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Vacations in the Soviet Union

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Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#41

Post by nverno »

fweimer wrote: post #23

> In the West, what you do when you leave the office was and is your own business. In the USSR, it was everyone else’s. Is this actually true? In Germany at least, vacation from work is not truly our own time. We are legally required to use it to relax and restore our capacity for future work. Few people probably see it that way, admittedly. Of course, there is still a huge difference, but it's awkward to view everyt…

What are the legal repercussions if you don't use your time off to relax and restore?

Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#42

Post by [deleted] »

0xDEF wrote: post #38

It's fascinating how the ideology of Marxism–Leninism (Communism) today is more popular than ever among young people in former capitalist heartlands like the US, Canada and UK. A simple European-style welfare state with universal healthcare is all you need to satisfy 90% of people but the elites in the US and the UK refuse to provide that.

[deleted]

Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#43

Post by DubiousPusher »

ur-whale wrote: post #5

[flagged]

It's funny to me that there is a widespread perception that in 2023 life has become more regulated in most developed economies. Most of what is now the "developed" world reached its height of regulation and government involvment in daily life in the middle of the 20th century. Deregulation and market solutions have largely been the direction of most advanced economies. Those, more aggressively in the U.S. but fairly consistent none the less.

Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#44

Post by samstave »

danielodievich wrote: post #4

Growing up in USSR, my mother would take us for a summer in some mountains/vacation destination and work there as a guide. One time in Kandalaksha gulf in White Sea near Murmansk she was a wilderness guide for a few rounds of tourists from elsewhere in Soviet Union for a 8 day hiking in mountains/sailing on the White Sea trip. We had such wide range of people - from experienced outdoors people to the elderly pensione…

There is so much amazing beauty in the world, including the largest country on the planet, Russia - and then especially areas in China, which I would LOVE to visit, but the governments of each country kinda suck, so its not a place I'll likely go (imagine mtn biking through some of the amazing landscapes of either)

With that said, I'd love to hear Lex Fridman's opinion on all of this.

Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#45

Post by fnordpiglet »

sturza wrote: post #12

The Soviet Union's approach to paid time off (PTO) was unique, as it not only provided workers with time off but also determined how they spent it, often with groups of strangers instead of friends and family. This policy aimed to promote the collective as the most important social unit and provided subsidized vacations to a select number of workers. Although Soviet vacations initially served as team-building exercis…

As an introvert that sounds not just more stressful than my job, but literally the 10th ring of hell

Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#47

Post by evilspammer »

justinpombrio wrote: post #34
fweimer wrote: post #23

> In the West, what you do when you leave the office was and is your own business. In the USSR, it was everyone else’s. Is this actually true? In Germany at least, vacation from work is not truly our own time. We are legally required to use it to relax and restore our capacity for future work. Few people probably see it that way, admittedly. Of course, there is still a huge difference, but it's awkward to view everyt…

What do you mean "legally required"? E.g. is there a law that says that specifically, or a common interpretation of a law that says something vaguer, or a common clause in employment contracts, or were you being metaphorical and it isn't actually legal? I'm from the US, and this sounds very strange to my ears.

it's more to prevent employers from making you work during vacation

Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#48

Post by jamilton »

snickerbockers wrote: post #6

>It encouraged workers to vacation with groups of relative strangers as opposed to their friends and families. maybe it's just because I don't have much of a social circle, but this seems appealing to me.

Yeah, I think this is an experience some people seek out today.

Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#49

Post by pierat »

Sigh, that's not always easy with many of the people here with "unlimited PTO" without guaranteed minimums. Most of the unlimited clauses are based on manager approval.

The base HR justification for unlimited PTO is to not have to pay out unused PTO when they leave. Naturally, it sounds good on face, but leads to less PTO taken due to inherent worries of "how much is too much", lack of manager approval, and the like.

I reject companies that force 'unlimited' PTO. I demand a minimum hard number in place on the offer letter. I've turned down places for that reason.

I work in a place that offers 20 days plus all federal holidays. It's a good compromise, but I'd prefer more.

Re: Vacations in the Soviet Union

#50

Post by bckygldstn »

mustacheemperor wrote: post #36
fweimer wrote: post #23

> In the West, what you do when you leave the office was and is your own business. In the USSR, it was everyone else’s. Is this actually true? In Germany at least, vacation from work is not truly our own time. We are legally required to use it to relax and restore our capacity for future work. Few people probably see it that way, admittedly. Of course, there is still a huge difference, but it's awkward to view everyt…

>We are legally required to use it to relax and restore our capacity for future work. Well that's an interesting bit of trivia. Can you share anything more about it? Just for my own amusement and the amusement of people I will relate it to in the future, I would love to read whatever dry legal code sets that in writing.

Perhaps the OP is referring to laws preventing employers from asking employees to work while on holiday: https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-law-in-Germany-or-any-other...
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