Why is America the 'no-vacation nation'?

[Liberal_in_LA]

(CNN) -- Let's be blunt: If you like to take lots of vacation, the United States is not the place to work.

Besides a handful of national holidays, the typical American worker bee gets two or three precious weeks off out of a whole year to relax and see the world -- much less than what people in many other countries receive.

And even that amount of vacation often comes with strings attached.

Some U.S. companies don't like employees taking off more than one week at a time. Others expect them to be on call or check their e-mail even when they're lounging on the beach or taking a hike in the mountains.

--------------

The running joke at Brock's company is that a vacation just means you work from somewhere else. So he takes one or two days off at a time and loses some vacation each year. Only 57% of U.S. workers use up all of the days they're entitled to, compared with 89% of workers in France, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/05/23/vacation.in.america/

[truedelphi]

1. Once you visit Europe, you become aware of how oppressive this nation

Happens to be.

Health care is a privilege, for middle management and above.

And vacation doesn't exist at all for many of us.


The self employed tend to get the short end of the stick on both vacation and health care issues.

[RKP5637]

10. I used to frequently go between Europe and the US, and Europeans here for work. The

Europeans were always amazed at how repressive the US is and the endless consumerism. A couple of times the Europeans got sick here and had to see a local doctor. They were stunned at the BS Americans go through for healthcare. Also, our vacation time is pathetic.

Whenever anyone tells me how America is the best country in the world for everything I ask them some questions and about 100% of the time they have never traveled outside of the US and know very very little about other cultures.

[izquierdista]

20. New eyes

The best explanation ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCDZMWVWuc

[RKP5637]

27. Yep!!! Excellent!!! Thanks!!! n/t

[alphafemale]

65. lol! That's great. Love that guy. nt

[Maat]

115. Hilarious! Thanks! (n/t)

[ThatsMyBarack]

131. Glad this guy is still around!

:D

[femrap]

155. Lewis Black is my favorite...nt

[BlueJazz]

40. Amen. My European friends give the USA workers an insulting term. >

DEPRESSED ANTS

[RKP5637]

46. Excellent description! n/t

[kentauros]

81. Makes me think of an XTC song:

XTC - Across This Antheap :)

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

122. most of our clients are European firms operating in the US

An Italian software company calls their US hires "concentration camp survivors" and a head of a Swiss firm compared employing Americans dating somebody still traumatized by an abusive relationship. One of the Swiss managers found the people in San Jose being terrified to go home before she did baffling and in an unfortunate choice of words a European manager once replied to an email with "It is sunday night, go home and screw your wife or I am going to do it for you!"

[BlueJazz]

144. "go home and screw your wife or I am going to do it for you!"

Damn..Funny!
:rofl:

[Pacifist Patriot]

166. My husband works for a U.K. company that bought out the Swedish company...

he worked for before that. He does projects regularly in Italy and the Netherlands as well. The differences between them and American firms are incredibly profound.

[indepat]

86. These are but a few of the joys living in a nation wherein an extreme RW agenda has been implemented

:patriot:

[CBHagman]

110. And don't forget higher education.

I don't know about now, but I remember students at German universities paid modest fees, nothing like what tuition was at a state university or college, let alone a private one. And if the idea of cuts was bandied about, you can bet those students hit the streets in protest.

[Daphne08]

169. +100

[formernaderite]

18. how is that?

I'm self employed... for those very reasons. It's up to me when I would like to take my vacation and for how long.... and I've always paid for my own health insurance... which hasn't been expensive.

[truedelphi]

21. If your health insurance is not expensive -

Please let me know how you manage it?

Have you found some coalition of other self employeds and that has helped?

Any information you can supply would be very appreciated.

I am in touch with several other self employeds here on DU and we are required to pay at a minimum of $ 900 a month for health insurance. (Married couple.) One person here on DU has seen his insurance premiums go above three thousand for himself, wife and kid.

Once you are over fifty years old, that is what is in store for you.

I imagine that you're not hurting so much as you are probably younger than fifty.

[MedicalAdmin]

30. I'll second that.

It is likely that the insurance the poster mentions is based on a young age and no pre-existing conditions.

For me, I can't afford any health care insurance and thus no health care. My last quote was a premium of $2000 per month and a deductable of $10,000 meaning that my out of pocket per year before getting a single benefit would be $34,000.

Yikes. Needless to say I don't have any coverage. I'm barely holding my cookies together today due to the pain from my spinal injury. I've popped some narcotics but they are like holding back a tide with a spoon. It hurts to breath right now.

So I'm glad that the poster can get and afford coverage. I only hope that s/he knows that they are only one accident or illness away from disaster.

[geardaddy]

36. MA are you in MN?

You can apply for Minnesota Comprehensive. I have a pre-existing condition and pay for my own health insurance, because I'm self-employed. It ain't cheap, but I pay 526.39 (at the moment) and have $1000 deductible. It's difficult to scrounge the money together for it each month, but it's better than 2000/month with a $10,000 deductible.

[MedicalAdmin]

52. I am in MN, but I'm also self employed.

I don't qualify because of paper my GROSS income is too high. Of course my NET income is WAAAAAAAAY lower than my gross.

Thanks for the advice. And truthfully I couldn't even afford that relatively paltry sum. It still comes to $7316.68 out of pocket before you see one dime in help. And right now I can't even afford that. Like many self employed, my cash flow is not high enough to cover those expenses but my gross income on paper is too high to qualify for assistance. Catch 22.

I'm looking at moving to Canada where the most expensive premium is about $120 per month and covers EVERYTHING with no deductable. I'll pay slightly higher taxes for a rational system.

Alas I can't really afford to move either so my health care system and plan involves a 45 cal. bullet and a prayer. I won't let an illness or accident make my family homeless. I just won't.

[geardaddy]

63. No, I'm talking about MCHA, not Minnesota Care

I'm self-employed and have to use MCHA so I can have insurance. MCHA doesn't have an income requirement one way or the other. That's why it's relatively expensive.

But, I understand what you're talking about with cash flow. I have that problem sometimes, too as a self-employed person.

Just in case, check out this site: http://www.mchamn.com/html/eligibility.html

[MedicalAdmin]

64. Thanks my brother.

It's nice of you to pass this on. I still can afford it but I won't hurt for me to check it out.

on edit: I've checked it out. I still don't qualify. Ii haven't lost group coverage, I don't qualify for HCTC or medicare, I haven't been rejected (it is normal these days NOT to get a rejection but an offer for a crap expensive policy), and I don't have a presumptive condition. I am SOL. Again. --- crap. Well it was a nice thought while it lasted. I guess I'm stuck with the 45.

[geardaddy]

69. Sorry MA.

Good luck in your endeavors.

:hi:

[MedicalAdmin]

74. You too.

Most days are OK. Today is bad - the pain is incredible. I'm at a max dose of the narcotics and it isn't doing a thing. *grits teeth and thinks of a John Wayne movie - it doesn't help*.

Bwahahahahaha. Have a great day. :toast:

[colorado_ufo]

149. When medical science fails, go a little further.

Please try Reiki for pain relief, and acupuncture, and explore other alternative (or complimentary) medicine. Much cheaper and surprisingly helpful. You can even - easily - learn to do the Reiki treatments yourself. And don't go with a Reiki practitioner who wants to charge an ton for treatments or lessons - there are those who would likely help a case like yours for free.

Prayers and best wishes for you.

[MedicalAdmin]

173. Thanks - been there done that and totally open to whatever works.

But in this case it's like holding back a tide with the ocean. I had a car accident and both my company insurance and the car insurance decided to not cover the surgury for the spinal injury. The car insurance decided that it was the other car insurance companies problem (I was 100% not at fault) and didn't want to pay. My insurance company said they wouldn't pay because it was my auto insurance companies responsibility (there is a class somewhere that trains insurance idiots to say "not my problem."). Catch 22.

The bottom line, according to my doctor and surgeon is that I have an actively damaged open spinal injury that basically is a tear that goes all the way through to my spinal cord. Spinal fluid is hugely neuro-toxic and very painful. And it literally gushes out of my spine if I tip my neck the wrong way. So I get the best of both worlds, paralysis plus HUGE pain. Whooopeeeeee.

If this weren't an active injury that kept re-injuring itself everytime I moved (imagine a knife wound in your leg that re-opened every time you bent your knee and you'll have an idea) then other therapies would be effective. Chiropractors won't touch my neck, acupuncture isn't very helpful, and reiki. Not a chance. FYI - I've had all of these services donated to me and they all didn't help. It's just too big an injury.

What we need to do is plug the hole. I have a good surgeon willing to do the job. I have a follow up team to handle the other problems with recovery and I have a plan on how to heal from the 3 years I've been waiting while the insurance companies sit on their thumbs. The problem I have is that the associated problems that go along with a long standing spinal injury are snowballing and may no longer be recoverable.

To say that I HATE insurance companies is to compare a snow ball to the ice age.

I really appreciate you taking the time to try to help. That, in itself, has made me feel better.

:)

[formernaderite]

45. nope I'm over 50 :)

have had the same plan for years, through a private insurer. I am pretty healthy, and I have never had a reason to pay for one of those 20 co-pay plans(they're expensive!) Mine is like $50 bucks, my deductible is $2000... and it costs me less than $250 a month with perscription benefits which if you use generic means they're cheap. My son is self insured in Maryland and pays about $388 for himself and two kids. Rates will differ depending on which state you live in. The key is going for a higher deductible, if you can put the amount aside you will save bundles on the monthly payments.
My neighbor who's a sort of semi-retired pediatric doc thinks the cheap copays killed the insurance industry. He had patients who he'd see a couple of times a month, and they didn't have kids who had any kind of long term medical ailment. But at ten bucks a pop, they'd come in for the sniffles or any slight cough.

[nashville_brook]

53. can you share the name of the company?

[formernaderite]

88. sure

me = aetna. I can't remember which my son uses... but when he switched a year ago, he had multiple offer rates which were in a few dollars of each other.

[truedelphi]

67. For this to help people, we need a name of the Plan you are

on and the name of company that sponsors it.

It really could be the difference between someone surviving or not, so please take the time to post the needed information.

I doubt that it will help us - my husband's diabetes management drugs cost $ 700 a month - so that puts us in the category of being very expensive to insure.

Thanks in advance!

[formernaderite]

111. i am self insured

no company.... with aetna?

[GoneOffShore]

119. Tell me where you're getting this great plan, please?

I'm in PA. I'm 63, Mrs GoS is 51. We've got our own business. She had a bout with breast cancer last year, but no other health issues for the last 15 years

Have had health insurance through Aetna for 10 years. Premium for Mrs GoS and I just went up to $1000 EACH per MONTH starting July 1. We're going with Aetna but not liking it. It's the POS Cost-sharing plan - $2500 deductible plus $5000 out-of-pocket expenses per calendar year max each plus $40/copay for regular physician office visits & $60 specialist office visits. Copay of $0 for inpatient hospital services and $0 copay for outpatient surgery. $647 each per month. Prescription plan of $15/30/60 - 90%.

Still outrageous.

[formernaderite]

129. i'm in md

but have had no health issues, so the plan has only gone up minimally and is for me alone...no spouse or dependents. I see a doc once a year for a physical. I did get a notice that they are doing adjustments...so I prob will see an increase next quarter.

[colorado_ufo]

147. Information, please!

I work for a small business owner who is struggling to get his own health insurance much less mine!

[formernaderite]

175. check einsurance

it's often much cheaper to self insure than what small employers can offer you as a group rate. Obviously this depends on whether you are healthy.

[Philippine expat]

23. The main reason I became self employed was

I wanted more vacation time

[MedicalAdmin]

26. Where I am...

... the boss hasn't seen a doctor in about 4 years. He can't afford to. This is a medical clinic. The irony is not lost on us.

[truedelphi]

70. Having done elder care for many years, my insurance situation was always

Up in the air.

One month I would be working for a lovely company that had insurance for anyone working 28 hours a week or more.

Then the next week, they would be bought out, and the insurance would get axed.

A year later that company would get bought out, and insurance benefits again would be provided.

Luckily, as though there is a Goddess in the universe looking out for me, every single time I needed insurance during the nineties, it was during a time when my insurance was being paid for.

Even during the very expensive cancer scare time of 1998. That would have taken about twenty K out of my pocket, if I had to pay out of pocket.

[DirkGently]

29. A friend in the U.K. will be running the legal dept. for an entire bank. 35hrs/wk per std. contract.

At her current position, she's REQUIRED to take a month off once per year, to permit a full audit of her position (by having someone else take over during that period). Works for the bank. Works for her.

Suggest that here, and you'd be laughed out of the building. And your job.

[MedicalAdmin]

71. My best friend is a lawyer in London.

He runs the legal department for an energy company - mostly contract work. He once told me that about a billion dollars in contracts cross his desk a day. His company requires that he take 6 weeks off a year with pay so they can audit his office. They also required that he take 6 month off with pay for each of his kids. He is, shall we say, loyal to that company.

[NICO9000]

31. Absolutely!

It's more deliberate dumbing-down. If you never go outside of your comfort zone, you'll just be stuck with a very narrow world-view. Years ago, I had a boss who had to take a business trip to <shudder!> Canada! She was probably in her early-40s and I was about eight or ten years younger. It blew my mind that she would be scared of going to our more well-behaved neighbor where they also speak English for God's sake! She actually told me she was worried about using a different currency...

:eyes:

[truedelphi]

73. Almost too funny for words - but we are told from the cradle on

That this is the best of all possible words. (Oh Pangloss, it is, isn't it? A reference to anyone who knows their Voltaire.)

Yet I am guilty of that thinking myself.

In summer of 1972 I fled the nation for Canada. (My first husband was scared of being re-drafted back to Vietnam. I was scared of that too. So we left.)

We loved Toronto. However my second trip to one of the larger inner city food co-ops, and I noticed a whole section of dairy products from Cuba.

Cuba! I had always thought it dumb that the American government had made Cuba illegal, but it took me three more visits before I could bring myself to buy any Cuban cheese.

Why, what if it was being poisoned - a way for Castro to take out all of us Capitalistic tools? Death by Gouda! Or what if my CIA had cameras focused on that section of the grocery!

[geardaddy]

Yes, we do.

I'm forced to take holidays off, but I don't get paid for 'em.

[truedelphi]

75. What industry do you work for? That is horrible! n/t

[geardaddy]

77. I'm a self-employed technical writer.

So, I get no benefits.

BTW, I meant forced to take holidays, because the office is closed and I can't work from home because I can't work on the holidays.

[Mimosa]

33. +1,000 TrueDelphi

Self-employed, Haven't had a vacation in nearly 20 years, always owe taxes we can't keep up with because of 13K annual health insurance premiums....

[cameozalaznick]

101. As a self-employed, I'm always telling people...

When you work for yourself, you don't get a day off, you take a day off.

[4_TN_TITANS]

50. Amen to that...

but the average Joe here doesn't have the time or money to get out and witness some very different attitudes like in Europe.

[Kievan Rus]

51. Agreed. The United States is the worst Western nation, in my honest opinion.

I can't wait to leave. As soon as I have enough money saved up and a steady job in Europe, I'm on the first flight to Amsterdam. And I won't even look back.

[hfojvt]

55. one thing I noticed in Europe was lousy service

First, the local grocery store closed at 6. Second, the local bar would not sell me a coke to go (the bottles had to stay in the bar, I guess, to keep them from litering the German countryside). Third, the train station would neither take a credit card nor American dollars. Neither would my hotel exchange my money. That little town of 15,000 did not seem to have much of a shopping center. From my perspective, it seemed retail-deprived. Finally, the lady at the train station in Strasbourg, where I could have walked to Deutschland, claimed she didn't understand English or Deutsch and didn't seem to know the local geography very well.

I didn't get to see much of how they work.

The train system was nice though, but I thought the bus was expensive. 5 marks to go about 5 miles. Something I expected to cost about half a mark.

Gas prices were high, and the cars were tiny.

[bettyellen]

104. so you wish there had been a mall. a 7-11 and everyone speaking YOUR language?

why the fuck did you even bother going. Reminds me of my couch potato nephew who was horrified I had not watched TV the whole time I was on vacation in Russia. Poor little sap.

[Hugabear]

116. I suppose a Walmart open 24/7 would have solved all those problems

Even better, a Walmart with a McDonald's inside.

[SmileyRose]

123. Everything you complained about, I find a positive.

[truebrit71]

140. Did you forget the sarcasm tag? They wouldn't take American currency IN EUROPE and you're upset?

When was the last time you tried paying for something in the US with Euros or Pesos????????

Hotels are not in the business of changing money. In Europe they have things called 'Banks' which perform all sorts of financial transactions, including currency exchanges.

Why would a town of 15,000 need a shopping centre? Retail-deprived? Sounds like heaven to me.

Bars not selling drinks "to go"...why would they? You go to bars to sit down and drink, if you want it "to go", find a machine.

I seriously think you are taking the piss, but if this is really what you took away from your European visit I have to say I think you missed an awful lot...

[_ed_]

145. This post is hilarious

All of the things you describe are benefits, in my opinion. Maybe you should have done some research into the country you were visiting so you didn't act like an over entitled American. "Retail deprived?" What kind of a loser goes shopping on vacation in another country?

Stay home next time -- in America, you're always near a Walmart or McDonalds.

[_ed_]

146. oops

.

[Pacifist Patriot]

165. It had me howling.

Sounded like paradise to me.

[Critters2]

163. Please tell me this post is a joke.

Reminds me of the idiot CNN interviewed, who bitched about being in Japan during the tsunami...because all the warnings were in Japanese. No wonder people hate us.

[hfojvt]

174. well I sure appreciate that comparison

"no wonder they hate us" could be applied to liberals as well. Here, I commit the cardinal sin of not praising the greatness of Europe and I get all kinds of crap thrown at me.

The point is I was trapped in a little, apparently podunk village on a Sunday. 14,480 people and their train station does not take a credit card. So I basically had to walk to nearby Haiger, population, 19,350 where the train station would exchange my dollars. See, a bahnhof in a bigger town would do that. Probably so would a hotel in a bigger town.

[AngryOldDem]

106. Word.

:thumbsup:

[fascisthunter]

133. VERY TRUE... I have Family in Europe

and have been aware of this for a while now. Of course many idiots will take this as a personal jab at our great nation, instead of trying to understand what we are talking about.

Then there are those who are bosses who will fight this tooth and nail.... dumb.

[Atman]

143. Insurers tend to like the self-employed because they never take sick time.

When you're the only one making the money, you can't afford sick days. I was self-employed most of my life until my current job, and I NEVER took the day of because I was sick. And vacations? You'd have to shut down completely. No point in it. It costs too much.

[RKP5637]

2. Some of the places I've worked you were afraid to be on vac. too long as

your job might be in jeopardy.

[Raine]

78. More than once I knew of people who went on vacation and

when they came back the persn who had filled in for them got the job permanently. The person who went on vacation ended up with a less desirable position and were probably lucky they ended up with anything at all.

[colorado_ufo]

150. Yep. In some places, the other employees wait around like vultures.

[CrispyQ]

90. My husband worries because he doesn't volunteer for overtime.

There are plenty of other guys who want the OT, but the boss has noticed & commented on the fact that my husband never volunteers, & commented like it's a bad thing.

[RKP5637]

94. I was salaried and got paid for a 40hr week, but the expectation was that you

were to put in another 20+ hrs. per week for no pay. I always viewed it as a rip off, because there was no way one could work just 40 hrs. and stay employed.

I think it really stinks, but I can see where some of these companies would expect not working OT to be a bad thing, but I think it's very unfair. If someone wants to work a straight 40hr week IMO that's perfectly OK.

I'm not sure where we're headed in this country with all of this crap, but I don't think it's good.

[CrispyQ]

97. My last developer job was like that.

For the 9 months I worked there, we had 5 open positions in our department. Once in a while they would call some poor schmuck in to interview & fake like they were really going to fill those positions, but they never did. They made a crew of 8 do the work of a crew of 13. Like you, I was salary, so all those extra hours were me giving my life to the company, in exchange for nothing. One night I worked out what my hourly would be & the next day I gave my notice.

I read an interesting take on the American settlers. It stated that a good number of the settlers were simply city factory workers, looking to escape the oppresive life that factory life was, back in the 1800s.

[RKP5637]

107. You're braver than me, I was always afraid to work out what my hourly rate would be!

:-(

[AngryOldDem]

109. There's the rub.

The last job I had, the managers started doing shit like that -- trying to see how well the same job could get done with fewer and fewer people, while giving excuses right and left as to why raises were being put on hold.

When I was told that I would have to wait another two or three months for a boost in pay after more than two years without one -- and even then it wasn't guaranteed -- that's when I walked. All I wanted was basically a COLA, for Chrissake.

[AngryOldDem]

108. I'll never work overtime. Period.

I owe my employer eight hours of my life a day. No more than that. I don't need the money that damn bad.

One of the conditions of the job I'm currently in is mandatory overtime. I'm exempt right now because I'm a contractor. If -- and this is a big IF -- they want me to come on as a permanent hire, I'll tell them I'm not open to forced OT for many reasons, all personal, and they can take it or leave it.

[fascisthunter]

134. You Nailed It

this is what has conditioned most of us to accept little time off.

[AllyCat]

138. I had this happen to me at a place I'd been for 10 years.

Top of the pay scale, with no opportunity for advancement...someone could really do that job for a lot less than me. So funny when I returned from vacation, they started following me around and nit-picking at every little mistake and I was gone inside of 2 weeks.

[Blue Owl]

3. Unless you're George W. Bu$h

the most-vacationed pResident in American history.

[RebelOne]

4. I am not working any longer, but when I was,

I had 3 weeks vacation each year. I could only take week at a time because there was no one to fill in for me. So, I would end up taking long weekends for the rest of the year. I would save a lot of the time to take off during the Xmas holidays.

[EstimatedProphet]

5. Why? Because we are owned, that's why.

[Citizen Worker]

37. How can that be in the land of the free, home of the brave?

[Skidmore]

6. Because this nation is the all work and no play country and grab all you can

spot in the universe.

[Kievan Rus]

54. One-word answer: Consumerism

"Christian nation"...yeah right. Our religion is consumerism and the Almighty Dollar.

People throwing away their lives, their family, their happiness and their health to buy useless garbage made in a sweatshop they don't need.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Because maintaining empire and corporate supremacy have their costs.

Thanks for the thread, Liberal_in_LA.

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. .

:hi:

[Uncle Joe]

17. Peace to you, Liberal_in_LA.

:hi:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. because we vote for people who dont respect us

[RKP5637]

12. Exactly!!! n/t

[fishwax]

72. +1

[MatthewStLouis]

9. Family first! Ironic isn't it?

I have never understood why we settle for this. Workers are scared to even take the precious little vacation time they have earned. If republicans were really so family oriented: they would give workers a month off to spend with their family.

[sufrommich]

11. "Only 57% of U.S. workers use up all of the days they're entitled to"

I worked with a guy who never took his vacation days,ever. We were allowed until recently to accrue vacation days for as long as we liked and receive full pay for them when we retired. I worked in a union shop where we got 20 days of vacation every year and I was never once able to accrue days.

[Godhumor]

14. I got endless shit for taking 2 weeks off when my first child was born a month ago

Don't regret it at all.

But, yes, there is a very real difference between how Americans and Europeans approach leisure time (not Japanese, though. I worked there. Yes, everyone got 4 weeks off, but no one ever took more than a day or two at a time. Great vacation policy in name only.).

[jtrockville]

22. Don't confuse vacation with parental leave.

Other countries get parental leave in amounts that shame us.

[Godhumor]

49. I'm not mixing the two. I used the term deliberately as I had to take vacation (No paternal leave)

And I got called out on it. Still took it, though.

[jtrockville]

85. Imagine getting separate PAID leave for parental leave.

Imagine what other countries must think when they find out there is no such thing in the US.

Not sure about the validity of the source, but it seems right. Here's paid maternity leave by country:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lab_par_lea_pai_mat_lea-labor-parental-leave-paid-maternity

And paid paternity leave by country:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lab_par_lea_pai_pat_lea-labor-parental-leave-paid-paternity

This is PAID leave, mind you. Not "allowing" you to take the time off without pay, or making you save up your vacation.

We should be ashamed.

[elehhhhna]

89. You work for/with JERKS. Get your resume polished up.

[AllyCat]

139. Most employers give you parental leave only if you use up your vacation time

So, it is kind of the same thing. Of course, you are right that other countries actually get family leave (paid) because families matter there. Damn socialists!

[xmas74]

59. My boss called me in the hospital

the day my daughter was born, demanding to know when I'd be back to work. I groggily explained that I'd just had a c-section and he still demanded to know when I'd be back to work.

I had eleven weeks of sick time on the books and he still made an ass of himself on the phone.

[eissa]

82. I had the same thing happen to me

when I was pregnant with my first child. I had no clue how much, if any, maternity leave I was going to have. When I inquired I was told none: "we don't reward you for getting pregnant." So I saved up all my vacation time during my pregnancy and gave myself my own maternal leave (about 3 months.) No, the bosses were not very happy with me, and I got plenty of calls at home with work-related questions and some guilt-trips about being gone so long. Oh well! Family values my ass.

[xmas74]

83. The best part of my story

is that I was a public employee. I worked for the state I reside and my boss was allowed to make these type of calls.

I had plenty of time to take off but they also made a comment about "not rewarding me for getting knocked up". (And yes, they said "knocked up".)

[elehhhhna]

91. WHne my hubs explained to his boss (small co. owner) that he was resigning to stay home with our

newborn (I had a waaaaaaaay better & fun job) the man said "Well, hurry back as soon as you take care of your personal problem."

Ha!

[xmas74]

113. Gotta love the "personal problem" bit.

I was attacked by a client during my pregnancy while at work. The RN on duty immediately called for EMS and had me transported to the local ER. When my boss found out he became angry and demanded that I immediately report back to work. He didn't want to work in a home and he wasn't certified to pass meds and give insulin.

[BOG PERSON]

15. In a country as primitive as America,

which has developed in a purely bourgeois fashion without any feudal past, but has unwittingly taken over from England a whole store of ideology from feudal times, such as the English common law, religion, and sectarianism, and where the exigencies of practical labor and the concentrating of capital have produced a contempt for all theory, which is only now disappearing in the educated circles of scholars — in such a country the people must become conscious of their own social interests by making blunder upon blunder. Nor will that be spared the workers; the confusion of the trade unions, socialists, Knights of Labor, etc., will persist for some time to come, and they will learn only by their own mistakes.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1886/letters/86_09_16.htm

edit: the above was written by friedrich engels 125 years ago when the USA had a growing number of industrial laborers - proletarians. now, obviously the make-up of the US economy changed dramatically over the past few decades, in the opposite direction. so it's probably too late to learn from mistakes. but anyways. that's why we didn't get more vacation time.

[MindPilot]

16. If they can do without me for a week, they can do without me forever

Many years ago, I was fired while on vacation. Now I take time off only a couple days at a time and I prefer to take those days unpaid. I see accrued vacation as a layoff savings account.

[suffragette]

19. K&R

[chrisa]

24. My brother told me about a place that

Made their first year workers right out of college work from 7 am - 7am (the next day). Then, they gave them a strict 30 mins to go home and freshen up before beginning the next work period. :wtf:

My dad told me about a place that threatened a woman with a high stage of cancer with firing when she wanted to take time off and see her family because "work should come before family," even though she was trying to recooperate from chemotherapy (which they were mad at her for taking time off to get). That was the story, if I remember it correctly.

It's because the government allows it. This is what happens when Corporations are allowed to run the government.

[RKP5637]

32. We have no democracy anymore. Citizens anymore are just cogs in USA, Inc. And if

a few cogs break none care, because citizens are just slabs of meat in a corporate run government and are very expendable. And what previous generations fought for is being lost more and more each day.

[BOG PERSON]

41. ok, so are we cogs, slabs of meat, or cogs of meat?

please clarify. thank you.

[RKP5637]

43. Good catch! Cogs, for consistency. n/t

[xmas74]

62. I had just returned from maternity leave

and was informed my first day back that I would be required to work a double shift, even though my release from my doctor stated no more than forty hours a week. When I made a comment about taking a break to express milk (I nursed my child) the boss actually said that my responsibility was to my job and he didn't give a damn if my kid starved.

[tammywammy]

103. One of the great aspects of the health care reform was mandatory lactation stations

We already had a separate room in our building to accommodate pumping moms, it includes a lockable from the inside only door, a small fridge and a comfortable chair.

[xmas74]

112. I wish this had been around

eleven years ago. It would have been quite useful.

Well, that and a boss who actually cared.

[bikebloke]

25. I've worked for places where I was afraid to take time off.

Went years without vacation, except for the the usual holidays - and without pay for those. Now I work for a European company with European vacation time. I can actually go somewhere. That's until airfares are out of reach, which they're nearing.

[Kievan Rus]

57. I'd love to work for a European comany...in Europe

I'm currently looking for jobs in Europe and saving my money to move. As soon as I've got a steady job there, I'm bidding farewell to the "best country in the world."

[bikebloke]

151. Easier said, than done.

I certainly tried. Good luck to you.

[Dulcinea]

28. A couple of reasons:

1. Gotta work, work, work so we can buy, buy, buy and consume, consume, consume.

2. We're still a Puritan culture that regards vacation time as a frivolous luxury.

3. Some bosses regard employees who max out their acation as "less valuable" than those who don't.

I hope fervently that I NEVER have to go back to corporate America ever again.

[Dawson Leery]

34. How is it that vacation time it "frivolous", yet buying

disposable low quality goods is not?

[Dulcinea]

39. Beats me.

I'll take a vacation over shopping anytime!

[Kievan Rus]

58. #1 is so true about this country

Consumerism makes me sick to my stomach.

[CrispyQ]

92. "I hope fervently that I NEVER have to go back to corporate America ever again."

Oh man, ditto to that!!

[malaise]

35. Because big pharma has drugs to sell

and you don't need all those drugs for stress if you have decent vacations

[Peter1x9]

38. We've become a country of pathetic, materialistic, selfish robots that have the

"bend over and take it" mentality.

I'm sure glad I didn't make the mistake of having kids here.

[Kievan Rus]

60. I'm only 25 years old, but I've long since decided I won't have kids in this country

I'm open to having children if I'm living in Europe, Canada, Australia or another more civilized Western nation, but I'd NEVER have children here. I couldn't fathom subjecting them to this country's awful schools, profit-driven healthcare system, warped values, consumerism (especially at Christmas), faux Christians, rampant bullying, the "War on Drugs," Fox Noise, and racism.

[RKP5637]

87. IMO that's a very smart decision. One has no idea where this country is

going in the future. If the republicans get back in, and they eventually will, that will make now look like the best of times.

I'm throughly convinced the ultimate goal is to reduce American wages, benefits and standard of living to the lowest common denominator possible and then bring back the horrible work environment in this country in the early 20th century. And all that goes with a third tier country. In the US today only corporate profit counts. This is not a country about people, it's just about money, cornered wealth, greed and having a general populace living in serfdom.

I had a chance to live in Canada decades ago and turned it down. I never envisioned America becoming what it is now. There are far better places to live than 21st century America. True, there are lots of places far worse, but America could be far better, but I've pretty much lost faith it's going to get better, at least not for quite awhile. There is far too much money, corruption and bribery in politics today, and also SCOTUS went along with Citizens United, for example.

I agree with all of the things you said. I'm way way too old now, but if younger I would be looking at alternatives to living my whole life in America.

Maybe it will change and get better, I hope so, maybe Americans are going to pay more attention to whom they vote in, but there sure are a lot of crazy politicians running around.

Anyway, just my thoughts and two cents.

[CrispyQ]

93. "if younger I would be looking at alternatives to living my whole life in America."

I feel that way too.

[dana_b]

157. definitely. I almost wish that my 21 y.o. would think about

getting out of here after learning some good skill/trade. I would miss her terribly but it would be better for her in the long run.

[izquierdista]

167. You're never too old

I spent most of Idiot Son's second term out of the country. Then I got suckered back by Obama, thinking that the country was going to finally get turned around. I am now considering my options, and my next move will be out of the country for good.

[RKP5637]

168. If feels pretty unstable here anymore, in fact, some of the politicians are completely wacky. n/t

[treestar]

42. Puritanism

The 80s were even worse. People boasted of how much they worked. Also ego. I'm too important to be done without, you know.

[TBF]

44. They're afraid of losing their jobs -

The Puritan work ethic is certainly behind some of this, but in this economy you've got to hold on to the job you have and that means being present and working hard.

Wish we had more of a European lifestyle - I would love it if my husband felt we could actually take off more than 1-2 weeks a year. He is a lawyer and they bill hours. Merit bonuses are tied to hours, so one way or another (whether it's during the week, weekend, or holidays) he's always focused on getting his client's deals done and making his hours for the bonus.

[treestar]

47. That's now, but I think OP meant in general

I've been hearing for decades about how much harder we work - in a good economy, we work a lot, too.

[Shagbark Hickory]

48. What's so hard to understand? We are somewhere in between France and India in terms of

workers rights and benefits?

It is also the norm for workers in those countries that have those rediculously long paid vacations to take to the streets for things they want. We don't do that here.

[juajen]

127. We used to do that here. I remember my dad striking for

better conditions many times. We let "right to work states" happen and everything went downhill after that. We should be marching in the streets now for better working conditions, but everyone is either unemployed or afraid to lose the job they now have, and that's exactly how they want us, "afraid"!

[AsahinaKimi]

56. When I was working for this one company.. they had it so

You had a choice of a week off (or two, depending on your seniority) or vacation pay, and you worked your vacation. (There were no paid vacations.) I remember joking with people who were working saying, "hey guess what, I am working my vacation." The fact remained that the economy was so bad, most people had to work their vacation just to receive that extra payment. I did that several times myself, and remember getting two paychecks, one for regular pay, and one for the vacation. Most of the time, that money went to paying off bills owed, or back rent. It sucked.. but then I always figured, where the hell would I go? Its not like I have a car or could afford a rental...



These days, I have the best job. I work for a Japanese company and I work at home. My computer is my office. I work the hours I want, submit them, and at the end of the month, I get direct deposit. Its the best set up, I have ever had.

[strawberryfield]

61. If I didn't work for myself....

I am a proud workaholic, but I am a self employed rancher and custom furniture maker. I like working beyond everything else. I really don't need to work as hard as I do, but it is the thing that gives me the most joy in life. For most people, the problem is not the amount of work, but the fact that they are trapped doing things that they don't enjoy just to get by.

[liberal N proud]

66. GREED

Nothing in this country happens unless GREED is tied to it.

Profit, profit, profit, that is all we see because the corporations rule this country.

Greatest Nation on the Planet?

[Bake]

68. It's that Puritan work ethic

Idle hands being the devil's workshop or some such b.s.

Bake

[aikoaiko]

76. I earned 21 vacation days this year and only took one day off.

Work has been hopping busy.

[kentauros]

79. One other point has to do with the word itself.

We call it a "vacation" and is too close to the word "vacate" for me.

Everyone else out that says "going on holiday".

Now which one literally sounds better, even happier?
Vacation.
Holiday!

:)

[coyote]

80. I never realized how bad I had it until I moved to Germany.

My first year out of college I worked at EDS in Massachusetts. It was company policy to give no vacation the 1st year. What a miserable existence to just have to work, work,and work.

The nice thing here in Germany is that Germans keep their private and work life separate. I remember going out with friends to he bar in Boston and we would talk about....well...work. It was our life and that was all we had in common. Here people don't even mention work when socializing....it's actually nice.

Anyway, I get my 6 weeks vacation now and fantastic health care. Health care really hits a nerve for me because Americans pay tons of money for health care and get absolute shit coverage. It's a joke, and unfortunately the joke is on you.

Like any place, there are positives and negatives. However, I can honestly say my quality of life here is far better in Europe than it ever was in the US.

[RKP5637]

84. I've always been amazed that America is so far behind not only in healthcare

insurance, but also in the quality of healthcare. Yet the talking points always settle here on we have the best healthcare and that's a bunch of BS. We have the highest healthcare cost in the world, 2x more that the next country, and we were ranked 37th in healthcare by the World Health Organization.

Americans get fed a lot of propaganda and far too many just accept it as truthful.

[JackDragna]

96. Work and private life SEPARATE?

Why don't you just admit your creeping socialism, Comrade Marx? :)

Seriously, though..one wonders why everyone in this country is so bloody stressed. Work follows Americans around like a specter.

[coyote]

128. I totally agree....

I really believe all the stress about work is casing the majority of our problems as a nation. Kids are being left home alone to take care of themselves, parents are totally stressed out about their jobs and no doubt taking their anger out on their family, no vacation time to enjoy anything. It's a horrible existence.

It's no wonder why the public is politically "ignorant"....nobody has time to learn about what is really going on in our country because everyone is fricken working. Who has time to be take part in protest and create real change when we are all scared about losing our job(s).

It's too bad it's not mandatory for people to take a 1 year abroad trip....I think it would be a real eye opener in seeing actually how bad Americans have it (especially compared with Europeans).

[HughBeaumont]

95. The worst part about it is that in America, vacation's not mandated by LAW.

See this? That's called MANDATED TIME OFF. In Corporate American-run America, vacation isn't mandatory - it's a privilege, just like health "care". In fact, often new workers don't get any vacation at all until 6 months-1 year of service.

Here's some more frightening bullshit:

· If wages kept pace with productivity, the average full time worker would be earning 58,000/year. Instead, he/she earns 36,000/yr (in 2008 dollars).

· 20% of families with children under 6 live below the poverty line.

· The typical American worker puts in 1804 hours a year. That's 135 hours more than the average British worker, 240 more than the French worker and 370 more hours than the German worker. That could be because we’re also the only industrialized nation that has no mandates regarding a minimum number of vacation days per year (unlike the Swedish and the French, who mandate 5 and 6 weeks, respectively). The good ol' Yew Ess Ay is also one of four countries (out of 173 nations surveyed) that do not provide paid maternity leave.

· Almost ¼ of the American workforce (33 million workers) earn less than 10 dollars an hour, which is less than poverty for a family of four.

· Just one third of laid off workers receive unemployment benefits, down from 50 percent a generation ago, and the federal program for UI and retraining has been de-funded by more than 10 billion dollars in the last quarter century.

· The typical CEO in 1976 earned (use that term loosely) 36 times what their average worker did. In 1993, it rose to 131 times more. Today, that disparity is now at 369 times more their average worker’s salary, down from 441 times more five years ago, but still lousy nonetheless.

· The American economy has lost one in five factory jobs since 2000.

· One out of six managerial employees worked more than 60 hours a week, according to a 2004 BLS survey. This statistic doesn’t include commute time.

· A Pew Charitable Trusts survey from 2004 found that men in their 30s had a median income of 12 percent less than their fathers did at the same age.

And like it was said above, Big Pharma has lots of drugs (particularly anti-depressants, which the USA is the biggest consumer of) to sell the burnt and unfortunate.

We wear our over-work like a badge of honor, and it's killing us.

[Initech]

118. I think I read somewhere that there's only two countries besides us that don't mandate vacation.

I cant remember what they were though.

[alarimer]

98. Because our owners suck.

And they have paid off Congress to the point where we do not have the kind of worker protections and benefits that we all deserve.

And a good portion of the voters vote against their own best interests in favor of the corporate types.

[marmar]

99. And so many here seem to feel "guilty" about having a vacation.....

I was riding the cable car in San Francisco, talking to a couple from Australia and a couple from Ohio. One of the Australians said that he was surprised at how little vacation time Americans received. The woman from Ohio remarked that she has two weeks of vacation, and she never uses all of her days and spends some of her vacation time working.
It's quite sad, actually.

[SmileyRose]

124. I don't think we feel guilty. More like we feel afraid of losing our jobs.

[slipslidingaway]

100. knr nt

[tammywammy]

102. I get 3 weeks vacation, every other Friday off, holidays and the plant shuts down

between Christmas and New Year's. If I'm sick I'm strongly encouraged to stay home and have unlimited sick time (unless you're out 5+ working days, then you go on short term disability, which is still paid leave).

I'm strongly encouraged to take my vacation time, though you can let it build up to a total of 400 hours.

[AngryOldDem]

105. We are a nation of sweatshops.

I work for one. Started last month on a contract basis and, while I know it's a job, and I know it's income, there are days when I hope that my contract won't be renewed when it comes up next month. The anxiety, stress, and pressure I feel by the end of the day just aren't worth it. I share perhaps 50 words **total** a day with those around me. I hate having to ask questions because of the reactions of my supervisors (I guess they think I'll just soak up the ins and outs of the job through my chair, which might be true, given that I can barely get up from it during the day lest I fall behind in my piecework.) Fuck that. Seriously. But welcome to working life in America, I guess.

Vacation? What the hell is that? I'm lucky anymore just to be able to take my fucking half-hour lunch.

I know work is work. But is there really anything wrong with the idea that one can enjoy what one does for a living, and be able to do it in an environment that is conducive to productivity and teamwork rather than to a major stroke, coronary, or nervous breakdown?

It's ironic that this is the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. It's beginning to look like they all did indeed die in vain.

[Philippine expat]

114. Guess I was a lucky one

every job I ever had encouraged employees to take their vacation.
Not every job had a lot of vacation but not one ever tried to stop me from taking what I had earned.

[Patiod]

117. I used to work for a UK company that found US vacation to be "obscene"

We got 4 weeks to start. I wish I still worked there.

[Bombero1956]

120. I must've been in the minority insofar as vacation was concerned

Before I retired after 32.5 years of service I received 32 days vacation a year which came to 8 weeks per year and I always used it all because we could not roll it over to the following year. When I first began my career I got 5 days off and that increased every 5 years per union contract until I retired.

[MindPilot]

121. So you had to work for five years before you got two weeks?

That's the part we're talking about.

[Bombero1956]

172. No looking back now

I had 5 days for the first year and then 10 days for the next 5 years. Thereafter I added 5 days every five years and topped out at 20 tours at 20 years. Then our union and the city entered into negotiations on a new contract and because the city was strapped for cash they added additional vacation tours in lieu of more pay. So the vacation breakdown was like this.

0-5 years = 10 tours
6-10 years = 15 tours
11=15 years = 20 tours
16-20 years = 24 tours
21-25 years = 27 tours
25 and up = 32 tours

[Festivito]

125. Stupid, isn't it. /nt

[JCMach1]

126. I won't even discuss my amount of vacation time here in the UAE

I work extra, or I could have the equivalent of about 3 months off... I still get 1 month each year even with the extra work for extra pay.

[harun]

130. Because slavery is still practiced in the U.S.A.

[fascisthunter]

132. Another Issue that Never Made Sense here in the States

we are conditioned to feel bad for taking time off... then we overwork, get sick can't afford healthcare and finally have to use sick time. All this leads to an unhappy work environment, unhappy staff and production plummets. DUMB!

[EnviroBat]

135. My fiancee and I are going to Italy for our honeymoon.

I'm really afraid I will spend part of the time looking at the job situation there. I'm a software test guru, and I might find it easy to justify not coming back to the U.S.

[dana_b]

158. do it! don't be afraid

you two deserve a good life together where you actually get to spend TIME with each other. Remember your future kids! ;)

[LibDemAlways]

136. Two to three weeks? Many cheap US employers

grudgingly give maybe a week - and only after the poor sap has already put in a year with no vacation. That was the policy at a slave labor insurance company I worked at for a while. Sucked.

[AllyCat]

137. And when I mention this to people who think this is okay, they say "but we are more productive!"

Maybe so, but at what cost? Why can't the "most productive" nation have more holidays and time off to increase productivity when we are at our jobs not burned out?

[dana_b]

159. and we are sick! we probably take more

anti depressants than any other industrialized country. Whoo pee!!

[Atman]

141. Because we're so "productive!"

If you never get vacations, you can spend more time on the assembly line. Oh, wait, we don't have assembly lines in America anymore. We have burger flippers...and they don't get vacations, they get unpaid "days off" at the whim of some pimple-faced 19 year old "manager."

.

[Yavin4]

142. Simple Explanation - We're Not Unionized

Too many of us eschew unions thinking that we're going to be screwed because of them. Make no mistake about it. If Europe didn't have strong unions, they'd be just like us.

Unions give the workers a voice in the work place. Without them, you are on your own with your employer.

[Romulox]

148. Because we're a nation of cut-throats, mercenaries, and scabs

with the constant threat of more pliable (and cheaper!) imported labor held over our heads.

[bvar22]

152. No one on their death bed has ever said,

"I wish I had spent more time at work."

[Populist_Prole]

156. You got that right. I "do my eight and hit the gate"

I swear there are some I know who damn near would say "I wish I had spent more time at work". I never do overtime either; ever. If you can't make it on your base pay, you're doing something wrong. Working double shifts every day...just to get by? That's just so wrong. Surely enough though, so many do. "I need the money" the catch all phrase spoken in a dejected monotone. Bullshit.

[rucky]

153. "You're struggling because you're not working hard enough."

Is the "ethic" ingrained into our collective brains.

[Iggo]

154. Because we're lazy and don't deserve vacations. (n/t)

[Critters2]

160. I get four weeks of vacation, 2 weeks of continuing ed, and a 3 month sabbatical every 5 years.

But because of the bitching by parishioners, in 25 years I have never had a sabbatical. And rarely use all my vacation time.

[defendandprotect]

161. Because we're stupid -- we've supported the evils of capitalism ...

rather than moving on to more economic-friendly situations --

actually you can't have democracy without economic democracy -

how about democratic socialism?

[Bragi]

162. Americans have better things to do

There is no time for vacations when a person is focused on filling up their over-sized home with crap from China that they don't need. Then they die.

[Pacifist Patriot]

164. Bloody Calvinist work ethic.

Americans are too reluctant to let go of the puritanical mindset whether it is related to sex or work.

[drokhole]

170. Life is a dance...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29atSZKbmS4

...but we're threatened into believing it's a quarry.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

171. "Hard work is good for you." Usually said by rich people who don't work.

[tjwash]

176. Aren't the Euro-economies in the proverbial crapper right now?

Spain and Greece have been wreaking havoc on the dow and nasdaq this week because everyone is expecting them to default on their national debt any day now.