←back to thread

137 points pg_1234 | 4 comments | | HN request time: 0.644s | source
1. badpun ◴[] No.37271328[source]
It's also worth pointing out that, in many European countries (Nordics, Italy, probably Germany as well?) it's perfectly ok to just take say most of July or August off, along with everyone else. It's disruptive to the business (to the point that it's taken into account when planning things), esp. in complex companies, where a couple of key managers or architects missing means an entire initiative can stall for the duration- but it's part of the culture and business owners are just accepting this.

Also, even the senior key people are often not really expected to answers emails during vacation. It might be different at the director level and above, but they're pretty much all workaholics anyway, so they don't mind.

replies(2): >>37271426 #>>37271806 #
2. stop50 ◴[] No.37271426[source]
Some german companies may do this, but at most i saw comapnies to give prio to parents and if there is still free capacity its given to the others.
3. vikaveri ◴[] No.37271806[source]
One company I worked for enforced vacations. If someone from work absolutely had to call you on your vacation day, ask a question or password, anything, you'd get a do-over for your day. No one ever called anyone on vacation without a damn good reason. Checking and answering emails on vacation was discouraged as well
replies(1): >>37275255 #
4. paulmd ◴[] No.37275255[source]
this is actually required in some finance-centered fields in the US, because historically many frauds/ponzis/etc have fallen apart when their key players happened to be out-of-office or incommunicado for a few weeks, and a fresh set of eyes got to look at the books. "wait, that doesn't look right... hmmm..."

https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/safety/manual/section4-2.pd...

> Vacation Policies

> Banks should have a policy that requires all officers and employees to be absent from their duties for an uninterrupted period of not less than two consecutive weeks. Absence can be in the form of vacation, rotation of duties, or a combination of both activities. Such policies are highly effective in preventing embezzlements, which usually require a perpetrator’s ongoing presence to manipulate records, respond to inquiries, and otherwise prevent detection. The benefits of such policies are substantially, if not totally, eroded if the duties normally performed by an individual are not assumed by someone else.

> Where a bank’s policies do not conform to the two-week recommended absence, examiners should discuss the benefits of this control with senior management and the board of directors and encourage them to annually review and approve the bank’s actual policy and any exceptions. In cases where a two-week absent-from-duty policy is not in place, the institution should establish appropriate compensating controls that are strictly enforced. Any significant deficiencies in an institution's vacation policy or compensating controls should be discussed in the ROE and reflected in the Management component of the Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System (UFIRS). Note: Management should consider suspending or restricting an individual’s normal IT access rights during periods of prolonged absence, especially for employees with remote or high-level access rights. At a minimum, management should consider monitoring and reporting remote access during periods of prolonged absence.