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

(www.cnbc.com)
137 points pg_1234 | 3 comments | 26 Aug 23 08:47 UTC | HN request time: 0.641s | 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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cloogshicer ◴[26 Aug 23 09:49 UTC] No.37271175[source]▶
Exactly.

I live in a big European city. You basically don't need a car - pretty much anything within the city is reachable in about 30min, and public transit is comfy.

Also, I have a public transit ticket that allows me to travel the entire country for a year, which only cost about 1000€.

Yes, salaries are lower, but I also don't have to save anything to get my kids through university, or keep emergency funds for health issues.

Also, I can't just get fired without cause. And if I do get laid off, I have 3 months of grace period, plus potentially years of unemployment money.

Also, the government even pays for certain courses so I can find employment again.

The social system in Europe is amazing.

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quonn ◴[26 Aug 23 09:55 UTC] No.37271219[source]▶
Parents have to pay for university in Europe unless they are poor. And while there are no fees, the costs are typically between 30k and 100k per child.

edit: In Germany. I‘m German and I have studied there. I should know.

edit2: Someone said this comment could be interpreted as the cost per year which is not the case. This is the total cost.

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rpadovani ◴[26 Aug 23 10:00 UTC] No.37271258[source]▶
Uhm, what?

If you live with your parents, and the university is free, where does that number come from?

And if you don't live with your parents, you live with others students, spending 600-1000 euro month for living, how do you reach that numbers?

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quonn ◴[26 Aug 23 10:06 UTC] No.37271304[source]▶
Bachelor + Masters is 10 semesters usually. 1000 * 12 * 5 = 60.000. Well in the range that I quoted. And depending on the city the actual costs can be more.
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1. rpadovani ◴[26 Aug 23 10:35 UTC] No.37271497[source]▶
Ah, but then your first comment is highly misleading, because when you talk number, readers assume cost per year.

You are basically saying that living in Europe in a university city cost anything between 6000 and 20000 euros each year.

Maybe a bit high, but I think I can agree.

But living is a cost all around the world, and universities in Europe add a very low overhead on top of it, while universities in US can easily triple your cost of living, so I still don't see your point

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2. quonn ◴[26 Aug 23 10:40 UTC] No.37271533[source]▶
Really? I never thought that could possibly be interpreted as cost per year. I can clarify that.

My point is that the statement that salaries can be low because university has no cost is wrong. The cost is significant even without tuition and therefore salaries absolutely matter.

And without even a shred of doubt, a US tech salary of supposedly around 150k compared to perhaps 80k in Germany more than balances the extra costs for university over a time of 20 years that the kids grow up.

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3. thfuran ◴[26 Aug 23 14:53 UTC] No.37273436[source]▶
>Really? I never thought that could possibly be interpreted as cost per year. I can clarify that

Well, 30k-100k is about right for the annual cost of undergrad in the US and school costs are much more commonly discussed as per year than in total around here.

>My point is that the statement that salaries can be low because university has no cost is wrong. The cost is significant even without tuition and therefore salaries absolutely matter.

That seems a bit misleading as well. Almost all of that cost is unrelated to university attendance. People incur costs for food and rent regardless of whether they're university students.