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No Vacation Nation
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:37 am
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:37 am
The US is the only developed nation that treats paid time off as a perk.
Edmund McCombs moved to Sydney six years ago — and has no plans to leave. It’s not just the beaches or the cafe-lined harbour that keeps the 33-year-old social sustainability manager Down Under. The Florida native hasn’t left because, well, his boss actually wants him to take vacation and enjoy life outside of work.
McCombs said his supervisor actively tracks vacation days not to make sure he doesn’t take too many, but rather to ensure he has regular breaks. What’s more, there are employees at the property and infrastructure company who are tasked with dreaming up ways to get workers out of the office and enjoying life.
No Vacation Nation
Edmund McCombs moved to Sydney six years ago — and has no plans to leave. It’s not just the beaches or the cafe-lined harbour that keeps the 33-year-old social sustainability manager Down Under. The Florida native hasn’t left because, well, his boss actually wants him to take vacation and enjoy life outside of work.
McCombs said his supervisor actively tracks vacation days not to make sure he doesn’t take too many, but rather to ensure he has regular breaks. What’s more, there are employees at the property and infrastructure company who are tasked with dreaming up ways to get workers out of the office and enjoying life.
No Vacation Nation
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:38 am to asurob1
this is one aspect of our system I can't wrap my mind around. Of course, I haven't given it much thought besides "gee, it'd make more sense if we gave more time off".
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:40 am to asurob1
quote:
The US is the only developed nation that treats paid time off as a perk.
In the US you also have the choice to work as much or as little as you want to.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:40 am to asurob1
This only verifies what I just posted on the 70805 thread.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:41 am to lsu480
quote:
In the US you also have the choice to work as much or as little as you want to.
Are you assuming eating and housing is simply an option?
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:43 am to asurob1
I agree with you. You become less productive with no breaks. Get burned out.
But there is a balance.
But there is a balance.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:44 am to asurob1
quote:
A culture of fear
Even for those Americans who do receive paid time off, actually taking it can prove to be a Herculean task. The overall culture of the American workplace is one where people often feel that if they dare to request vacation days, they will be stigmatised as lazy or disloyal. Many leave their earned time off on the table each year. Experts say this serves to create an imbalance in the work-life equation, rarely seen in other advanced economies.
An eye-opening survey released by careers website Glassdoor.com in April found that the average American employee who received paid time off last year had used only half of it.
Some 28% of workers told Glassdoor they feared falling behind in their work, while 17% feared losing their job. Another 19% said they didn’t take long vacations because they wanted to have an edge over the competition for a promotion.
“It’s clear the word ‘vacation’ among employers and employees doesn’t mean what it did in the past,” noted Rusty Rueff, a career and workplace expert at Glassdoor.
Yep, a culture of fear. This so lame.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:46 am to asurob1
What is a social sustainability manager?
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:48 am to darkhorse
there are a few things that challenge my free-market low-regulation outlook and this is one of them.
mandated paid time-off seems like one of those things that's a net positive, but you have to figure there's some drawbacks and also a bit of a slippery slope.
businesses will have to hire more people to compensate = good
businesses will either increase price, decrease pay, or both, to compensate. in any scenario, cost of living or relative cost of living goes up = bad. have to keep in mind these countries have much more social support than we do to absorb these maladies.
the initially intangible variable at play is the overall improvement in QoL for the citizenry and they may be more productive/less sickly and businesses may experience less employee turnover, thusly saving money.
I think doing away with welfare programs entirely and just cutting everyone in the country a check might make this option a little more viable.
mandated paid time-off seems like one of those things that's a net positive, but you have to figure there's some drawbacks and also a bit of a slippery slope.
businesses will have to hire more people to compensate = good
businesses will either increase price, decrease pay, or both, to compensate. in any scenario, cost of living or relative cost of living goes up = bad. have to keep in mind these countries have much more social support than we do to absorb these maladies.
the initially intangible variable at play is the overall improvement in QoL for the citizenry and they may be more productive/less sickly and businesses may experience less employee turnover, thusly saving money.
I think doing away with welfare programs entirely and just cutting everyone in the country a check might make this option a little more viable.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:50 am to asurob1
quote:
his boss actually wants him to take vacation and enjoy life outside of work
quote:
supervisor actively tracks vacation days not to make sure he doesn’t take too many, but rather to ensure he has regular breaks
quote:Very popular outside of America.
there are employees at the property and infrastructure company who are tasked with dreaming up ways to get workers out of the office and enjoying life
One more, of the millions, of occurrences that I think should be highly encouraged but doesn't need blanket legislation.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:50 am to asurob1
quote:
The US is the only developed nation that treats paid time off as a perk.
Depends on where you work.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:53 am to asurob1
quote:
Are you assuming eating and housing is simply an option?
It's called a free market. If you want me to work a 6 day week with no vacation time at all for a year I will do it if the price is right.
Companies pay according to availability of employees.
That's why night shift workers at the hospital make more money than day shift.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:53 am to Blue Velvet
quote:
One more, of the millions, of occurrences that I think should be highly encouraged but doesn't need blanket legislation.
how do you encourage this without legislation though? I keep having this issue when I try to figure it out in my mind.
no matter what you do, someone will be willing to "undercut" your work. If you don't want to take a job without 4 weeks paid vacation, the company will find someone who does, unless you're just so valuable that you're the only reasonable option; and lets be fair, very few people in the country actually have that kind of skill set.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:53 am to asurob1
quote:
Are you assuming eating and housing is simply an option?
The government will provide you with those if you choose not to work. Even if they don't you can provide yourself with housing and food by working just a few hours a week. You can get a room in a house for $300 a month on craigslist and can eat on $5 a day.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 11:59 am to asurob1
Why are dems so work averse?
This post was edited on 11/9/14 at 12:03 pm
Posted on 11/9/14 at 12:01 pm to asurob1
quote:
In the US you also have the choice to work as much or as little as you want to.
quote:
Are you assuming eating and housing is simply an option?
I thought what he said was easily understandable, I don't get your response.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 12:04 pm to Tiguar
quote:
no matter what you do, someone will be willing to "undercut" your work. If you don't want to take a job without 4 weeks paid vacation, the company will find someone who does, unless you're just so valuable that you're the only reasonable option; and lets be fair, very few people in the country actually have that kind of skill set.
Wrong. The skill set is not the only factor in the market. There is 'desirability of work.' IE, being a garbage man takes very little skill. Almost none. But very few people want to be one. So, they make enough money for a house and food.
As for vacations... that's the days they just choose not to show up. And they don't get paid for it. Why should they? It's their choice.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 12:07 pm to Tiguar
quote:Doesn't really matter. I want people to lead a cultural change, not government force, every single time. Many companies in America are already doing this. People over here just aren't aware that it is popular overseas and haven't started demanding it here yet. It will eventually come.
how do you encourage this without legislation though?
Posted on 11/9/14 at 12:08 pm to asurob1
I think the problem is that Americans as a whole have given in to the idea of taking what they get and not negotiating.
I negotiated my my time off when I came into this job. I work like a dog and have a lot of nights away from my family. I have to work on a Friday night and weekends sometimes and it goes beyond the purview of my job description. So I ask to work from home.
This week I have to be gone Thursday and Friday night. So I negotiated with my boss to get the week of Thanksgiving off, but answering emails.
I have a friend that does PR for a large school district. He negotiated off the months of June and July for less pay.
Stop blaming somebody else for why you aren't happy with your own conditions.
I negotiated my my time off when I came into this job. I work like a dog and have a lot of nights away from my family. I have to work on a Friday night and weekends sometimes and it goes beyond the purview of my job description. So I ask to work from home.
This week I have to be gone Thursday and Friday night. So I negotiated with my boss to get the week of Thanksgiving off, but answering emails.
I have a friend that does PR for a large school district. He negotiated off the months of June and July for less pay.
Stop blaming somebody else for why you aren't happy with your own conditions.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 12:12 pm to Zach
Go ask for 4 weeks of paid vacation for being a garbage man from a non-government entity and let me know how that goes
This post was edited on 11/9/14 at 12:13 pm
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