays are good for workers and companies alike

#20

Post by philwelch »

alistairSH wrote: post #5
glitchcrab wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My company gives us unlimited time off - provided your team isn't going to be left with too few people then you just stick it in the calendar. It's incredibly liberating not having to plan your holidays to ensure you stay within X days, not having to request approval etc.

Curious, how much vacation do your peers at the company take each year? Rough guess is fine. I ask because I've heard that "unlimited vacation" actually results in LESS vacation being taken because employees are afraid to be seen as the one abusing the system (even though taking 4+ week/year should be norm). Somewhat related, I loathe the trend of grouping sick and vacation time into a single bucket (for those in the…

I worked at a company once with unlimited vacation but limited sick leave. Riddle me that.
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