Why U.S. Vacation Policies Are So Much Worse Than Europe’s

The United States is the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee workers paid time off. And nearly half of those who are offered paid vacations don’t take the days, even though roughly 80% of U.S. workers receive some sort of paid time off. In France, in contrast, the cultural norm is to take off the entire month of August. But not taking vacation could be harmful to both workers’ health and the economy. Watch the video above to learn more about the vacation story of these two cultures.
Clarification on April 24, 2023: At timecodes 01:50, 4:03 and 06:12, the title of the third chapter should be “Vacation and the economy.”
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
01:50 - European vacation
04:03 - U.S. vacation
06:12 - Vacation and the economy
Produced and Edited by: Charlotte Morabito
Animation: Christina Locopo
Supervising Producer: Lindsey Jacobson
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Fatima Cadet-Diaby
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Why U.S. Vacation Policies Are So Much Worse Than Europe’s

[@dennismach1213]

I think one important thing that CNBC missed on this video is that the US does NOT guarantee PAID SICK LEAVE like many other countries do. Therefore, people save their PTO (paid time off) for situations where they are sick and cannot come in for work instead of actual vacations.

[@1nEGOR]

What, you get paid time of work for vacation in EU. Why is US so against it's own work force, you guys need to revolt or something

[@WK-rp1yh]

Yea mine is all combined into pto

[@dudetocartman]

Here in California, it's mandatory to give PAID SICK LEAVE of up to 24 hours a year if someone claims them. It's good and bad the way I see it. Problem can be that employees would lie and use them for non sickness reasons. And, sometimes you can't ask for prove that you were sick. Sick leave is specified for sickness only, keyword SICK.

[@gary9933]

PTO is another scam.

[@tesladrew2608]

​@@dudetocartman most people are honest

[@peanutButterJe11y]

I got laid off while on a honeymoon I had made managers aware of 4 months in advance. I even worked the day I got married (small ceremony in our yard). You think they'd recognize how much you prioritize them, but the one time you choose not to, they show you how nothing is ever enough. US corporations can get bent.

[@adamcolclasure4892]

You'd love Italy they pay for your honeymoon.

[@HughJass-jv2lt]

🤣

[@annaniezgodzka1101]

Your situation is the perfect example of how because you all are making a priority of your employer and not yourself,you end up being exploited

[@karlabritfeld7104]

Everything I hear about the USA makes me hate it even more.

[@karlabritfeld7104]

​@@annaniezgodzka1101true

[@andycompton8452]

As a young professional, I prioritize vacationing. I’m often judged by my peers and coworkers for traveling so much. Often times I will even take unpaid leave, but at the end of the day you only have one life to live. Budget for fun and live a good life.

[@Marwarluigi]

I work in the US for a German based company. I get 28 days of PTO plus weekends and holidays. They never make you feel bad for taking time off.

[@dic3686]

What company is this?? Because I am sick and tired of the 2 weeks vacation i get each year. When I worked overseas, I had AT LEAST 30 days.

[@athens31415]

My wife also gets 28 days of PTO + weekends + holidays. But her employer gets hostile towards her whenever she takes more than 1-2 days off at a time. So most of her vacation days go unused and wasted, so she can keep her job.

[@bbo40]

The German company that bought the machine shop I worked for did not offer us any more time off ! They loved the fact we had so little and used to complain about all the time allotted to their German based workers !!!!

[@johnp139]

@@bbo40Hypocrites!!

[@Cc2971]

@marwarluigi as they should. Nobody should make you feel bad for taking time off. They need you you don't need them

[@Nickgyw6]

Managers at my company guilt trip you when you want to take time off. It’s so creepy. They even joke about you not having your job when you get back like that’s supposed to be funny. They have no social skills or empathy.

[@philipp3001]

I took 2 weeks off to go see my family, and everyone at my job lost their minds. I put my pto request almost 6 months ahead because I knew I was gonna have 3 weeks of pto, and my parents live in another country. My boss made me feel so bad for taking my vacation. Talked to everyone about how privileged I was for using my pto. I was shamed by all my coworkers, like it was a bad thing that now I feel bad taking any time off. In my line of work (retail), people never take more than a Friday - Monday (4 day weekend) off.

[@jonasbaine3538]

Leave.

[@jtgd]

I hate the ones that practically want doctors notes if you call out sick

[@Chessmapling]

That's what happens when culturally we tie our career to our self-worth. We think our default state is to work, vacation is secondary

[@jonasbaine3538]

@@jtgd it’s even worse when your health insurance is tied to the job….

[@giovanni4304]

American companies lose their minds when someone requests PTO. I'm born and raised Italian, actually going home tomorrow for a week to visit family and my work was freaking out when I told them I was leaving for a lousy 9 days. Even with ample heads up (told them in February) they still can't grasp the concept of "vacation", it was the same in the Military, and every job I've had since then.

[@buffalobill1415]

America sucks

[@illuminativon6542]

This off topic but how was your transition out of the military? I plan on getting out and don’t want to get in the cycle of people thinking they need to army to survive

[@0IIIIII]

I hope my fellow Americans realize that this is not normal. Republican Party hates regulations and workers’ rights. They are to blame as usual

[@giovanni4304]

@@illuminativon6542 my CMC was literally yelling at me when I said I wouldn't reenlist "what are you going to do out there?? How will you live??" (I'm being serious). I got most of my college done while I was in and finished my degree with the g.i bill, I'm in healthcare now (was a grease monkey in the Navy) and it's definitely better than being in. I do miss the people though, other than that civilian sector is a billion times better

[@fatherson5907]

Your company isn’t representative of the entire base of employers. I take time off all of the time. You’re ignorant.

[@utoobia6872]

My relatives back in Europe are shocked at why I only take 2 weeks at a time per year. My coworkers in the US are shocked that I take so much time off. 1 week is the norm here.

[@dyseskytten1]

@alfonsodigrezia5208 One thing about what you said is true. Every unemployment rate is a multiple of the American one. fx. Denmarks unemployment rate is 0.7 or 70 % of the US. As in lower, much lower. Also you can't take a vacation if you are unemployed.

[@Skyrose1978]

@alfonsodigrezia5208 USA is the only developed country in the world that does not have human rights and employment rights mandated by law. Instead of standards, you have benefits dictated to you by your employers who are allowed to treat employees like 19th-century workers and you have been brainwashed into being proud of that fact. In the UK employees have a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid vacation a year which you can build more on. If you are sick you will get paid none of these ridiculous allocated sick days you have in the US. I was off work for six months on paid sick leave with a condition I have. If you are sick while you are on paid vacation you will not lose those days they will count as paid sick days and you claim those paid vacation days back. If you are off work for a long period of time on paid sick leave you are still entitled to your paid vacation. The same applies if you are off work on maternity leave. A year of paid maternity leave fathers can take paid paternity leave. If you need time off work for hospital appointments etc you get paid. Paid bereavement leave my sister took five months off work on paid bereavement leave when her son died. The USA is the only developed country in the world where your healthcare is tied to your employment. In the rest of the developed world healthcare isn't a privilege it is a right that everyone has the same access to regardless if they are in employment or not. If you are going back to work after a period off with an illness or disability your employer has to make adjustments for you such as going part-time, taking more breaks, adjusting your workspace, etc. You can't get fired for ridiculous reasons like you can in the US because employees are protected by their employment rights. USA companies have tried and failed to come to Europe and other countries such as Australia etc because they thought they could impose their draconian employment policies on People. They found out you can't treat employees like that we have laws against it. They stupidly went to court lost and were sent packing back to the USA.

[@Skyrose1978]

@alfonsodigrezia5208 What you have written about Europe is complete rubbish by the way. Get a passport, get a clue, get six weeks of paid vacation mandated by law, and travel to see how backward your country is treating its citizens. You live in a country where people put off going to the doctor or calling an ambulance for fear of medical bills. Where people ration or go without their medications simply because they can't afford them. The USA is the only developed country in the world where people beg strangers for money on Go-Fund-Me to help pay for their medical bills. You stay in jobs that make you miserable because your employer has you and your family by the balls with Medical Insurance. If you are sick you are afraid to take time off work because you won't get paid and if you need a lot of time off work with illness your employer can fire and you certainly won't get paid and will have to live off your savings. Women are forced back to work after giving birth for fear of losing their job and if they do have a few pathetic weeks of maternity leave it usually isn't paid. In the UK women are not even signed off from postnatal care a midwife comes to your home for the first two weeks to check on the health of the mother and baby. If an employee has a death in the family their co-workers donate their own precious few sick days and leave (often unpaid) so they can have time off to be with their family arrange the funeral etc. Hideously expensive education debt follows Americans around for decades much like your medical debt people also find themselves trapped in. For a country armed to the teeth with guns, you guys are amazedly passive in how you allow yourselves to be screwed over.

[@agnezabarutanski1963]

@alfonsodigrezia5208 Job security =/= life security. In Europe, even if you're unemployed, you have health insurance. You don't become bankrupted and homeless if you get seriously sick. America is very much a broken country when it comes to way it treats its workers. So, I'll edit your last sentence a bit - USA once WAS a country of hope and recognition, but overall life quality is better in almost every EU country. And this is just regarding work and vacation - I won't even start with crime, guns-related violence, public transportation and quality of food.

[@wfcoaker1398]

​@alfonsodigrezia5208You have really drunk the Kool Aid, haven't you? Here's a hint: it is NOT unpatriotic to admit that your country isn't perfect and needs improvement. You can acknowledge the truth: workers in order countries are treated better than American workers. Put down the Kool Aid so you can stand up for yourself! You're letting yourself be walked on and bragging about it.

[@scottfrazer4669]

After a 3 month parental leave (which was definitely NOT a vacation) my perspective on time off really changed. For the first time in my adult life I was actually happy and this was at a time when I was caring for infant twins around the clock. Work culture in the US is toxic. Even for those of us who succeed in the work culture, it comes at a high cost.

[@user-rr8hi6nl4f]

My German friend is getting 3 years maternity leave

[@nappyqueen86]

@@user-rr8hi6nl4f😮

[@faustinreeder1075]

That’s ridiculous

[@Molkepulver]

To me as a Swiss person this sounds so ridiculous. Just the concept that you have limited "sick days", like you are planning to get sick. In most companies in Switzerland you get 5 weeks vacation time per year + 10-12 paid holidays as far as I remember. Sick days are unlimited (as they should be) and you take your time off until you recovered. If you get a heavy disease (i.e. cancer and the likes) you are protected for up to 2 years to get your salary.

[@mastersnet18]

This is why Covid was so bad in the U.S. many people (including myself) had to work while sick. That’s how it spread so well.

[@Alepfi5599]

@@mastersnet18 Terrifying. Im glad you made it through!

[@MrJumpingmaniac]

Paying an employee for two years when sick is excessive.

[@Lewtable]

@@MrJumpingmaniac Not really. If an employee is legitimately sick to the point of dehabilitation for 2 years then clearly it was needed. Most people who end up in protection probably don't even use it for more than a handful of months in case of more serious injury or sickness. It's a *limit* not a *average* .

[@phil_ang]

I am not surprised why some employers only give out a very limited to no amount of sick leave in the US and Canada. I have heard lots of stories of co-workers and from friends' co-workers pretending to be sick and using sick days just to take a trip somewhere. Lots of dishonesty. They do this so they use up unused sick days and keep their vacation days whole for that grand yearly trip to the Bahamas or Hawaii or Vegas. Employers keep a blind eye on this and do not seem to mind why their employees are always calling in sick. Corporate culture is also to blame for this dishonesty.

[@Colonist83]

The pandemic brought in a lot of changes. For me the biggest impact it has on my life was realizing how toxic work culture can be here in the US. I was always working and I was absent from what should have been the most important times in my life. Never again!

[@HughJass-jv2lt]

❤❤

[@Optim40]

It's horrible.

[@Pterygotus]

Agreed

[@secrets.295]

US work culture is not toxic. Its considered heaven compared to the Japanese

[@ft9kop]

@@secrets.295 True. lots of Asian countries. Not look at their population, they're so overworked, they can't bother to date and breed. What's the point of life without family and relationships

[@jgroenveld1268]

So here in New Zealand and let me tell you the approach to taking leave is an eye opener. I was summoned to my manager’s office. Walked into the office and there is my manager and a personnel from HR. They almost crucified me for not taking sufficient leave and this was a health and safely issue. I stood there bewildered and mumbling to myself. In the US I had paid leave but two things that stop me from taking vacation was fearing it could affect my work record and the workload on my colleagues.

[@JJVernig]

This. Every year my manager is just pushing to use the time and if there is vacation on the table they will pull me in around November to tell me again.

[@ChineseKiwi]

Not taking enough leave actually negatively affects your 'work record' in the eyes of HR and Payroll in most countries as it messes up their books in regard to labour costs and budgeting for that as they still have to pay you that paid leave money regardless.

[@marcellofunhouse1234]

​@@ChineseKiwiHonestly if I had a job I wouldn't even ask for time off because there's a chance they might just not approve it so what's the point in asking

[@ChineseKiwi]

@@marcellofunhouse1234 they do in most of the world eh.

[@serpent77]

A few years back i worked for a company that had paternity leave. 5 days. I took it when my son was born, spent days and nights helping my fiancé, then on my first day back in the office i got fired. People dont take vacation and sick days because they can and do get fired for it. Not simply for fear of it.

[@crBudgetWatches]

Why do they get fired I don't understand.

[@serpent77]

@CR Budget Watches in some cases as a punishment for not being their working, i.e. "a lack of dedication to the company", in others it leaves an opening for someone with an "eat or be eaten" mentality to start blaming you for mistakes and failures while you're gone and unable to protect yourself. And finally, for some, it's just because they can. Whether it be an excuse for a power trip or as an example to others. It's less about the "why" and more about if they should even be able to in the first place. This is one thing a lot of unions and employment attorneys fight against often.

[@serpent77]

@CR Budget Watches oh, and one other point I nearly forgot, is that even if a company doesn't do these things, the fear that they could often causes them not to take time off theure entitled to. So even the fear that they might is beneficial for the employer.

[@maythesciencebewithyou]

Couldn't you sue them?

[@serpent77]

@@maythesciencebewithyou sadly, where I live, the attornies i spoke to said I couldn't do anything. Labor attorneys here probably go hungry a lot since the laws favor the employers.

[@mattcolver1]

I was a workaholic. Arrive in the dark, leave in the dark. I worked every Saturday for 7 years. Never took all of my paid vacation. Then once during a downtime between projects I took 3 weeks off to raft down the Grand Canyon, which had always been a dream of mine. That trip it changed me. After that trip I avoided long hours, took my weekends off and used every minute of my vacation time until I retired early at age 61 15 years later. No regrets.

[@jesuslover5968]

Do you need a a wife ?

[@miviaflower]

Retire at 61 is not called early. My boss is retiring at 54.

[@mattcolver1]

@@miviaflower Generally it's considered early to retire before 65 because that's when medicare kicks in. Most people don't get healthcare in the U.S. if they retire before 65.

[@RandomJane104]

​@@miviaflower It's early in the US. You can't get on the government health care plan until 65 and full-retirement is 67 in my case. I'm 50 now and plan to retire early at 60. Since my husband is younger I will still have access to his health insurance plan until I can apply for the medicare at 65. It's the reason the US will never have socialized medicine. The need for health insurance keeps people in servitude.

[@myfriendgoo2816]

Did u get plateaued at work? That's what usually happens.

[@jacksonong2576]

Not just Europe’s, but much of the worlds! Here in Australia it’s typical to get 4-6 weeks of holiday a year, if not more. People often take more than one holiday a year. Not to mention we also have maternity leave and far better sick leave. It is genuinely appalling the way the US treats its workers and even more concerning that so many Americans don’t realise this

[@mikegeorge1988]

Yep, get my 4 weeks leave a year, 15 paid sick days and having been at the same employer more 7 years have long service leave also :)

[@karlabritfeld7104]

And Americans think the rest of the world really wants to move to the USA so badly

[@levibest2409]

​@@karlabritfeld7104 I'm trying to leave lol

[@jacksonong2576]

@@karlabritfeld7104 literally! Like the rest of the world looks at the US as a third world country🤦‍♀️

[@AS-kf1ol]

not sure if Asia would agree that "most of the world" has more time off

[@majestic-skies]

What CNBC gets wrong is that the feeling that you'll be fired for taking any vacation time is NOT paranoia. People are fired all the time for actually taking their vacation time. My experience working in Canada all my life is that they never want to allow more than 1 week every 6 months. If you try to take 2 weeks at once they will try their hardest to not allow it. Even when requesting only 2-3 days if it's not convient for the company they'll decline your request. Yes it depends on how the company treats their employees but you'd be shocked to find out how poorly employees are treated when trying to take a few days off.

[@Serpinoroth]

I worked at one company (that got very popular during pandemic) and the workload there was double of what was in other companies, "unlimited" vacation turned out that you basically needed to "beg" for an approval for vacation (at least in my department). I was asked multiple times like "why do you need a vacation", "what are you going to do?", "why so long? (if whole week can be considered long). So every time was a struggle to get a time off.

[@myfriendgoo2816]

Wow, that sounds like a really toxic culture. Probably deliberately understaffed.

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

sounds very toxic

[@johnp139]

All of the questions are irrelevant, and that should have been your answer!

[@trevorsebastian1341]

Since a lot of low wage workers get no PTO in the US I think a lot of them just temporarily drop out of the work force when they need rest or a break or whatever. And the culture makes them feel guilty for it. It’s so depressing

[@jakel8627]

Nah those workers just beat the system. They're smart. Your average Homer Simpson works all year round like a sucker!

[@honestreviewer4864]

So true 🤣 I used to do that

[@TroyKnox]

Then you have to be able to survive with no income during your down time? That sux.

[@drscopeify]

Many in retail stores choose a schedule or have some arrangement at least for the better jobs out there. Here in Seattle the minimum wage is around $17 an hour so it's a lot of money one of the highest minimum wages in the world.

[@Tajmaj]

Many take unpaid time off

[@lg206]

Because middle-class Americans are a real life Alice in Wonderland. They thought that if they let rich company owners save money by not paying pension and not paying decent PTO, eventually the wealth will trickle down

[@birdiewolf3497]

Yeah we were really like, "if we give our lords more wealth and power surely they will split their good fortune us serfs." And then they didn't, but no one wants to admit this was a massive loss. We have nothing to show for it. It's depressing really.

[@scholaroftheworldalternatehist]

Middle class Americans never thought that. Some oligarchs in power thought that

[@birdiewolf3497]

@@scholaroftheworldalternatehist True, but then folks earnestly believe in that crap. It was not an unpopular move at the time. Folks generally agreed with these moves.

[@dwoolf7019]

There is a food processing plant in my hometown where employees practically had to wait till Thursday to find out if they could get just the weekend off.

[@JESUS.saves.Repent.]

And then they aren't able to schedule anything in advance. They can't make a reservation or appointment anywhere if they have no idea when they'll be off from work. American work culture needs change.

[@Kbarboza94]

I just landed a job as a banker at Wells Fargo and they offer 18 days PTO. You better believe I’m taking advantage of every single one of those days

[@perthfanny3017]

Hell yeah 🎉😂

[@calj2090]

Australia is 20 by law....and you have to take them by law....

[@Kbarboza94]

@@calj2090 that’s incredible! Go Australia 🇦🇺

[@namkama6649]

In Germany it is 24 days the minimum. Mostly the maximum is 30. But there also expextions when u work shifts you can get up to 45 in some companys

[@Kbarboza94]

@@namkama6649 can you import me to Germany please?

[@greenhawx]

I live in Germany. My company grants every employee 30 paid days off each year. Added to that are 14 paid public holidays. Some of those dates vary from year to year, some falling on a work day, some on a weekend day. In this years case there are 10 paid holidays during the week where I don't have to work. I also don't have to work on my birthday. That makes it 41 paid days off in 2023. Add to that the 104 work free weekend days and you don't have to work nearly 40% of the year - without any pay cuts. In addition to the regular salary many Germans receive a holiday bonus in June (90% of a months salary) plus a Christmas bonus in November (a full months salary). And if you're sick, you get paid too, of course (as long as it takes to get healthy) without losing any of the paid holidays. That's why you find so many Germans in holiday regions around the globe all the time. We simply have a lot of time to travel. And most of us have enough money to travel. Work to live, not live to work!

[@Dan16673]

I had this at pioneer in texas. I spent 2 months overseas all the time

[@sebastianr8904]

Maybe one reason to convince americans to hire in Germany.

[@bruzote]

In my country, many people brag of how they live to work. They share "war stories" of how many hours they worked, but they claim they are living. Their lack of self-awareness is staggering. Funny, most of them wouldn't do their job for one minute if they were not paid, so clearly it is not that they love their job. What they love is they feel important performing the obeisance of working long hours. Anyone who doesn't feel that way is denigrated by most of these losers. But, they often make more money for their long hours and the ones with money control the messages in the media. So, even though their families are dysfunctional and unhappy within, even though these tragic fools are missing out on the best years of their lives, they swear up and down they are living life on the right path. They simply don't know when enough is enough.

[@Dan16673]

@@Herro1063 where you been working? Ive had no less than 1 month at any job for many years now as ive switched kany times. You gotra choose better companies

[@studentchirag90]

It's not common in Germany. 30 days vacation, Yes. But nothing like extra salary etc etc. 7 public holidays is also common.

[@euroschmau]

Just booked a 3 week trip to Spain 🇪🇸 Not only do I use my PTO, I go all in and enjoy it the best I can. Not using your PTO is like giving back your salary 💸

[@jorgesalazar818]

Enjoy your vacation!

[@perthfanny3017]

Absolutely! I don't think anyone in Europe ever considers not taking all his time off from work. This is very sad someone does that.

[@itsmanupf]

@@perthfanny3017 HR would even be up my A to make sure I used all my vacation days by the end of the year

[@catatonicbug7522]

Many employers will cut you a check at the end of the year for any unused PTO hours. Sometimes, that check feels more valuable than the time off.

[@hhwin2198]

My boss won’t let us use more than 2 weeks pto at a time no matter how much pto you have. Work in retail sucks.

[@dankspain]

I have 40 days of paid holiday this year here in Denmark. When my American colleagues compare their salaries/tax systems to mine I have to remind them of this fact (and other perks).

[@johnp139]

So you are being FORCED to not work those 40 days rather than be compensated for working???

[@dankspain]

@@johnp139I could get paid out 10 of those days and/or lose the rest if I don’t take them. However, my manager will typically intervene if I am working too much.

[@bobloblaw6311]

I worked for seven years at a company that provided paid time off, but there was always a thinly veiled unacceptability in taking it. It was seen as selfish to take time off. This was also a company where working on the weekends was almost always expected, and at times you would work for a few weeks without a day off. It paid fairly well, but it was so toxic I had to leave. I had a family member with cancer and took a half day to travel to see them, and my boss had a "talk" with me. If you were to take off an entire week or more at once, you would come back to a total s**tshow, so it wasn't worth it and people used their time off to make medical appointments and over-prepare to be out for a half day to a day. I can't say enough how I look back at those years and wonder how I made it through. Luckily, the joke was on them in the end because when I left I had a huge chunk of paid time off they had to cash out, and the stock that I purchased every year I worked there had tripled so I sold when it was high and made a pretty penny. I was able to live for about eight months and find a much more comfortable job that pays less, but allows me to take time off and have a personal life. Know who else has a lot of time off? Government workers. Funny coincidence that the people who would put into motion writing laws to guarantee time off yet fail to do so are also those that have an abundance of it. Go figure.

[@genxx2724]

You are free to apply for a government job. Tolerating a lot of BS goes along with it. Your choice.

[@johnp139]

Too bad, if PTO is a PART of your COMPENSATION PACKAGE, then you are ENTITLED TO IT!!!

[@marcellofunhouse1234]

​@@johnp139just cuz you have PTO doesn't mean you're going to be able to use it

[@philipp3001]

I took 2 weeks off to go see my family, and everyone at my job lost their minds. I put my pto request almost 6 months ahead because I knew I was gonna have 3 weeks of pto, and my parents live in another country. My boss made me feel so bad for taking my vacation. Talked to everyone about how privileged I was for using my pto. I was shamed by all my coworkers, like it was a bad thing that now I feel bad taking any time off. In my line of work (retail), people never take more than a Friday - Monday (4 day weekend) off.

[@sentinel151]

F them people, I’d do it again and wouldn’t feel bad about it. You earned your time and days, so can the other people. It has nothing to do about being privileged.

[@hogatiwash7750]

@@sentinel151 exactly

[@MissInformed10]

PTO is part of your benefits! It's like shaming someone for collecting their paycheck or using their health insurance. So ridiculous.

[@fatherson5907]

Find a better job and stop complaining. You are not a victim.

[@BP-vr3rt]

Dude, you work retail. Grow up

[@hidavidwen]

American in The Netherlands here. I remember my first year working in The Netherlands, and I didn’t know I could use my vacation days-my European colleagues laughed at me. “What, you can use your vacation days in your FIRST year?!” Incredible! It took me 3 years to get into that “European” mindset that it is OK to take all your vacation days. I get 5 weeks now and am able to take them all...I'd love even more. I've found extended vacation (2+ weeks) really does improve my wellbeing, and I come back recharged to work. I’ve heard of people who get 8 weeks off per year-and they take the full 8 weeks per year! What helps a lot is when everyone around you-your colleagues-takes (all of their) vacation days. It normalizes taking vacation (which sounds crazy to say). I do hope vacation policies (or rather, the culture) change in the US to better support employees.

[@fatherson5907]

So you didn’t read the policy…ok. You also make KZbin clickbait videos, so everything you say should be questioned. I have 6 weeks of PTO and unlimited sick days. And I earn much more than my slow colleagues in NL who can’t be trusted to run projects.

[@tolazytothinkofanamd2351]

It's not European, it's everywhere but the US. There are third world countries with more vacation days ...

[@redwhite_040]

I find 5 weeks very little (based in NL). I'm only going to work for companies with more than 6/7 weeks.

[@fatherson5907]

@@redwhite_040 that’s why your economy is in ruins, like the rest of the EU.

[@spiltmilt]

I love your channel. Keep it up.

[@shaynewhite1]

My former roommate almost never took vacation because his job would pay him out at the end of the year for any unused vacation time and he wanted the extra money.

[@fixityurself]

I'm a teacher in Ireland. We are paid for all of our time off which is as follows: All of June/July/August 2 Weeks at Christmas 2 Weeks at Easter 1 Week at Halloween 1 Week in March That's around 19 Weeks off out of 52 Weeks in the year. Our working week is 22 hours, with my timetable this year, I finish at 2:40pm on Tuesday and Thursday and 2:10pm on Friday. We also get paid Public Holidays (Around 10 Bank Holidays) I came from the private sector, but teaching feels like a secret that more people should know about, you start on around €40K and only takes about 5-6 years to get to €50K, you would finish at the moment (retirement age 65 Years but you can finish earlier) on around €70K..... oh and Healthcare is FREE! WORK TO LIVE PEOPLE!!!!

[@lauriepenner350]

I work for a Canadian provincial government. You start at 15 days vacation a year (plus stat holidays, sick days and personal leave) and it goes up based on length of employment. Management will actually pressure you to take a vacation if you accumulate too many days. I imagine that eventually a squad of goons will appear and drag you out of your office, force a Mai Tai into your hand, and shove you onto the next flight to Hawaii.

[@robertshegil]

Wow

[@denizv3602]

And compared to the EU, even that is low. Sick days are separate from PTO as it should. If you get sick during pto, that will be swapped to sick.

[@wyntog]

I'm in the UK and I started on 28 days paid days annual leave (on top of the national holidays etc.). After 5 years this went up to 33 days. Staff are allowed to purchase up to 10 more days too as a salary sacrifice, and can carry over up to 10 days of their leave balance into the next financial year. So it's possible you could have 53 days to take in a year (or nearly a week off a month!)

[@al821]

Lot of companies will use sick leave and vacation time in the same pool for PTO. I work in local government where my sick time is separate from vacation. There is some quality of life in government work but the pay is somewhat lacking. I would rather have a decent quality of life over high salary but working like a dog.

[@lauriepenner350]

Yeah, the mandatory amount of vacation in Canada starts at only 2 weeks. I'm not a good example since I get a lot of nice government perks (we have a good union). I don't know what it's like for Canadians who work in the private sector or aren't unionized.

[@yosteven71]

Why do you think there is so many people unhappy with their careers in America? Why do think so many turn to drugs/opioids? So many work related shootings? So many unhappy people. Bc mental health doesn’t come first in this country. It’s an after thought

[@redwhite_040]

So when do the people stand up against this? And when will the Unions address this?

[@777Brooklynbeast777]

Not even an afterthought - not even thought of at all.

[@onetwo12onetwo526]

This country is on fire and we have to keep moving so we don't catch on fire as we watch it burn. I say Get The High Ground have a drink and a blow and watch it go

[@MoneyStationChannel]

This video sheds light on a very important issue that often goes unnoticed. The comparison between the vacation policies of the United States and Europe is striking, and it's disappointing to see how far behind the U.S. lags in terms of providing guaranteed paid time off to workers. It's alarming to learn that nearly half of those who are offered paid vacations in the U.S. don't even take them, despite the importance of taking breaks for one's physical and mental health. The cultural differences between the U.S. and France, for example, are also fascinating to consider. This video serves as a reminder that we need to prioritize the well-being of workers and ensure that they have access to the time off they need to recharge and be their most productive selves.

[@Xiosoranox]

It's not unnoticed, it's ignored because it doesn't benefit companies. The government won't step in and regulate because said corporations have effective lobbyists and give large donations to politicians so that laws will benefit them.

[@johnp139]

If you don’t take your time off, then that’s their problem!!!

[@LBellatrix]

I’m reading this at the end of a week-long vacation. 😂 When I was hired at my (tech) company the policy was 20 days PTO to start, increasing 5 days every 5 years of service. PTO didn’t roll over each year, and our office would basically shut down in December because most people took their PTO then rather than spread it out over the year. Now we have “discretionary PTO”, meaning you can take as many days as you want with manager approval. Ironically people are taking even less PTO than before with this policy. That has a lot to do with staff reductions though. I told them they’re not getting 120 hours of work for 40 hours of pay. Sorry not sorry… People forget that America became “great” (economically) because of the exploitation of labor. Combine that with the defining of work as a moral virtue and it’s no wonder we’re the only developed nation without mandated paid leave. Working people to death is the point…it always has been…

[@DrewtheShrew]

The stock footage used in the ‘freelancers’ section is incredibly idealistic. Most freelancers aren’t working by beaches and Instagramable resorts. A lot of us are grinding it out at home or in small offices.

[@internet2055]

False. I'm here in Costa Rica with beautiful beach weather right now and even the waitress said she was knocking my beach home door in a little while cause she has a surprise for me Freelance is #1 dude

[@alejandroramirez-ih7jv]

@@internet2055 what do you do?

[@sn5301679]

There plenty of them here in Bali...

[@internet2055]

@@alejandroramirez-ih7jv 😎

[@kamilareeder1493]

Facts, or we work a job involving physical labor or a trade :P

[@CB563]

I feel like another reason we don't take vacation days is related to our horrible health care system. If you get sick or need surgery or have to take care of a family member you have to use your "earned time off" and in many companies if you don't have that time, you won't get paid and may not even be allowed to take it off. There is FMLA but it only covers up to 12 weeks unpaid leave and only for a specific situation and eligibility is only after working for an employer after about a year.

[@emma.328]

Exactly. I know so many parents who have used all their "vacation days" to take care of their sick kids.

[@user-uc9fx4ru7p]

True.

[@darthsirrius]

Yep, I had to have a tumor cut out of my throat once, before we even knew if it was cancer or not, and I had to burn all of my sick time and vacation time for the year before I could use an additional couple weeks of FMLA to recover.

[@lichi1244eva]

Agreed.

[@weirdarthistorian]

In Germany you get financial support from your health insurance when you need to take care of a sick close relative. Not in the case of a flu of course, but when your parents or kids need at home care due to serious illness or disability.

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

There was a checkbox on an employee form after I started working saying "would you like to be on-call when you do not have a shift to come in when someone is absent?" My answer was "hell, no." That's my time off. I even have a second phone number on a second phone to use on nights and weekends to not be bothered with work-related anything. I do it to protect my mental health.

[@TheRebel973]

I'm an American and my wife and I live by that motto "we work to live." We are very frugal with our spending so we can take at least 3 vacations a year. One with her side of the family, one with my side, and one by ourselves. Our time to make precious memories with our love one is more important than loyally to an employer.

[@itsthequeenfatima]

Thanks for having me! I’m really passionate about people advocating for better working rights in their respective industries and companies. Hopefully American corporations and legislators will take a note from our European neighbors and adopt better practices for fostering a healthier work life balance. 😊

[@Parkanvas8]

What are your thoughts on the cultural differences in regards to employees respect/loyalty to their employer in the EU? Are they more loyal (work for an employer longer) and thus the relationship is healthier both ways?

[@itsthequeenfatima]

@@Parkanvas8 In my opinion, workers are NOT loyal to their employer. They are proud in their knowledge and use of strong French workers' rights. It is because it is almost impossible to fire a salaried worker with a indefinite work contract. People stay in a job not because they are loyal but because they are comfortable. Employees don't need to practice their "respect or loyalty" to an employer because it is a job that they are working at the end of the day, and no more. They are not and don't feel indebted to their job.

[@LBellatrix]

Great job, sis! 👏🏿👏🏿 Questions for you: What made you leave the US? Do you plan to stay in France indefinitely?

[@Parkanvas8]

@@itsthequeenfatima Thanks for your thoughts! It’s a very unique work culture in France. It is quite different from Northern Europe (Dutch, Scandinavian, Germans). I find it fascinating that the Northern Europeans have terrible weather, a far higher retirement age and less paid vacation days but consistently top numerous surveys and studies on happiness and well-being.

[@itsthequeenfatima]

@@LBellatrix I never made the decision to leave. I came here and decided to stay little by little. I don't know if I will stay here. While France is great, America is home!

[@LIFEwithBAVAN]

This is why ignorance of other cultures is so high in the U.S. as well. We don't get the chance (time/money) to visit other places in the world. Best we have is meeting people from those cultures here, but it's not the same.

[@fatherson5907]

Nope, but nice try spewing the same ridiculous bigoted BS that the media feeds you. The US has more cultures internally than nearly every other country. We are also geographically located far from other nations so flights are long and expensive. I’ve been to nearly 50 countries. Stop being a bigoted and ignorant clown.

[@lukasloh2509]

The only time Americans can understand that the whole world does not revolve around them is when they visit the other parts of the world. Not just other developed countries but those developing countries as well. I believe Americans will realize so many things and appreciate more if they experience the culture and norms of other countries.

[@fatherson5907]

@@lukasloh2509 the irony of this statement as you spend your free time obsessing over the US. Silly europoor.

[@Pleebian94]

​@@lukasloh2509 Capitalism in America is pretty much synonymous with Narcissism.

[@realnapster1522]

The system in America keeps people ignorant and cut off from rest of world and instills a sense of superiority while keeping them ignorant.

[@robertjones8083]

Frankly here in the UK, all my work colleagues and I spend most of our time planning vacation trips - wake-up my American friends!

[@jotdog9357]

Not just France, Australia has pretty great laws around it too. Every full-time worker here gets 4 weeks paid holidays a year, mandated by the government. Most businesses will require you to take all your leave each year, as any leave left at the end of you working there needs to get paid out at your normal rate of pay & becomes a cash flow liability.

[@dain6250]

I lived in Europe before the pandemic but moved back during the pandemic and worked and since moved back to Europe. Vacation time is essential. I cant imagine not having paid time off anymore. You are happier, healthier, and have better relationships with your supervisors when there is a respectful expectation that you are not always available at the drop of a hat for work. You will be gone and not do work for a good portion of the year. America needs to bring back unions to advocate for this issue. We have unions in countries like Iceland and do not even have minimum wage law, but because everyone is unionized it has some of the best wages in Europe, guaranteed time off, and even union bonuses like cheap vacation homes to use during the summer.

[@karlabritfeld7104]

Wow. Unheard of in the USA. And Americans just meekly accept it.

[@robertagren9360]

Maybe we should give shares to the workers... why don't we skip doing it and give them free vacation. USA way is that everything is reinvested in the "Fortune 500" while making sure nobody knows how the country is working, school is like poverty house for the broke.

[@dain6250]

@@EIonMusk1 thank you for the class 🤓 There are quite a few distinctions just between each of the 6 I've lived in, which is why I specifically named one like Iceland to give you some details. If you'd like I can offer some further nuanced details on Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the UK? Though since you seem to be quite the 🤡 I think you're more than up to the task yourself.

[@raymondmiller5098]

Excellent points, but so long as American voters fail to "vote their economic interests", nothing will likely change here - sad to say. Significantly, there is only one national political party that has consistently blocked efforts in Congress (and vaious state legislatures) in recent decades to improve the lives of workers - including guaranteed, reasonable paid vacation. I'll let you guess which party.

[@cosmicllama6910]

What good are unions in the face of Boomers determined to make life worse for all future generations? We literally won't be able to have any meaningful change in this country until enough of the boomers die off.

[@TomWatsonB1]

One of the major reasons I became a teacher. 9 weeks off in the summer. 2 weeks for Christmas. 1 week for Spring Break. 3-5 days for Thanksgiving. Good Friday, Columbus Day. President's Day. MLK Day. Labor Day. 13 weeks off per year. I travel frequently during the summer and I can visit my relatives for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Meanwhile, others are stuck dreaming of retirement. My wife and I moved to an obscure place for her to work in the medical field but have 22 weeks of vacation per year and still get paid well. There's a lot more to life than working, like your health and being there for your kids.

[@krazyfan2000]

That's one of the biggest advantages of being an educator. I love having every major holiday off including the summer.

[@TomWatsonB1]

@@krazyfan2000 Exactly.

[@comedianpottymouth]

Yeah but they don't pay you 💩 I was a teacher for 10 years you can keep that check

[@TomWatsonB1]

@@comedianpottymouth Yeah, pay is not that great. Depends on where you work.

[@comedianpottymouth]

@@TomWatsonB1 I'm in ark Sarah put all teacher starting pay at 50k for a country town teacher who starting pay was 19k they about to live like kings but in little rock they gonna be able to survive with just 1 job

[@rhiannonrecommends]

Another key point missed in the video is this crazy rule of thumb companies in america have, where if there is someone in your department scheduled for vacation then you cannot take any time off during that time. My last job literally had "vacation bids" where they would give us a sheet to fill out in NOVEMBER, and we would put in bids for weeks we wanted to take off for the NEXT YEAR. And whoever has seniority would get the weeks they put in for first and if you were low on that list you were basically at the mercy of whatever was left available. And during my 4 yrs there, i saw 3 times where they would come up to you saying "oh we're gonna be shorthanded next week can you push your vacay wk back another week?" And some ppl(myself included cuz i was so fearful of losing my job) acquiesced. But then they would just come up to yoi the next week and be like "oh sorry someone else already had their scheduled vacay that week can you push it back again?" And the cycle repeats. They operate on such a skeleton crew that taking any sort of time off is just horrible and forbidden and really screws your co workers over. Plus we never got paid enough to even take vacations anyway. Sorry for the rant okay im done!

[@johnp139]

That job wasn’t worth having.

[@keepitfashion]

This was so helpful

[@userMB1]

It is so weird to see the USA, the land of the free, are afraid to get some time off under penalty of loosing their job. If that's not feudal servitude than what is?

[@scepts]

you are only free here to work. We are not the land of the free. We are free to buy as many guns as you could possibly afford and shoot anyone who scares you *only applicable to a single skin tone I think the issue is people still hold onto "the american dream" as if it could potentially come true for them. in reality its more of a nightmare. Will i be able to leave? No. they dont hold your passport, but they do hold you in poverty so you cant leave.

[@kayacenk4164]

they are slave but they dont know it.

[@Emmanuel-ne3oi]

I take all my sick leave😂 and use my vacation

[@faheemabbas3965]

America is a business, not a country.

[@Emmanuel-ne3oi]

@@faheemabbas3965 yep

[@palmerbrown4502]

What’s worse is larger companies with entry level jobs. I work at the big wholesale store (the red one) and the managers really want you to request off 6+ months to a year in advance for time off. Not only that, but the schedule system expects people to be there consistently, so when staff is on vacation, everyone else suffers.

[@0IIIIII]

More proof that republicans have ruined the US and cheat us out of the rights that Europeans have

[@Thatguyinthe452]

Just say Target

[@VinceRiviera]

There's no real reason for that either, it's just about control and at the end of the day just make it as inconvenient as possible for people to take their time off. There's so much you can do about staff automation and in cultures where long and frequent vacations are common they can sort that stuff out with a week's or two of notice. I'd be hard pressed to think that the company you work for is so extremely inefficient that they couldn't handle what thousands upon thousands of companies handle constantly. It's just about control and keeping people down.

[@streamtec88]

just leave. They say Costco treats their employees way better

[@Xiosoranox]

​@@VinceRiviera Not just control but money. American companies are all about productivity, record profits, and pleasing shareholders. Hiring a temp to cover extended vacation costs money that no one wants to spend so nobody brings it up, and government doesn't want corporate donors mad so they don't touch that topic. Europeans arent nearly as productivity focus, the mentality is more "it'll get done eventually".

[@ficklefingeroffate]

Odd, I work for a Fortune 500 company with managers that work to ensure you use ALL of your earned vacation time. In fact, it against explicit company policy to not use your vacation time during the year it's earned, you do not get compensated for unused time unless approved at the VP level and if you do not use your vacation time you will receive "counseling" by HR and your manager to help you understand the importance of vacations. It's called work-life balance and is a very important part of company culture.

[@jt1559]

These benefits are provided to skilled workers as an incentive to work for the company. The lower down the chain you are, the less likely you are to get these benefits.

[@musickfreak]

I just took a 9 day vacation at the start of this month and I'm already burnt out again.

[@vincecanino6119]

I think the part I get most upset about is the stress when coming back. The fact that as many small companies are smaller, they either don’t consider or can’t have people cover for your work. So when you come back, tasks are piled up and everyone expects you have everything done quick. Makes you think was the brief time of relaxation was worth the potential added stress? Or the fact that even though I’m on vacation I have to still be considerate of the company. Such as bringing the work laptop with so you have access to your stuff or having to keep tabs of how long you’re out without internet etc.

[@roscojayco5527]

Thats not your problem, there are so many temp companies they can use while you are on vacation

[@Londronable]

@@roscojayco5527 Also, you know, explain to your colleagues what needs to happen. Colleague is taking a few weeks vacation at the end of May, told me he would show me what to do to keep things running smoothly. When I leave I tell him what to do.

[@velshock]

Not your problem. Periodt

[@sirus312]

@@roscojayco5527 no small business will hire a temp person to cover

[@Flamehead315]

@@roscojayco5527 in my case there isnt a temp that can do my job. There isnt enough work to hire another person who has my skillset, and I'm the only employee who can do my job at my workplace. When i go on vacation no one does my job and its crucial to the business. When i come back projects are sitting on hold and need to be addressed before we lose our customers. It sucks.

[@billdexhart5179]

What was the worth mentioning is that in Europe, in most countries employers pay you an amount of money specifically to go on holiday with. It’s holiday pay.

[@lester12345]

*in some countries in Europe

[@billdexhart5179]

​@@lester12345 Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland and Greece. So most countries in rich "Western" Europe that justify being compared to the US. I think it was implied I didn't mean "Eastern" Europe.

[@lollllloful]

​@@billdexhart5179 not true in Italy

[@billdexhart5179]

@@lollllloful I’m basing myself on Wikipedia. So I’m going to go with them.

[@oscarn-]

In Finland, there used to be a "coming back -bonus", about one month's salary's worth extra if people just returned from their summer vacation. In most cases, this is now changed to vacation pay, which is paid in the beginning of the summer vacation season.

[@alpinebe4ch597]

@08:09 on the productivity chart, this could as well depict wealth & happiness, top ones being the best. Holidays & weekends are horrible when you get back to work on that grimy Monday morning 😢

[@brooklynnmarti9432]

Most of my jobs I worked at, required you to work for a full year before you got vacation time, which was 40 total hours. And I think we were allowed 3 sick days. So crazy. So glad I work for myself now. I don’t get PTO anymore, but I control my schedule and can really rest whenever I’m not actively working

[@Jimmy-ph8xn]

I get 15 days (10 yrs in). I’m not allowed to take off more than a 1 wk at a time and not in Dec. PTO must be used for sick days. Hate it.

[@number8killer383]

That sucks. My current job offers me 15 days and I’ve been here about 1.5 months. Have you thought about another job? You probably could get a substantial raise if you left for another company as well.

[@GreenStorm01]

Why do you do that?

[@Jimmy-ph8xn]

@@number8killer383 My current job is in a rural area with no opportunities nearby and I make 40% more than I would even in a big city. Great pay, terrible quality of life. I’ve already begun quiet quitting.

[@erichearduga]

Guess I've been lucky... I've never left a single day of vacation on the table... with PTO and Holidays I currently get about 2 months a year off. I've had at least 6 weeks for the last 20 years. Didn't realize so many people didn't take their vacations. My first job right out of college denied my vacation with extended family that I put in a couple months before, so 2 weeks prior to the vacation I put in notice... suddenly they decided they rather me stay and approved my week off. ... You got to look out for number 1 while trying not to step in number 2.

[@singloc3021]

I'm one of the 43% who feels guilty when I take time off from work. I feel guilty when someone has to do extra because I'm not there. I do enjoy my time off though. I guess it's all about how much you enjoy or hate your current employment. I don't hate my job so that is a huge factor!

[@johnp139]

The company knows how much time each employee has, so they are RESPONSIBLE to make sure that there is coverage during these times.

[@mudman619]

So I had a health crisis occur in the 11th year of working for a company here in the US. I would be considered a middle manager, but a necessary one filling a unique role in the company. I spent over 40 days hospitalized over the course of 5 months - basically I was hospitalized once a month for 5 or more days for 5 months. My employer was pretty patient & gracious about it - at first. I kept trying to return to work, but just kept ending back in the hospital. They continued to pay my full salary the whole time - like I said, gracious. But when I finally was able to return to a full-time situation, they cut my salary in half saying I "owed" them the money. Salary cut in half for the same hours & work, for getting sick. I have 5 kids. After 6 months of "paying them back" they raised my salary back to normal levels. We almost lost our house over it. Unfortunately, my illness caught up with me again & I ended up disabled. To this day, I have mixed feelings about the whole thing - yes it was gracious paying me the whole time, but to punish me for it afterward, hurting not just me but my whole family, was not gracious at all. I think this highlights the main issue with American Business attitudes - we're not humans - we're not allowed to get sick, have a life, or expect grace - if any of those things are prioritized over the business, we are punished.

[@radjalomas8854]

You should have found another job, I know it's easy to say, but companies get away with unacceptable behavior because people don't push back.

[@chapelknight951]

Where I work in the US, we have 2 weeks of vacation immediately, and 3 weeks after 5 years. We have no sick time whatsoever which means if you get very sick and just can't work, you have to use your vacation time or lose money.

[@silverbiocide]

Some NASA contractors

[@teotik8071]

Lumping vacation and sick days (which should be unlimited) together is disgusting and inhuman.

[@oldsenpai4337]

I get two weeks of paid vacation with some paid sick time. Plus paid holidays however, if I want 3 weeks of paid vacation, I needed to be in the company for 10 years...lol

[@redwhite_040]

As if getting sick is your own fault. What a idiot working culture in the US.

[@Sarah9677]

That would be illegal in the EU! We get 6 months at full pay if you fall sick, also if you are ill on your vacation days you get the vacation days back to use again.

[@TheMarkie281]

Most of us have to use our vacation time for doctors appointments

[@kayacenk4164]

lol? even in Turkey we can go to hospital or doctors appointments without spending vacation time. and we getting still payed by companys first 2-3 day. if it take more than 2-3 day then government paying our salary. you americans are slave but u guys dont know it. they saying freedom bla bla. in reality u guys just working 24/7. i have 4 week vacation time in a year. and its only for vacation. so if i get sick or something im not loosing my vacation time.

[@Alepfi5599]

That's baffling. American Dream™, right?

[@tangent123456]

That is insanely depressing omg

[@coasterblocks3420]

In Australia you can bank your annual leave year after year if, say, you’re planning a two month overseas holiday. Management will encourage (sometimes demand) you to use your leave if you haven’t had a holiday for a while. If you leave a job, you’re leave entitlement is paid out to you. You also accrue 1.3 weeks long service leave per year of service which you can take after 10 years (13 weeks paid leave). That’s on top of your 4 weeks annual paid leave for which you receive an extra 12.5% leave loading on top of that.

[@arn7992]

I hear my coworkers say they have 200 hours of PTO built up, but they don't use it because they can't afford to go anywhere. I tell them take time off just for your health and well-being.

[@bonniegaither3994]

I hardly ever took my vacation time because I was afraid I might have to use it in case something went bad, and I needed the time. Like a medical emergency.

[@SpektrikMusic]

In Australia we also have 10 days paid sick leave and WorkCover (long term paid medical leave if required for mental and physical health), it's crazy to think that the US doesn't have that in place and it's a sign that they think everyone is disposable.

[@jesuslover5968]

You make it bad for the rest of us. You should be mad about that

[@kbthegoat824]

​@@SpektrikMusic it really all depends where you work. I get 14 days of sick leave and one month of paid time off and I'm in the US so. Many jobs have the benefits and many do not.

[@karlabritfeld7104]

USA runs like a third world country taking advantage of people.

[@vornamenachname5589]

here in germany you get 6 weeks of paid sick leave and after that the health insurance jumps in and pays 80% of your net salary as long as it takes. i took this for 8 months a couple years ago because of a back injury. vaccation is for recreation.

[@SpoonDono]

At my last job, I made sure to take all of my vacation time for the two years I was there I was convinced that my older coworkers thought I was a slacker (also, a few of them took credit for my work) Even my boss accused me of not working or wanting others to do my work Just because I’d ask for help after being overloaded or just not knowing and asking questions because I was new and had to learn I solved long-standing problems for them. Years and years long problems. But having any boundaries was a huge no-no with management

[@HairByJamesAnnabel]

In Australia 🇦🇺 I get 5weeks paid vacation + 18% loading. 7 paid sick days. If leave isn’t taken it’s accrued into the following year

[@TheXev]

I live and work in the US, and I used to work for a warehouse. When I first worked there, you received a small amount of vacation every pay period, and you could use it at least once a year. However, they were bought out, and the new company would give us a massive 200 hours (and that was just for new hires! I received 250hours!) of PTO at the start of the year that we had to "use or lose," as many workers would bank their PTO and cash it out at the end of the year. I loved it. I could take two full weeks off a year, and have extra PTO for when work was slow and we went home early, or if I wanted to take a three day weekend once a month to regenerate.. or sometimes 3 days off during a weekend for a mini vacation.. it was great! Loved it. I felt so much better and less depressed with the change! They closed down in 2019 due to cost cutting in the company, I just really hope my next job offers such a great vacation package!

[@Willcaballero]

When I got married in 2014, I took off two weeks for the wedding and honeymoon, and didn't get paid anything for it. When I returned to work, my workload was so massive that I just did the bare minimum and was let go after another three weeks. At least that way, I got a crappy two week severance package, so I guess my company did pay for my wedding/honeymoon after all haha.

[@konigstiger3252]

Imagine thinking getting married should excuss you from the works you are supposed to do...🤦‍♂️

[@mastersnet18]

@@konigstiger3252 imagine thinking there is more to life outside of work. Or should people simply live at the office and only go home to sleep? Better yet get beds in the office that way no one leaves ever!

[@konigstiger3252]

@@mastersnet18 i got no problem with people taking breaks. I got problem with people that unwilling to put in the times to catch back up afterwards

[@schwarzwolfram7925]

@@konigstiger3252 There shouldn't be a "catch up" afterwards. There should just be a "welcome back, here's where you left off".

[@MrTmenzo]

How did your spouse feel when her newly husband she married was unemployed shortly after marrying?

[@auroragb]

Just mandate that companies must pay for untaken vacation time. This will cause companies to force workers to take the days off. Over time, this will result in additional leisure time and more people might travel

[@GyroCannon]

They find ways around this though. Many companies give "Unlimited flexible PTO" rather than a set number of days, so they bypass the PTO payout (x dollars per hour of PTO accrued) requirement.

[@jeffreytoman8351]

I work as a seasonal worker (landscape) so I’m out of work 2ish months a year. I worked for Chewey in their warehouse for 2 winters, and each time I left to go back to landscape, I received a check for my accrued pto

[@effend446]

As good as this sounds, it would actually put small companies out of business because the finances simply aren't there for them to provide such benefits to their employees.

[@auroragb]

@@effend446 paid holidays are not mandatory in the US. Companies that can't pay should just not offer PTO or have fewer PTO days within their finances, or, they can actually insist employees actually use their PTO days *shock*. Many companies have empty PTO policy that looks nice but end up not really being available to most staff

[@MegaLokopo]

All of this would be solved, if people demanded they get paid enough to be able to miss work without having such a massive hit to their income to housing ratio that causes them to risk missing rent or mortgage payments.

[@axebul.2366]

Thats probably the biggest reason beside health care why i never considered moving to the US. I live and work in germany and have 30 days of paid vacation per year add to that 10+ paid holidays per year + you get arround 6 months of paid sick leave. The difference is just ridiculous

[@cameron00148]

Prior to 2020, whenever an employee would request PTO and they were denied, they would simply call in sick or use one of their sick days. This, unfortunately, is common throughout the U.S.! What's interesting is that 2020 is (was) the only year where calling in sick will automatically get you a two week vacation. My Christmas Gift for 2020 was testing positive for COVID - 19 and them two weeks went by fast - mainly because I was knocked out 95% of the time lol

[@richardstockwell4862]

It's sad this was how I got my first vacation in ten years.

[@athens31415]

I almost got fired for using 4 days of the two weeks allotted to me when I got Covid in 2020. Just because time is allotted to you, doesn't mean that you can actually use that time. It depends entirely on the culture of your work environment.

[@KailuaChick]

I’m in my early 30s and have had severe health issues due to work stress over the past 10 years. Considering how much longer I’ll be stuck in the workforce, I’ve decided to move to Europe in the next couple years and work over there. I have a sneaking suspicion that all of my health issues would resolve in an environment where I’m not expected to prioritize my job over my life.

[@SurpriseMeJT]

As someone who moved to France from the US, I can tell you that life can still be stressful, but the lifestyle allows you to destress. Also, the food quality is so much better, which will definitely help with any health issues.

[@johnp139]

Good, go!

[@jhause9404]

I requested ONE unpaid day off 2 months ago. I asked today and it was approved (never missed a day of work mind you) and they told me it's still under review. I asked my supervisor shy the GM hasn't approved it, the supervisor said, "I dont know, that's not my problem." Mannn

[@fatherson5907]

Find another job.

[@venomq2409]

In Australia, in addition to yearly leave of 4 weeks paid vacation days plus 10 days annually of Sick leave, we have something called “Portable Long Service Leave”. All States and Territories have a framework for Long Service Leave (LSL). Generally, after 10 years of (continuous) service with one employer, LSL allows for an employee to take 8.6 weeks of paid leave. Then, for every 5 additional years of service, LSL kicks in again. The “Portable” component recognises that there are some industry sectors where it is difficult to accumulate the years of service with a single employer to qualify for LSL, such as the construction, cleaning and security industry. In order to rationalise the workers in these industries and bring them in-line with the rest of the workforce (in relation to LSL), these workers can work within their respective industries for multiple employers and after 10 years of work they still get to access their LSL entitlement. For each industry there is a Portable LSL Board (or Authority) whereby employers pay into the workers LSL pool for the time the worker is engaged by the employer (pro-rata). At the 10 year mark, the Portable LSL Board pays the employee for the LSL entitlement, leaving the employer at the time not having to maintain the wages of the employee taking the LSL, thus allowing the employer to effectively fill the position with a temporary worker during that time without the employer being penalised for maintaining two sets of wages.

[@toddspangler6669]

My boss just recently got on me for taking Fridays off. I was taking 2hrs or less of vacation to finish off the 40 hr work week. He said, "Other teams are working extra hours and it looks bad." My team doesn't have any impending project and most are just working 40. I even checked with HR and they said there is NO minimum amount of vacation you have to take. I'm paid salary and don't get paid overtime. Why would I want to "work for free" just to make my manager happy?

[@marcelofreitas6338]

I work in Luxembourg and I get 35 paid vacation plus 13 paid public holidays. When we talk about paid holidays in the United States, everyone laughs.

[@abishekmoosad342]

I work in Luxembourg and I agree with you. I Get around 28 days but increases by 2 days every 2 years of seniority maximum up to 36 days. And also the public holiday system in Luxembourg is amazing. If the public holiday falls on the weekend, we get the day added to our paid leave account. Blessed to have good work life balance 😅

[@codyparker679]

As an American I've never had one paid day off ever. I simply wasn't fired for not showing up when I usually worked 80hr weeks. Now I work for myself

[@alastairhewitt380]

@@NotSoEntertaining. Be Luxembourgish. This is part of the problem. We are trained to think such privileges are and should only be great to top level executives or very special use cases. When the rights are guaranteed by law and enforced they are extended to everyone. I've met minimum wage workers in developing countries who still take their holidays because it is paid. My mother in the US has to beg for more holidays, even offering for them to be unpaid, and when she does take a vacation she works because we are guilt tripped into thinking we never deserve an actual break

[@njnikusha]

Im in US and I laugh as well

[@horsecockphepner]

who the hell wants to live in luxembourg lmao

[@Harvest717]

It's hard to use up all your vacation in the US when it's common practice to not offer sick leave. We get less PTO and have to use them if we're sick.

[@rogerwilco2]

Whenever I visit the US I notice how much more stress there is. Even the difference with Canada is noticeable. The noise and polution, lack of worker rights, healthcare costs and link to your employer and lots of other insecurities. It adds up.

[@userMB1]

In the Netherlands, if you get sick before your vacation, it's counted as sick days and you will still have the same amount of vacation days that you can have some other time.

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

Must be nice 😮‍💨🥱

[@lauriepenner350]

Nice! I could probably manage that here in Canada too. I'd just have to go in the absences calendar and change my scheduled vacation days to sick days.

[@glennshoemake4200]

Spain has this too, if you get sick when you are on vacation you can get a "baja" from public healthcare and get your sick days refunded from your vacation days.

[@tafsirdiallo]

Coming from France, It was hard to explain to my US colleagues that French people work as hard or even more. Fun fact, I actually take more vacation days in the US than back in France. A shocker for me was the "limited sick days" not use for the right purpose. It does not make sense. Another thing to note is that in France, there are geographical vacation zones which stage their the dates so not every entity (schools, administrations, ...) take vacations at the same time. It helps to provide minimum service and avoid saturation of airports, highways, train stations ... Another direct result of the very short vacations in the US is the fact that when people visit other continents, they are in a marathon to visit so many places in a limited time. Every time I would receive US friends in France, they would want to visit all Europe in 5 days. It a shame because they don't take the time to actually see the real beauty of local places and appreciate what they offer.

[@perthfanny3017]

It's been proven that French workers, even if working less hours than US workers, are still more productive!

[@osimeon00]

France's economy is proof they don't work harder. They're protesting now because the retirement age has gone up to 64 because they don't work enough to sustain the 62 year model.

[@joelwright4317]

In 30+ years of working (20 of those in the military where you earn 30 days of leave per year), only twice have I ever taken a vacation longer than a week. I found out early on that if I was gone more than a week, that tasks pile up to ungodly levels when I got back. I have to spend several days catching up with what’s going on and all the work that piled up on my desk. So for 30+ years I’ve generally just taken one, two, or three days off max at a time here and there. I’ve never left leave or PTO on the table, but when I do take off, I feel like it’s mostly forced just for the sake burning it.

[@dominicanknives9206]

I worked in fast food as a manager for 3 years and had the grave yard shift, the culture from the higher ups is for you to get over time hours, and the reward is two weeks paid vacation. I'd like some more vacation time, and haha I'm working on it

[@skyboy49707]

My last job I got 0 paid days, 0 unpaid days, 0 paid sick days, and 0 sick days. If you wanted time off you had to request it but there was no guarantee, even if it was approved it could later be denied. You could even get in trouble for calling in sick if they thought it was going to be busy. So I went in sick multiple times which was not great because I was a server. The managers would also schedule more people if there was a major event like the super bowl because they knew a bunch of people would call in "sick" because that was the only way they could guarantee the time off. My job before that was even worse, 0 days and they marked off a total of 10 months of the year that we weren't even allowed to request time off. I don't understand why there isn't more being done on this. My current job has an office in Europe and they get 30 paid days plus paid holidays by law. Plus 6 months of paid parental leave plus a year of paid part time parental leave.

[@damatar]

My company moved US employees to "discretionary PTO" a couple of years ago. My colleagues and I worked on a project to help ID employees globally who weren't taking PTO, to encourage them to take PTO throughout the year to avoid late-year issues with lots of people taking PTO. Executives in a project meeting suggested NOT sending the reminders to US employees since we "don't have a right to any certain amount of PTO and thus don't need to use PTO up at the end of year." Basically, make PTO "discretionary" and hope US employees just don't take PTO at all. Ultimately, the person in charge found that suggestion as disgusting as it was and the reminders went to US employees, too, but that's the mindset here. For my part, I used the move to discretionary as an opportunity to negotiate an extra week of PTO.

[@Zachary_Dale]

Let's see. The US has: -No universal healthcare system -No guaranteed leave (PTO) or vacation time. -Most expensive education system in the world. -No maternity leave (only developed country without) -Astronomical housing and rent prices That's just a few, but there's loads more.

[@Cryptokelly53611]

The culture in companies isn't working, vast changes are needed and we need laws forcing companies to give people time off, but our politics are dominated by those same companies special interest groups. Leaving the US was the best thing I ever did for myself.

[@dustinmcdowell848]

Thank you boomers for forming your entire identity around your work and forcing this ideology upon everyone else. I just love that the first thing you ever ask me is what I do for a living.

[@NinjaMan47]

One thing about the economic impact of using vacation days: That implies you can *afford* an expensive vacation. Most of my family and friends do not have money saved up for vacations, nor a desire to stretch their already strained finances with one. While the emotional impact of a good 'stay-cation' would be immeserable, the economic boost would likely never materialize.

[@machintrucGaming]

@@ryanrobichaud8665 Did you watch the video ? CNBC claims french work less and are being more productive. Some french companies even experimented with 4 day work week and found improved productivity and morale.

[@timberwolfe1645]

You can afford camping can't you?!? Just aim for a national park and drive!!! You can afford the 200 bucks of gas and hot dogs

[@Molkepulver]

What about the economic impact that you can rest and recover from everyday stress when you have paid time off? You can also simply relax during paid time off and not go anywhere.

[@Bobrogers99]

Some families need the added income from working holiday and paid vacation days if that is an option, and that gives them more money to spend.

[@ksoosk]

The beauty of paid vacation in Europe is that it is coupled with a holiday allowance and even some with 13th month pay. I got 8% of my annual salary around May or June as holiday pay in NL (on top of salary for that month). My husband has that plus 13th month in December so there is money for vacation. We don't go to expensive vacations everytime though. You can also just unwind, be productive at home, go to the park or catch up with chores. Some people also use this allowance to buy other things, too.

[@tracygarner5912]

I want more time off with pay. I burn out sometimes.if I could take a month off every 3 months I would be refreshed. Plus a 4-day work week too. We have improved with technology why haven't we improved our work days and hours?

[@mrbond9882]

I use to take my vacation days very seriously. To the point that my company phone was left at the house, turned off. Don't bother me if I'm not on the clock

[@MrSomeGamerdude]

me and my 2 friends had terrible experience with past & current jobs. -one told him he is no longer needed his 15 year experience when a group of early 20 year old (with zero in the field) that willing to be paid less (together) than the cost of just him . right after he got back from vacation -another one got a letter in his mail box after coming back from vacation saying he was fired for job abandonment (they KNEW he was vacation and it was approved) -and my past job. denied mine (without telling me, plus they knew for 8 months). and then while on vacation, been told that i need to be in the next day (several hundred miles away) No if and or buts, or have no job, no severing package for job abandonment.

[@surfingswimmer1711]

not sure if it helps but in my own experience I've learned that when when one crappy job decides to take a dump on me. There is another crappy job I can get instead.

[@Pea-G]

I think that it’s also worthy to point out that when most Americans do take a break they do so internally, they go to family in nearby states. The US is a pretty diverse country climate wise as well so it’s got so many places to visit.

[@kevwwong]

I think Americans (and Canadians) don't take enough time to really explore our respective countries.

[@douglasfreer]

I’m finally taking a vacation after not having one in two years. My reason was not a case of not wanting one but more that I didn’t have time nor the money to plan for one because I had moved across the country. I had also started a new job so I needed to get established there first. After Christmas and the new years holidays had ended I really needed one after working almost nonstop since I had started there, discounting my twice a week off schedule along with any sick days I had and hurricane season causing everything to shut down for a few days, so I was due and ready for one. I’ve already started planning for a vacation for next year so I’m ready for it. I’m actually lucky on the PTO, vacation and sick day leave because my work has a point system where you only lose one point of sick a certain amount of consecutive days in a row so if I’m sick a full week I don’t have to worry about not having a job when I return. We also get a certain amount of PTO given every month that builds up until a threshold is met along with a good amount of vacation hours, I had 70 before my vacation time was approved and that covers an 8 hour work day per day of vacation. I’m lucky for the job I do have NGL.

[@luffirton]

A cool fact about Norwegian paid vacation is that it’s both a policy and a systemic way to save for vacation. The company doesn’t actually pay for the vacation days you take off, but you are forced to save a small percentage of your salary for vacation. It is good for the employees because you are sure to have a paid vacation and the company doesn’t foot the bill keeping everyone happy and the system well supported by all involved. The way it works is that the company have to save/deduct a small percentage of your monthly salary for 12 months. Have to keep that safe until the company’s yearly policy for paying out the saved vacation amount. You then don’t have a salary the month after, since that vacation money should cover one month salary each year. Giving you a total of 12 months paid salary. Meanwhile if you take vacation any other time during the next 12 months since you already have been deducted and received the vacation salary covering 1 month salary you’re sure to get your full salary any time the next 12 months if you take PTO(vacation) It’s basically forced saving for vacation and since everyone have a right to 1 month of vacation it’s important that everyone, is saving something for covering that 1 month PTO each year. Don’t take any vacation don’t worry it’s your money and is paid out by the company each year. Gives a boost to your private economy, since it’s money you don’t really count as part of your salary until it comes each year. There is also paid sick leave meaning your vacation salary actually can be used for vacation

[@royharper2003]

so what, is the entire world suppose to do that because Norway does?

[@skysthelimitvideos]

Gen Z will help fix this. We’re gonna take all the vacation we can get and we’re generally less workaholic than earlier generations.

[@Chessmapling]

Good on you guys. I think each generation should learn from the mistakes of the older ones; that's how society moves forward. It's unfortunate that each generation calls the next lazy, forgetting that the ones prior once called them lazy too. I'm a millennial, but I'm rooting for Gen Z to help us escape this toxic idea of tying work to our self-worth.

[@superblondeDotOrg]

genz also lacks critical thinking skills so cant work that well anyways without massive supervision.

[@kayacenk4164]

u guys just need wake up. americans are working like slave. u guys not have freedom or anything.

[@hiker0100]

@@superblondeDotOrg Most Gen Xers and baby boomers are Trump supporters, so they definitely lack critical thinking skills as well

[@Lele-lq3tx]

Every 6 months I’m Gone for e week. And I’m not playing about it.

[@wowJhil]

It's so surprising to hear that US is a country best suited for companies and not workers, a real chocker. I wonder why that is.

[@katarh]

I'm grateful to work in an organization that not only gives generous PTO benefits (12 true vacation days that roll over if not used, another 12 sick days that roll over if not used, plus all federal holidays and a bonus 5 days off between Christmas and NYD) - it also fully expects me to use them, eventually. My office went to half staff a few weeks ago because literally half of us were on vacation for something. My manager has been with the organization so long he just takes a Friday off once a month because he'll never be able to use his vacation time up otherwise.

[@christopherhunt147]

I forget to take time off. I get more time off and usually schedule my vacation time with hers so we can travel back home for a week. The other time I have stacks up until I have to burn it or loose it. Gets very interesting because most of my coworkers do the same thing. Its like 2 of us are on vacations at a time trying to burn it. Leaves things a bit short handed lol. Still going to burn it all even if i'm just going to sit at home doing absolutely nothing! Getting paid to relax and recharge is nice. Its also nice to have time to work on projects.

[@May-qb3vx]

For me, I don’t like taking my vacation because I dread the big pile up of work that is always waiting for me when I get back. “You can do this when you get back” is great, but when everyone is saying that and none of my coworkers are covering for me, it’s overwhelming

[@TaureanRuler]

Learn to work at a pace that’s doesn’t cause burn out. No one did my work while gone on vacation, so when I got back I worked at pace because I’m not about to do extra because they didn’t want to hire more people to handle the workload while out

[@Ginkoman2]

work pileup because of vacation is not the fault of the employee.

[@johnp139]

Don’t do it.

[@zoechase3923]

My man is a foreman and only gets one week of vacation right now per year! That’s crazy to me he works Monday-Friday from 6-7pm and yet one week vacation is what he had to use whenever I had our daughter. It’s ridiculous 😢 this is why our workers our so burnt out

[@guldklimp]

In Europe (at least in Sweden), you have to go on vacation. I think it is at least 3, weeks during the summer and the rest you can choose yourself. I never even thought about the possibility to seem lazy for going on vacation because that's absolutely not the case in Sweden. I get sad thinking about work culture in the US😢

[@johnp139]

Why should people be FORCED to NOT WORK?!? STUPID!!

[@reprovedcandy]

I work at a European company and all our EU people are off for a whole month - and you know what? It makes no impact. We just schedule everything for Sept and move on. It's soooooooooo annoying because for some reason in the US we are all still working every single day of the month and its like, really?! Why don't we get the same time off as our EU counterparts

[@reprovedcandy]

@Phillip Banes International company. Has offices everywhere in Europe. HQ in Switzerland....