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66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

cnbc.com

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Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#31

Post by renewiltord »

kramerger wrote: post #14

It has been shown that you need around 14 days of interrupted rest to recover from stress etc. The European laws are not some random thing we made up because we are lazy. It is to ensure workers are well rested and ready for a new working year. Hence in long term it will also benefit employers. Some personal anecdata: I notice an immediate difference when I come back after a long vacation. The first 2-3 months I work…

How long is that long term because there aren't that many great European companies.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#32

Post by [deleted] »

lionkor wrote: post #7
cynicalsecurity wrote: post #3

As much as I like my vacations, I would rather prefer US salary over it.

Does the US salary hold up against the benefits you get in a well-off EU country? Namely free healthcare, automatic payments into pension fund, strong social system if you're ever in trouble, etc.? It seems to me that, as high as US salaries are, they arent that much higher compared to European salaries when you factor all this in, plus the face that a month of that work youre paid for youre OOO

[deleted]

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#33

Post by dagi3d »

pjmlp wrote: post #23
unmole wrote: post #6

Did the survey ask if they wanted a pay cut to match European style wages?

Reaching 50 years old, never got this American complaint about our salaries. The whole package is what matters. We work to live, not live to work.

For some might not be the case when talking about the health insurance...

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#34

Post by WeylandYutani »

jlnthws wrote: post #5

They first need to build European-style mindset to properly take advantage of this.

This is true. I used to think that having a life outside your job was normal. But that was before I became friends with Asian expats.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#35

Post by cloogshicer »

lionkor wrote: post #4

> While the average American is lucky to get 11 vacation days WHAT? Does that count sick days as well, or is that a myth? Here in Germany, I get 30 vacation days per calendar year, plus any sick days, and thats fairly normal. Edit: Sure the absolute salaries here are lower, but the cost of living is vastly different and the social support structures and healthcare are different, too. That should definitely be kept in…

Exactly.

I live in a big European city. You basically don't need a car - pretty much anything within the city is reachable in about 30min, and public transit is comfy.

Also, I have a public transit ticket that allows me to travel the entire country for a year, which only cost about 1000€.

Yes, salaries are lower, but I also don't have to save anything to get my kids through university, or keep emergency funds for health issues.

Also, I can't just get fired without cause. And if I do get laid off, I have 3 months of grace period, plus potentially years of unemployment money.

Also, the government even pays for certain courses so I can find employment again.

The social system in Europe is amazing.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#36

Post by kramerger »

nwoli wrote: post #11
cynicalsecurity wrote: post #3

As much as I like my vacations, I would rather prefer US salary over it.

Don’t think you’d say that if you understood the median quality of life in europe vs the us

You can have private medical insurance or retirement funds on top of that. One does not exclude the other. In fact, most employers offer that as part of your benefits

What you refer to is basically lowest level safety net.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#38

Post by dukeyukey »

ruszki wrote: post #20
pcthrowaway wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Here in Germany, I get 30 vacation days Does this include public holidays? Or do you have public holidays?

When Europeans talk about vacation days, public holidays are never included.

Depends on the country. I officially get 33 days off at work, which includes public holidays; if I wanted to, I could probably negotiate to have those become part of my standard PTO, especially if it meant they had someone who could reliably run support during public holidays.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#39

Post by taurath »

lionkor wrote: post #4

> While the average American is lucky to get 11 vacation days WHAT? Does that count sick days as well, or is that a myth? Here in Germany, I get 30 vacation days per calendar year, plus any sick days, and thats fairly normal. Edit: Sure the absolute salaries here are lower, but the cost of living is vastly different and the social support structures and healthcare are different, too. That should definitely be kept in…

A huge percentage of US workers don’t get paid time off at all.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#40

Post by ghosty141 »

kramerger wrote: post #14

It has been shown that you need around 14 days of interrupted rest to recover from stress etc. The European laws are not some random thing we made up because we are lazy. It is to ensure workers are well rested and ready for a new working year. Hence in long term it will also benefit employers. Some personal anecdata: I notice an immediate difference when I come back after a long vacation. The first 2-3 months I work…

In Germany it is actually mandated by law that you take two consecutive weeks of vacation in a year!
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