Vacation-Deficit Disorder

Among all the world’s advanced economies the United States stands out for what should be called a serious case of vacation deficit disorder. We are the only country that does not have mandatory paid vacations for its workers. Not one day. Zilch. The Europeans, are aghast at discovering that the average American vacation lasts for just 4.1 days. They see this as further evidence of cultural collapse.

Those 4.1 days of vacation often include a weekend, minimizing the risk of finding somebody else in your seat when you return.

But I fear that this is the way that national stereotypes can lead to international conflicts of attitude. Invariably the example of France comes up. To begin with, this is the country that introduced a 35-hour workweek. Then there is the fact that officially every French worker is entitled to 31 days of paid vacation. But by exploiting other allowances, smart people – both government employees and company employees -- can extend that to five and a half weeks.

Five and a half weeks?

Before you invoke images of a nation enjoying more indolence than industry, there is an uncomfortable statistic to digest. Specifically, comparing the output per worker in the U.S. and France. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development expressing the Gross National Product in terms of value per hour worked, the U.S. comes out on top at $60.2, and France a close second, $57.7.

In Australia, after 10 years working for the same employer they are entitled to more than eight weeks of paid vacation on top of the basic annual allowance of 20 to 25 days. As a result, Australians can spend months in Europe, Asia, and the Americas without any time pressures.

That’s a state of bliss that most Americans, locked in the grip of vacation deficit disorder, can only dream of. Hard-wired into the psyche of many is the idea that somehow time off is akin to sloth. Yet when it comes to sloth we have surely produced the world’s current best in class – members of Congress. By the end of its current year the House of Representatives will have been in session for fewer than 135 days, turning up for an average of 28 hours a week (with very little to show for it.)  Not even the French have got their working week down to that level.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/10/obama-s-extravagant-summer-break-more-like-america-s-vacation-deficit-disorder.html

Apparently, they have not visited this forum.