Less Than Half of US Workers Use All Their Vacation Days (bloomberg.com) 195
Spring break is here, and summer vacations are just around the bend. But while increasingly stressed-out US workers say having paid time off is critical, many still don't even take all that they're allowed. From a report: Only 48% of US workers say they use all their vacation days, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center. Those who don't take all their time off say it's because they don't need it, or they worry about falling behind at work or feel badly about co-workers carrying their load. A few even think vacation time hurts their chances for promotions or could cost them their job. There is growing anxiety in the labor force with layoffs spreading, hiring slowing and organizations cutting perks and other costs. Last month, the job site Indeed said it was reducing headcount because it's "simply too big for what lies ahead" -- an excuse used by many companies to justify recent cutbacks. It's no wonder that workers are exhausted.
And we wonder (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: And we wonder (Score:2, Insightful)
No we don't. We wonder about how many guns to give everybody.
Re: And we wonder (Score:5, Insightful)
Not give. Sell.
And not everybody. [history.com] White people.
The NRA Supported Gun Control When the Black Panthers Had the Weapons
Back in the 1960s, even the NRA supported gun control to disarm the group.
Throughout the late 1960s, the militant black nationalist group used their understanding of the finer details of California's gun laws to underscore their political statements about the subjugation of African-Americans. .357 Magnums, 12-gauge shotguns and .45-caliber pistols and announced, "The time has come for black people to arm themselves."
In 1967, 30 members of the Black Panthers protested on the steps of the California statehouse armed with
The display so frightened politiciansâ"including California governor Ronald Reagan - that it helped to pass the Mulford Act, a state bill prohibiting the open carry of loaded firearms, along with an addendum prohibiting loaded firearms in the state Capitol.
The 1967 bill took California down the path to having some of the strictest gun laws in America and helped jumpstart a surge of national gun control restrictions.
"The law was part of a wave of laws that were passed in the late 1960s regulating guns, especially to target African-Americans," says Adam Winkler, author of Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms. "Including the Gun Control Act of 1968, which adopted new laws prohibiting certain people from owning guns, providing for beefed up licensing and inspections of gun dealers and restricting the importation of cheap Saturday night specials [pocket pistols] that were popular in some urban communities."
In contrast to the NRA's rigid opposition to gun control in today's America, the organization fought alongside the government for stricter gun regulations in the 1960s.
This was part of an effort to keep guns out of the hands of African-Americans as racial tensions in the nation grew.
The NRA felt especially threatened by the Black Panthers, whose well-photographed carrying of weapons in public spaces was entirely legal in the state of California, where they were based.
Gun Control is Racist. (Score:4, Interesting)
If you are going to go back and look at black history with guns, fundamentally gun control is racist [harvardlawreview.org].
The same is true today, they just don't want to tell you that.
Re: And we wonder (Score:2)
The NRA Supported Gun Control When the Black Panthers Had the Weapons
Back in the 1960s, even the NRA supported gun control to disarm the group.
Citation?
The NRA was a proud defender of the rights of freed spaces to own guns, it was the local (largely Democrat) politicians that were against it and installed Jim Crow 1.0 laws.
Here's a decent "myth check" regarding the NRA - pay specific attention to Myth No. 3:
https://www.washingtonpost.com... [washingtonpost.com]
For those reluctant to click-thru, here's the relevant part:
Myth No. 3
Armed Black Panthers led the NRA to support gun control.
âoeWhen Black Folks Armed Themselves The NRA And Republicans Suddenly Supported Gun Control,â read a headline on NewsOne. âoeBack in the 1960s, even the NRA supported gun controlâ when it came to disarming the Black Panthers, says the History Channel. Indeed, in 1967, mere months after a group of Black Panthers entered the California State Capitol with long guns and holstered sidearms, Gov. Ronald Reagan signed a law banning the open carry of firearms. The NRA helped write that legislation and monitored its passage in American Rifleman without comment; race no doubt influenced the bill.
But this event was not a turning point for the NRA. By the 1960s, it had disavowed the âoeprivate armiesâ of white supremacists that arose during the civil rights era, and it broadly supported greater regulation of firearms, such as those tied to recent political assassinations. âoeThe NRA does not advocate an âostrichâ(TM) attitude toward firearms legislation,â said its chief executive, Franklin L. Orth, three weeks before the Black Panthers protested at the California capitol. âoeWe recognize that the dynamism and complexities of modern society create new problems which demand new solutions.â The following year, the NRA supported a federal law banning, among other things, mail-order guns, adding to a 1934 NRA-backed law sharply restricting âoemachine guns.â
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You do realize that that was still back when the government still had legally enforced segregation right? The NRA's stance on something 60 years ago doesn't have much impact on its current politics.
You can argue about the merits (or lack thereof) all you want, but the vast majority of right wingers these days encourage minorities to have guns. Even from a purely selfish standpoint it benefits gun people as normalizing guns makes them less of a political target.
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Re:And we wonder (Score:5, Interesting)
Very true. And it's even worse with companies that offer "unlimited vacation".
Studies show, people who work for companies that offer unlimited time off use less vacation than those with a set number. With a set number of days, you don't feel bad using it all, because you know what you're given. But when you have unlimited, people feel bad because they may be abusing it and pissing off their coworkers who have to cover the workload when they're gone. So they take less on average.
And studies show that those who don't use their vacation time are less productive when they're working, are sick more often, and less satisfied in their jobs.
So, while companies may offer unlimited vacation in hopes of attracting employees, it actually leads to less productive employees who are more likely to leave.
Re:And we wonder (Score:4, Interesting)
And studies show that those who don't use their vacation time are less productive when they're working, are sick more often, and less satisfied in their jobs.
Uh huh. I've lost as much vacation as I've ever taken, was the most productive person in my department by far, especially those whose vacation and sick leave was always at zero - we had a defined number of each, not unlimited.
And as for stress? they were also the most stressed employees. I was the least. Even then, the various other shakers and movers in the place were much less stressed than those who weren't.
If I might, I would say that the causes of stress in employees outside of a horrible workplace are more related to outside factors, and a narrative of hate for anyone who might be making more money or are in a higher position that causes hate and resentment, which does result in stress.
A simple example is how I got roped into computer support for our "suits". Our CS staff, who I overall thought were good people, were terribly intimidated by the "suits". And this intimidation was not based on the actual "suit". So they either came close to pissing their pants when called in, or there was one guy who became belligerant. He was a great guy as long as he wasn't stressed out. Since I was in many of the meetings anyhow, and a deft hand at these computey things, I ended up giving support as a result, and found myself in almost all of the meetings.
I didn't like that, because it interfered with my own actual work, but it didn't cause me stress, while those who presumably knew a lot more than me as legit CS types were shaking in their shoes and very stressed out.
They had no need to be stressed by the mahogany row types. It was based on a narrative they were sold of what those people were like. Which wasn't true. I was friends with all of them, and the suits are just people like the rest of us.
I think that most of this stress is internally generated by a narrative that humanity diminishes inversely to social and workplace rank. It does not.
But for those who do, it is not unreasonable to believe that being at work is a huge cause of stress, and the only fix for that is to not be at work. I think those who fall into that narrative probably feel stressed no matter their situation.
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So you choose to ignore legitimate scientific evidence that's been proved in multiple studies and instead go with your own bias personal experience. Got it. Think I'm gonna follow the science and facts but you do you.
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So you choose to ignore legitimate scientific evidence that's been proved in multiple studies and instead go with your own bias personal experience. Got it. Think I'm gonna follow the science and facts but you do you.
Can you give me the "legitimate scientific evidence" citations that prove without doubt that the cause of stress is working?
My experience will garner me a lot of hatred in here, where apparently people are stressed to the breaking point, and the cause is work, and is known by science to be work, as your unequivocal citations will prove.
That's okay, enjoy your stress, and never ever wonder why some people are not stressed. It is the people who are not stressed out by work - they are doing something
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Let's not waste our time. You make it clear that even if presented with scientific evidence you'd simply ignore it. If you had any real interest you'd find it with about 10 seconds of Google searching. Keep denying science as you clearly think the problem is everyone else.
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Let's not waste our time. You make it clear that even if presented with scientific evidence you'd simply ignore it. If you had any real interest you'd find it with about 10 seconds of Google searching. Keep denying science as you clearly think the problem is everyone else.
Understood completely - Thank you for your candor.
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This dissertation substantiates that a holiday serves as a powerful opportunity to recover from work. Despite the fact that vacation effects are short-lived, vacation memories may temporarily enhance mood and well-being and may act as buffer against future stressors. Vacations may also help people to mentally distance themselves from daily hassles and to put life in perspective which might engender psychological resilience.
It looks better than an anecdote.
Re: And we wonder (Score:2)
There's something else going on the summary doesn't address: federal, state, teachers, and other union members can 'bank' their vacation days and at retirement/separation (resign/fired) they sell back their unused vacation days to their employer, at their last (presumably highest) pay rate.
It's pretty common in the private sector too, but all the various unions I mentioned make up a HUGE chunk of the workforce.
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You can only bank so much, 350 hours vacation for me here in Florida.
But since I get 2-2.5 weeks off with pay for when the college closes for the Winter break, and then a week off around my birthday for Spring Break, plus all the fed holidays that make up random 3 day weekends, etc. I really don't need or want to take a block of time off at once.
Started using the time a few weeks ago when turkey season started, will use a day per week thru end of April to get out in the woods, then I'll talk to boss about j
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There's something else going on the summary doesn't address: federal, state, teachers, and other union members can 'bank' their vacation days and at retirement/separation (resign/fired) they sell back their unused vacation days to their employer, at their last (presumably highest) pay rate.
It's pretty common in the private sector too, but all the various unions I mentioned make up a HUGE chunk of the workforce.
I lost a lot of vacation days, I could not bank them all But was paid for those I could bank. I got paid for most of my sick days as well. It was about a years take home pay when I retired. That ain't stress for sure!
I still say that this stress is internally generated as both outside stressors, and a narrative that we are supposed to be stressed out by work.
Re:And we wonder (Score:4, Informative)
The funny part about your post is that actual slave based economies are rather shitty as slaves don't make for very good consumers.
Re:And we wonder (Score:4, Funny)
The funny part about your post is that actual slave based economies are rather shitty as slaves don't make for very good consumers.
The USA has apparently solved that problem by forcing its slaves to consume...
Re:And we wonder (Score:5, Informative)
Now you're just being stupid.
well, sure. What the USA has isn't really modern slavery. Its more like modern serfdom.
Its basically a 3rd world country with a bunch of 1st world city states and an internal infrastructure, healthcare etc about on par with any other 3rd world nation. In fact, many other 3rd world countries actually have better protection for workers rights.
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Yes, you dont like the US and are eager to characterize it as bad in any way you can, you've been making that clear for several posts. I'm sure you think yourself very enlightened at the same time too. Of course every bigot thinks that.
I'm flattered that you follow my posts! Thanks!
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
So About Half The Population Is Stupid (Score:3)
Sounds about right, honestly.
Re:So About Half The Population Is Stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
Not stupid, just scared. "If they can do without you for two weeks, they'll decide they can do without you permanently."
Re: So About Half The Population Is Stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
Considering that Google is laying people off who are on maternity leave and others long term sick leave. Is it that far off?
Companies have zero responsibility to employees. And then complain when employees aren't nice back.
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Laid off preferentially, or in proportion among all layoffs?
It would be pretty weird if not working conveyed immunity to being laid off.
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It would be pretty weird if not working conveyed immunity to being laid off.
Sounds like you've never worked a union job.
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Considering that Google is laying people off who are on maternity leave and others long term sick leave. Is it that far off?
Companies have zero responsibility to employees. And then complain when employees aren't nice back.
Ri9ght, and all companies are exactly the same.
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We have a single PTO pool for everything (sick, personal and vacation), so it would be irresponsible for someone in this situation to use up all of their PTO and leave nothing in reserve for emergencies.
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We have a single PTO pool for everything (sick, personal and vacation), so it would be irresponsible for someone in this situation to use up all of their PTO and leave nothing in reserve for emergencies.
Even in those scenarios, your job probably has policies on transferring PTO to next year and going negative on PTO. The past five companies my wife and I have worked for all allowed at least 40 hours to transfer to next year and allowed going up to 40 hours negative on PTO. This gives plenty of buffer for emergencies without losing any of your PTO at the end of year.
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It becomes a "point system" even when they dont call it that. The threshold isnt kept a secret. Below X points you are good, above X points you get warnings and possible termination. Use em or lose em. Points come off 365 days after you incurred them.
Pretty sure its not legal to count vacation time against ya, but that has to be granted and we all know how that goes.
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I don't know how it is in the US but here if you don't use your vacation days you still keep them.
The assumption here is taking a vacation helps mental health, personally it just stresses me out more than working unless I have something I want to do. To me vacation days are a backup, if I get sick, if something occurs that needs me to take time of work, I have in reserve. It is a form of savings. If my savings are low I am stressed.
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I don't know how it is in the US but here if you don't use your vacation days you still keep them.
Most companies in the US only allow 40 hours (1 week) of PTO to transfer to a new year so no employees accrues too much unused PTO. It is considered a liability since they will be forced to pay you for unused PTO if you leave the company.
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I work for a US company and they occasionally complain about the over 600 hours (I on average take about 3 out of 4 weeks holiday a year, I have been there a long time) I have. I just take a few days and then let it accrue again they can complain. Once they said they would force me, and I said good I will spend those days looking for another job. Guess what they didn't force me, in fact I freaked the poor HR guy out.
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I don't have the statistics on most companies, but I'm guessing neither do you. Most unused vacation I ever had was because I would save up to use around the Christmas holiday when my family would be in town, and then get screwed over by last minute deadlines.
The first company I worked for didn't allow rolling over, they just paid me for unused vacation at the end of the year.
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PTO typically rolls over in the US as well, although there may be caps on how much rolls over year to year, or on total amounts accrued. And yeah, since it's all lumped together, it makes sense to keep a reserve for unexpected situations. So, technically, no, I don't use ALL my "vacation" days, but I do take a decent amount of time off each year.
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I don't know how it is in the US but here if you don't use your vacation days you still keep them.
Kinda depends on the work, and there is a lot of variance. I got an effective 2 months vacation a year, 2 personal days, and 2 days a month sick leave. So they did max out the vacation days you could bank. There was no limit on sick day accumulation, and when you retired, you got some percentage. It was generous, I got about a year's take home pay when I retired.
That is a lot of time off! But some people managed to have their vacation, sick days and Personal holidays hover around 0.
The assumption here is taking a vacation helps mental health, personally it just stresses me out more than working unless I have something I want to do.
I don't think vacations
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Re: So About Half The Population Is Stupid (Score:2)
Itâ(TM)s crazy how people are tricked into thinking unlimited means more. This means thereâ(TM)s no âoelose itâ incentive anymore, and managers can say âoenoâ because thereâ(TM)s no minimum amount of time off (say no now, and Iâ(TM)m taking all of December off).
This is making vacation optional for any given unit. And the more they realize they can just say no, now it will be goodby to any vacation time, now you can only take time off when someone dies.
In France (Score:5, Funny)
Many years ago, I was a member of an international research group.
We were having dinner at the head of the group's house just outside of Paris and got into a discussion on holidays. It turned out that he was going on holiday in the summer, taking some weeks out camping in the South of France with his family.
One of the other members of the group, an American, was aghast, How could he take so much time off and not only that but stay in a tent.
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Re:In France (Score:5, Interesting)
One of the other members of the group, an American, was aghast, How could he take so much time off and not only that but stay in a tent.
Same here in Finland. Basically, when doing project with US partners, we'd warn them... oh yeah, there will be absolutely no development on this thing between last week of June and first week of August. Ongoing and emergency support only.
I'm having 7,5 weeks of vacation. Think I'll take 5 weeks during summer and the rest around new year and some individual days here and there.
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Hahaha, what a fucking troll you are. Do you think anyone on Slashdot takes you seriously anymore?
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You only presented one fact and I never disputed who was elected. The rest of your post is clearly your opinions and yes you're being a troll. Finland's economy isnt failing because they elected conservatives any more than ours is when we do.
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not only that but stay in a tent.
Why would you spend your precious time off in the woods (filled with misqutoes, snakes, misqutoes, spiders, misqutoes, gators, and did I mention the misqutoes), sleeping on the uncofty ground, being shielded by a really thin piece of nylon.
Doesn't sound all that relaxing.
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Doesn't sound all that relaxing.
No Internet.
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How could he take so much time off and not only that but stay in a tent.
He had a problem with sleeping in a tent? This guy sounds kind of over the top, most Americans love camping. We have a shit ton of amazing open space to do it in even.
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Re: In France (Score:5, Informative)
The EU itself is likely to collapse within 20 years if there are no changes
lol that's what every noodlebrain has been saying for 60 years
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that went without saying, it's obvious they were not using the name EU pre-EU
Re: In France (Score:5, Insightful)
America's attitude towards work is untenable.
FTFY
What does that mean, exactly? (Score:2)
I never use all my vacation days either... because I want a buffer available. I want the ability to take a day off at the spur of the moment, or take a week off without lots of lead time. But if you were to fit a line to my available vacation days over time, that line would be level - meaning I'm using up vacation at the rate it's accrued.
The story could definitely be indicative of a problem... but it could also be skewed by a bunch of people like me, combined with an author with an agenda. In fact, in the
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Oh, yeah. When I had a regular job, I would hoard a certain amount of accrued time. Not only to be able to afford more time off when I can better use it, but also because long-term illness or injury recovery could happen without warning. Sick time may not cover it. FMLA doesn't pay, it just keeps your job open for you when you return.
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It means that these employees are self-reporting that they are not using half of their PTO each year, and the most common reasons given do not include that they are leaving a buffer of PTO for emergency. The most common reasons are not feeling they need it, feeling they have too much work to take PTO, feeling bad that their coworkers will need to cover for them, and being worried taking too much PTO hurts their chances for promotion and job security.
It's the fear.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It's the fear.. (Score:4, Informative)
It's because we are busy (Score:3)
Unlimited Time Off (Score:5, Insightful)
This is why companies offer unlimited time off. They know most employees won't take all their vacation time, and if they don't have a fixed amount, they won't have a good portion of the company with use-it-or-lose-it time. At my company, vacation time expires at the end of the calendar year, and half the engineers are out for much of December. Unlimited time off is essentially a scam to keep employees from realizing that they're not taking their vacation time.
Re:Unlimited Time Off (Score:5, Insightful)
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It's worse than that - accrued PTO is a great defense against a boss that refuses vacation requests. Eventually you have to take it because companies don't want to carry the financial liability of owed PTO on their balance sheets. With unlimited PTO a boss can keep refusing requests, and at the end of the year, who gives a shit?
Yes, in times of plentiful jobs you might be able to just move on to a better boss, but that isn't always an option. Even when it is, changing jobs can be a hassle at the best of
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The rules are different by state as to what gets cashed out when you quit and what the employer can expire at the end of the year. I've heard that in California, PTO is considered part of your wages, so once earned, they can't revoke it, so you never lose your accrued vacation time, but after accruing a maximum amount, the employer can stop adding more. Here in Massachusetts, employers can simply say any unused PTO goes away at the end of the year, but I do believe they have to cash it out if you leave mi
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There's a big difference between knowing how much vacation time you have and planning to take it all at optimal times. I often get stuck with an extra week or more in December. Last summer, I combined it all for a massive cross-country road trip, so I had only one or two spare days at the end; the best I've ever done with using my vacation time.
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We also work more hours than the Japanese (Score:2)
And before you ask, no, none of this is in my control. I'm so fucking sick of getting bad information from people months before a project launch, only to have them furiously correcting that bad information when they realize it's their asses on the line for giving
Re: We also work more hours than the Japanese (Score:2)
You sir, have a bad manager or shitty company. Even if you work in a stressful job, the company needs to be structured in a way that you are not indispensable and can disappear for awhile. Somethingâ(TM)s gotta give, and right now, itâ(TM)s you.
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Time to quit, IMO.
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Do you get paid for those phone calls?
In my previous company we had a policy that if you were on vacation, the price list was approximately:
1 phone call: 100 EUR (even if it lasts 1 minute) per starting hour, 200 EUR/h on weekends and evenings
1 phone call that requires logging into a work PC: 200 EUR/h, 400 EUR on weekends and evenings, minimum of four hours.
No obligation to answer.
So essentially, if someone called you on your vacation evening and said "can you log in via VPN and fix it", it was 1600 EUR ex
Gets harder over time in some orgs (Score:3)
At my peak, I had 6 weeks of base vacation plus 12 "1 per month" single days off. How to find the space for two months away in a year was beyond me. For 10 years straight I had carry-over that didn't get resolved until I was paid out in a voluntary exit package.
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How to find the space for two months away in a year was beyond me.
This is something known as "not my concern". I have 7 weeks leave a year and I couldn't give a fuck what my employer wants during that time. I'm not even flexible about it since the wife is a teacher. "Boss, may school vacation is coming up, I won't be here! What you do with this information is up to you."
Make it a law to compensate unused days (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, it's wage theft that at the end of the year some companies will keep unused days.
Federally mandate that the employee can either be paid their equivelant hourly value (or calculated from salary) or is able to roll them over at the end of the year.
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Actually, just last week a court in Philly found that PTO is not salary. Interesting angles actually, in the article.
The part you are most interested in:
The 3rd Circuit panel said that while a salary is a fixed amount of compensation paid out at regular intervals, paid time off is a fringe benefit that has no effect on a worker's wages and can be paid irregularly, such as when an employee leaves a company.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/... [reuters.com]
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Interesting, I'm curious how broadly that will apply based on the circumstances of that case.
With that though I probably feel stronger in my position should be codified as a counteraction to that.
Or we should just have legally mandated vacation and sick time as other countries do.
Impending vacation (Score:2)
Take time off at your own risk (Score:2)
Vacation is stupid (Score:2)
Our distant ancestors didn't go on vacations. I am forced to go on vacations, but it doesn't mean vacations aren't dumb. It's better to sit home. I am waiting for a decent VR headset that is at least 8K per eye.
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Our distant ancestors didn't work 40 hours per week. The agricultural revolution was a bit of a scam. [earth.com].
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Our distant ancestors didn't have 8K-per-eye headsets, so why do you need that?
Mandatory vacation (Score:2)
One place I worked made you use up your vacation days after they accumulated to a certain level. The company didn't want the liability of having to cash out tons of days if someone left, so they forced you to use them up.
IMO, that's a reasonable approach.
NZ (Score:5, Informative)
This is by LAW, you can NOT contract you way out of it.
Employers are expected to ensure all employees take their full allocation of holidays
Some may allow you to carry some across to the next year if you have good reasons, but they can NOT take them off you if you do not use them. They can force you to take leave to consumer holidays if they build up. And if you leave those holidays MUST be paid out in full.
Casual workers have an automatic 8% added to their pay in lieu of paid holidays, but there is a strict guideline over who is a casual.
Employees are people, treat them that way.
We need more unions to fix this! (Score:3)
We need more unions to fix this!
are ALLOWED to use their vacation days (Score:5, Insightful)
First you change from separate pools for sick time, vacation, and holidays into a single PTO
Second you cap then eliminate the number of hours allowed to be carried over
Third you add in arbitrary rules regarding the number of members of a team that can be out at once
Fourth you start denying requests because the business is short handed (due to previous decisions to keep head count low)
Fifth Profit!!
Re: are ALLOWED to use their vacation days (Score:3)
Sounds like my sister in law (Score:2)
My unused PTO... (Score:3)
Gets cashed out on my anniversary date. I don't get bonuses so if I want any kind of extra money, taking fewer days off means I'll get a bigger "bonus" check on that date. I get enough vacation time that I tend to use two or three weeks a year and cash out the rest though there have been years where I only took a single week and enjoyed a pretty nice check.
Often times, I'll take a vacation just after my anniversary date because I'll have the money to afford a real vacation and not just a stay home vacation.
I realize I'm not the norm for USA workers and it use to always frustrate me how little PTO my ex-wife would get from her job. Her wages were pretty good but the PTO was a joke and made going places rough and often times we'd just go without her getting a check the next week.
Well that just means that.... (Score:2)
more than half of Americans are passing their employer loyalty test! (The rest will soon be out on the market until they learn their place.)
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Would you take less than your full paycheck? (Score:2)
If your management frowned on you taking your full paycheck, you'd tell them to get bent.
Same thing with vacation. You earned it.
Heed this, American employers (Score:2)
This is what makes the America such a relatively desirable workforce.
Bad news is that you're not going to get ahead when you take it for granted, or exploit good work attitude.
Wife / kids / $$$ (Score:2)
The whole family needs to have a convenient time for a break simultaneously and these days a weeklong air vacation is going to cost $10K. Otherwise I could take time off, but what would I do exactly? Sit at home and play video games? Weekends are generally good enough for that and any regular hobbies. Even if I found something I would be interested to do without family, my help is needed with kids and house, not reasonably to go away for more than a few days. All things considered, writing code is not a bad
layoff insurance (Score:2)
Some glorify not having any vacation days (Score:3)
I remember my bewilderment when some guys from Texas told me with shining eyes that they do not have any official vacation days - you just take as many days as you want!!!111 And they thought it is the bestest thing ever.
My European heart almost had an attack, being used to at least six full weeks and pressure is on the employer to make sure you get to take those days.
The concept seemed completely lost on my Texan fellows just as well as the fact that their arrangement meant they will always have to discuss and worst case fight tooth and nail for each vacation day, you will always be at your employers mercy for every single day. Plus your colleagues.
Plus the toxic view of even taking vacation days at all as discussed in TFA.
who don't take all their time off or couldn't (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
They're may be goons, but its not for that. You take your week vacation, you don't get a bonus. The reason you get the bonus is to get more work out of you, while not running afoul of compensation laws. Coffee's for closers.
Re: (Score:3)
That means only thing : the French government propaganda is working on you.
How do you explain that 9 or 10 protests since the end of last year went peacefully ?
How do you explain that suddenly, this is chaos ? Who has the war weapons ?
How do you explain that the famous "black blocks" are perfectly known from the police and "renseignement généraux" (how to translate ? "interior spies", "domestic intelligence" ?). But why do they have access to protests if the "police" knows everything about them ?