81–90 of 353 posts
Did the survey ask if they wanted a pay cut to match European style wages?
> 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 hea…
I’m concerned about the 21% who don’t want a better quality of life. What’s going on with them?
I'm probably among the top 5% here in Denmark and I'm fine with paying high taxes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Germany it is actually mandated by law that you take two consecutive weeks of vacation in a year!
I think you have this backwards, it was explained to me that the employer cannot refuse a consecutive vacation of up to 2 weeks, not that the employee has an obligation to take it as such.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 hea…
Parents have to pay for university in Europe unless they are poor. And while there are no fees, the costs are typically between 30k and 100k per child. edit: In Germany. I‘m German and I have studied there. I should know. edit2: Someone said this comment could be interpreted as the cost per year which is not the case. This is the total cost.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A huge percentage of US workers don’t get paid time off at all.
A smaller but still significant percentage of these still receive an allotment of "sick days", and if they exceed them (or have a job without them) just get fired.
We have a similar issue in Germany when it comes to the time between calling in sick and when you need a doctors notice. A lot of companies want a sick note from the doctor from day one. Means if you feel just not great you have to haul your ass to a doctor. Others and my employer counts in wants a sicknote after or on the 3rd day. That is great as it gives you the ability to just rest etc. But that system could be misused. So if it is better to count in that some might misuse it but overall the health of the workforce stays in balance or to employ a strict system where workers are compelled to get into work until they feel really sick … I tend to preference the system with trust. But I can see that that might not work everywhere.
> 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…
Sick days are fairly normal, but "30 vacation days" is not. Only bigCo/large places offer 30(some offered 35 days too). Usual is 25(state normal) with +1-2 days extra at most places. However, sick leave is godsend, no denying.
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…
Do you have sources on that?
My anecdotal experience is that I need at least 3 weeks.
I’m concerned about the 21% who don’t want a better quality of life. What’s going on with them?
Did the survey ask if they wanted a pay cut to match European style wages?
I suspect the survey results will change drastically if each person was shown this table: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per...
The big skewness (difference between the mean and the median) suggests that a lot of wealth is concentrated at the top and that many people are in fact worse off than Europeans.