←back to thread

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

(www.cnbc.com)
137 points pg_1234 | 1 comments | 26 Aug 23 08:47 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
lionkor ◴[26 Aug 23 09:33 UTC] No.37271090[source]▶
> 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 mind.

I dont need to drive my car a lot, because my city is fully walkable/bikeable, and thats not a super rare thing here. There are a lot of factors.

I feel vacation days are just a basic requirement for happiness, whereas being rich maybe isnt

replies(17): >>37271104 #>>37271140 #>>37271164 #>>37271175 #>>37271182 #>>37271186 #>>37271257 #>>37271281 #>>37271340 #>>37271357 #>>37271399 #>>37271541 #>>37271581 #>>37272582 #>>37274311 #>>37275157 #>>37283389 #
taurath ◴[26 Aug 23 09:50 UTC] No.37271182[source]▶
A huge percentage of US workers don’t get paid time off at all.
replies(1): >>37271198 #
morelisp ◴[26 Aug 23 09:52 UTC] No.37271198[source]▶
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.
replies(1): >>37271277 #
1. larusso ◴[26 Aug 23 10:02 UTC] No.37271277{3}[source]▶
That always baffled me. Yes one could say unlimited sickdays lead to a place where a worker might misuse it. But I feel that it does quite the opposite. That people don‘t call in sick and work under questionable health.

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.