http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/30/sunday/main6532472.shtml I think it's sad in a way that employers are not required to offer paid vacation time!
Annette, I totally agree with you. Vacation time is a necessity. We have to be able to get away from work and recharge. I think that people that take time off are happier and more productive when they return. At the last place that I worked, people were afraid to take time off that the company gave them. They did not want to be seen as unnecessary, and feared that they wouldn't have a job to come back to. I think that the congressman from Orlando (mentioned in the article) should be pushing for 2 weeks instead of 1 week. My wife is from Germany. She came here when she was 2 and still has family back there. When her father comes for a visit, he comes for at least a month, and he usually goes somewhere else for a month before he goes back to work. He takes at least 8 weeks off every year. He owns his own business, and probably gets more vacation than most people, but his wife works at a bank and takes off just as much as he does. Whenever they visit, I am reminded of just how lacking we are regarding time off in America.
Thanks trev for agreeing with me! I'm sure there's got to be more people that think the same way,except maybe some of the employers One of the companies that my husband used to work for several years never gave him any vacation time.
The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/23/1198091/fiscal-crises-threaten-europes.html
Ncmom, America is the best country in the world, but there is always room to improve. America is facing the same or similar issues as Europe. I have not heard about any European countries talk about lowering vacation requirements - even with the economic troubles. Paid vacation should be guaranteed. Do you get paid vacation? Do you think time off is a necessity or a luxury?
Quote:Six weeks of vacation a year. Retirement at 60. Thousands of euros for having a baby. A good university education for less than the cost of a laptop. In Germany the retirement age is 65 and the vacation time amounts to 22 days per year. Going to university used to be free until recently,now it's about $1250 per year,still a lot better than here were the average cost is $30,000-40,000 unless you're a good football or basketball player off course. How much money you get when a baby is born depends on your income but it can be up to 800 Euros. After that you get money for each child on a monthly basis: * for the first child: 164,- EURO, * for the second child: 170,- EURO * from the third child onward: 195,- EURO
I know at the company I work for, you have to be an employee for a year before you earn any vacation or sick/personal time. After a year you are given 2 sick/personal days a year that you get paid for and 5 days of paid vacation. If you some how don't use all of the days then you lose them and are not paid for the lost days. After 5 years you get 10 days, after 10 years you get 15 days and after 15 years you get 20 days of vacation, but never more than 2 days of sick/personal. I've been with the company for 8 years and from the time I got vacation I have ened up having to take a few days off during the the last two weeks of my year to finish off the days that I haven't taken. As to whether or not time off is a necessity, I'll say this. Paid time off is a benefit, not a necessity, while I think everyone needs time off to get away from the job and unwind, paid time off in the form of vacation time of personal/sick should be a benefit/perk of the job.
there is a reason we are the most productive job force, we still, for the most part, have a work ethic. most of us are not looking for free handouts for having babies, or a free college education. we know it is not a right and you have to work for it, or borrow for it. we know that vacation is a job by job benefit and not a right. it is nice to get it dont get me wrong and i use all my 2 weeks. I also get sick days, but have only used maybe 4 days over 20 years. There is also a reason we still have a chance to save our system and not go backrupt by handing out freebies for 50 years like Eurpoe has.
I had to work for the first time in 20 years yesterday for Memorial Day. I wasn't thrilled, but it didn't kill me. You gotta do what you gotta do.
