A More Vacation Nation?

As I'm preparing to go on a short mini-break this weekend, I thought about an article from the BBC I read recently.  The article discussed vacation time and referenced a 2007 study conducted by the Center for Economic and Policy Research in DC concerning the amount of paid vacation time the typical employee in most industrialized nations receives.

What they found was the the amount varied widely, but that by far and away, employers in the United States offered the least amount of paid time off to their employees.  In fact, the United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee some amount of paid vacation to its workers.  Most European countries mandate at least twenty paid holidays per year, and Japan and Canada require ten days each year.  While most full-time workers in the United States may say they receive the typical holidays each year (Presidents' Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc), there is actually no law which mandates these days as paid holidays for all Americans.  Think about the typical part-time job; vacation time doesn't accrue and there is no guarantee you're going to get to actually enjoy the federal holidays either.

If you're at all familiar with the European workforce, you know that's it's a totally different game on the other side of the pond.  In Belgium, we joked that the entire country shut down for the months of July, August, and September.  In July, everyone is preparing to go on holiday; in August, everyone is on holiday, and in September, we're all recovering from holiday.  

To most Americans, a full two weeks of vacation seems like a dream.  To most Europeans (and a good deal of the rest of the world), two weeks of vacation is simply unacceptable.  Below is a chart which details the amount of paid annual leave and holiday time required by the national governments of the respective nations:

And it's not just holiday time which is different; the average American work week is a full forty hours, much the same as other European nations (although France's is currently 35), but studies have indicated that Europeans (including the French) are actually more productive than the average American. Americans pride themselves on hard work and dedicating much of their time and energy to their employers, but are lucky if they are able to take a full week of vacation to spend time with their families during the summer or holiday season.

I'm still sorting out my thoughts on this matter, but I do believe that many employers take advantage of their employees, especially in difficult economic times.  How many times have you heard someone say, "I should be thankful to have a job in this economy"?  Yes, we should be thankful for the work the Lord provided for us (for work is good), but the overwhelming attitude is quickly becoming that work should be the primary priority in our lives.  I love my job, and I'm extremely grateful to be working in a field which I absolutely adore (burned out as I may get at times), but one of the best things about my job is our vacation package.  It's not much compared to Europe, but it's a great deal better than most Americans receive; and honestly, having a good vacation package entices me to work harder for my agency.

So, my fellow hard-working Americans, what do you think about this? It's so easy for us to slip into our sense of entitlement and feel as though we are being cheated for not receiving as much vacation as our cousins and the Continent, but maybe there is something to this understanding of enjoying life instead of working, working, working...