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

(www.cnbc.com)
137 points pg_1234 | 2 comments | 26 Aug 23 08:47 UTC | HN request time: 0.432s | source
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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

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jacobgorm ◴[26 Aug 23 09:36 UTC] No.37271104[source]▶
When I first joined a US startup, they said "you can take unlimited PTO -- we suggest starting with a week per year"... I negotiated that up to the five weeks that are standard here in Denmark.
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FartyMcFarter ◴[26 Aug 23 10:03 UTC] No.37271286[source]▶
"Unlimited PTO" is a red flag for me. It means that PTO will be governed by pressure, self-pressure and shame.
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1. morbia ◴[26 Aug 23 10:20 UTC] No.37271410[source]▶
Exactly, I got into quite a heated discussion with a company that offered me a job with "unlimited PTO". They wanted me to sign in the contract with a clause along the lines of "you have unlimited PTO within reason". The whole point of contracts is that you have to explicitly define what is deemed "reasonable". I insisted they put a number to it and they refused.

Needless to say, I didn't accept the job in the end.

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2. tasuki ◴[26 Aug 23 14:38 UTC] No.37273323[source]▶
Eh I also wouldn't take that job. But why, really? If you're used to 35 days of PTO, and you take the same 35 days off at your new job, who are they to claim that whatever you're used to is unreasonable?