No-vacation Nation

[Merrytooth 5,748]

I have 20 days of PTO per year, while my spouse has 25 days.

We both are in IT/Engineering field.

There is no sick leave though, so I still go to office even if I am sneezing and coughing

[supercubn909t 3]

I use this site https://www.glassdoor.com, there is some good information on many companies, benefits and some pay ranges.

[Hollyday 122]

My company (consulting) offers 15 days of paid vacation + up to 10 days based on tenure with the company. That's not too shabby. In Moscow i had 31 calendar days though + lots of nationally recognized holidays. The US could use some more of those.

I have 20 days of PTO per year, while my spouse has 25 days.

We both are in IT/Engineering field.

There is no sick leave though, so I still go to office even if I am sneezing and coughing

Hmm, can you work from home when sick?.. My employer is fairly flexible in this regard.

[Harmonia 211]

Funny because I just read an article about why Americans are afraid of vacation:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2016/03/31/why-are-americans-afraid-vacation/E19KQeeckp2Na3z3EQHQFL/story.html

In my experience, people may get 2-3 weeks of vacation but we don't take vacations that long, all at once. I've travelled to the Caribbean, for example, for 5-7 days. There will be Europeans and Canadians there for 2 weeks at a time. I've never taken 2 weeks off in a row, nor have any of my coworkers. So while I may take the days off between Christmas and New Years, plus 5 days off in a row, I won't be going out of town for 2 weeks straight.

Re: teaching, many teachers now teach summer school to pay the bills. Some schools are also year round.

In my area in the Northeast, its expected for teachers to have Master's degrees or be enrolled in a Master's program while working full time. This will vary by region, but here, you essentially will not get hired without a Master's degree.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Harmonia

[ryna 132]

I'm the USC and my biggest adjustment has been having to explain to my wife's family that the entire country doesn't shut down for 2-3 weeks at the end of the year and that we can't visit every December because it would use every minute of my paid time off, every year. And, don't get me started on the 22 holidays/year they have off vs my 8!

[Boiler 45,715]

Have you thought of self employment?

[JoBri 548]

The reverse was true for me when I went to Germany in the Army. I was shocked that Europeans expect and get so much vacation time. I could hardly believe how much time off they get, at least in Germany. They got time off for so many things, even to go skiing or to a health spa.

Hi all

I'm sure you're all aware of the lack of paid vacation time in the US. I was just wondering if any of you have had any personal experience with this transition.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20141106-the-no-vacation-nation

At the moment in the UK I get 30 days of paid vacation a year and I'm truly terrified of that going down to a measly 10 (If I'm lucky) So much so that I'm seriously considering a career in teaching so that I can have summers off.

I just wanted to find out from you guys what your experiences have been so far. And if you knew of any companies that offer good annual leave packages, or offer flexible working?

[blondedoc 35]

At least there are paid vacation in US... Can you guys imagine that in Brazil most of companies are allowed to make their workers open a company and provide services for them? Like this, no vacations, no benefits, no nothing.

I`m at the healthcare (Md) and since I graduated I never had a real vacation... Paid and not working in another place by the same time.

There are some formal jobs around but they pay so bad that don´t worth...

So, the 2 weeks paid vacations reality will be like heaven for me

[Shauneg 762]

The thinking is if you can take that much time of then are you really needed? Get weekends off, holidays off, then 30 days on top of that? Thats roughly 1/3 of the year where you arent at work at all. Craziness.

[TabeaK 517]

Oh dear god, my favorite pet peeve. I love traveling and in the US that is difficult with the lack of decent vacation time.

In my professional job in Germany I had 30 days - which is pretty standard in highly qualified jobs. The legal minimum is 20 days I believe. On top of that we had about 10 or so national holidays and I got time-in-lieu for overtime worked. I am definitely gonna miss the time that enabled me to travel a lot like crazy and the vacation policy is actually a key factor in my job hunt over here now.

I just don't get how Americans just accept this lack of time off... We worked hard back home but it was also totally a given to take a longer vacation over the summer (2-3 weeks) as well an additional week or two at different times of the year.

Anyway, when in Rome... Now I am here with my husband so I have to adapt.

The reverse was true for me when I went to Germany in the Army. I was shocked that Europeans expect and get so much vacation time. I could hardly believe how much time off they get, at least in Germany. They got time off for so many things, even to go skiing or to a health spa.

It is a sacrosanct benefit that has been fought hard for by the unions and by now is enshrined in law.

[AmyWrites 593]

My Russian husband is a software engineer and gets an entire month off.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

My parents are pastors. I believe that they get 4 weeks. Every 5 years of service (I think) they get 7 weeks. However, compared to when they were in Canada, their superiors are more kind to offer personal leaves of absence and compassionate leave(my mom had to take a month a couple of times for my sister who was battling brain cancer). And it's paid. But perhaps it's because it was a religious organization

[Ortolan 381]

I'm self-employed, have been for years now; when I don't work, I don't make any money. So unfortunately I can't get my employer (me) to give me 30 paid days off.

[Brokenness 3]

The issue isn't that the US has only 10 vacation days per year, it is only that this "may" be the required minimum*. There are many companies which offer much better packages, and this is part of the idea of a market economy-that competition will drive the options. My company offers 25 vacation days a year, 20+ paid sick days, 20+ paid administrative days and six weeks 100% paid parental bonding leave (for the father or partner) and since I live in California, I am also able to take an additional six weeks at 55% salary.

In addition, we have around eight paid holiday's per year. And every six years we get an additional six weeks of vacation.

This was much better than the conditions that I had when I worked in Germany. I do know that what my company offers is not standard, nor does everyone have the opportunity to move to a location which offers better employee benefits. However, my advice would be to look into what other companies in your area offer for benefits and be open on where you want to work.

*I do not even know if this is a required minimum.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Brokenness

[merc0230 28]

I work for a large bank, I get 5 weeks vacation, 1 week of sick and 10 holidays. It truly depends on where you work.