It was Sunday Morning and I watched Sunday Morning on CBS. Their lead story? No Vacation Nation.
It made me cringe. Of the 33 wealthiest countries, the US is the only (ONLY) one where paid vacation time is not legally required for it’s workers. Really? Cyprus is better to it’s workers than the US?
America also has the lowest vacation time “perked” to employees. On average, when you start a job in the US, you’re given one to two weeks of vacation to start. It takes approximately five years to gain access to three weeks and lord knows the threshold to four weeks.
Average time given to workers in the EU? 20 days. No wonder you always hear about EU tourists taking trips throughout Asia – they have time to get there and enjoy it.
And, the kicker – even when given the time off to take, Americans don’t take advantage of it. Seriously – free pay for sitting on a beach or in your garage and you don’t take it off. We’re so worried about not producing or looking badly in our bosses eyes that we are sacrificing our own health to have a job. Nuts.
Vacation time may not be required by law and it may not be a right, but it is a necessity. How can you, worker bee #5,327, be expected to journey out everyday collecting pollen from the plethora of spring time wildflowers along the highway with no time off to recuperate, rejuvenate and give your wings a rest?
Vacation time helps the worker, regardless of collar color, take a breath. It provides a happier worker, one who comes back from vacation with a fresh perspective of their job and how to do it. It takes the mundane, day to day bullshit and makes it fresh again.
There is at least one person who thinks vacations should be a right. Congressman Alan Grayson, D-Fla. Say what you will about liberal policies making everything under the sun a “right”, but this is a good cause, though slightly limited in it’s requirement of one week paid vacation for companies with more than 100 employees. Even he believes that well rested workers are better workers. Where one week is short, at least it’s something for those with no time off.
Don’t let us become a nation that doesn’t take care of it’s workers or a nation where the workers don’t take care of themselves. It is a two way street. Make sure, if you work, and if you have vacation – - take it.
