I thought you would be interested to learn a little more about legal requirements, HR practices, and cultural differences related to paid vacation and holidays.
This 2007 article from CNN Money (drawing from a Mercer survey) includes data from 50 countries. The data compares paid time off, by country, for a typical employee with 10 years of service, reflecting the minimum paid vacation days and paid public holidays.
At the top of the list is Finland, with 44 paid days off per year. Also near the top are France, Israel, Lithuania, Morocco... all with 40 days. Near the bottom is the USA with 25 paid days (15 vacation days with 10 years of service plus 10 holidays), and at the very bottom is Thailand with 19 days. Unlike most other countries, there is no legal requirement in the USA for paid vacation or holidays, so the US numbers reflect typical practices in large companies.
According to another survey in the CNN article, when companies of all sizes and employees with all years of service are included, the average for the USA drops to nine days of paid vacation with six days of paid holidays. And almost one in four U.S. workers don't get any paid days off at all. Most Americans also take vacation in small increments (sometimes even half a day), while employees in European countries typically take vacation in blocks of two weeks or more.
Many Americans don't take all the vacation time available to them, due to work pressures and concerns about job security. Or they stay in contact with the office, checking e-mail from the beach. (I remember one family vacation at Kiawah Island, where I checked e-mail twice a day and spent an entire morning on a conference call...) In today's technology-driven and fast-paced world we're increasingly connected and unable to break off contact from pressing business demands.
A New York Times article focused on vacation practices in Europe, particularly in Sweden, which topped the list for vacation time in another survey. According to a recent EU study, carried out by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions... Swedish workers topped the European vacation rankings, entitled to an average of 33 paid vacations days in 2006 - close to 7 weeks, not counting public holidays." Traditionally, many Swedes take five weeks of vacation beginning in early July.
The article discusses how increasing globalization may be changing vacation practices in countries like Sweden, where operations need to stay open to interact with customers and suppliers in other parts of the world.
There are definitely different cultural expectations related to time off and the work/life balance. Do the Swedes, Finns and French have too much paid time off-- or do Americans not have enough? As global companies have employees in different countries-- with different vacation entitlements-- what issues may arise?
17 comments:
I don't think it is logical to compare the amount of paid holidays from one country to another. In researching my group's presentation for Thailand, I learned about many new holidays that the Thai practice that are unheard of in the United States, such as Coronation Day, and the practicing of a modern New Year's Day as well as a traditional one. In terms of whether Americans have enough or not, I think the amount is fair. Most Americans don't even use their paid vacation or holiday hours, because they are workaholics (my mother is an example of this). One issue that could arise from different vacation entitlements in different countries is someone showing up for work on a day that they didn't know was a holiday. People are always going to have their own opinions about other cultures, the key is making sure you are comfortable with and can adapt to the one you are living in.
I agree with Hillary that the number of paid vacation days in the United States is fair. I also like that the United States does not have a legal requirement for the number of paid vacation days. These kinds of incentives should be at the discretion of the company, as it can be an enticing benefit to offer potential job candidates. Employees will not want to work for a company that does not provide flexibility, and I think the average number of vacation days provides that flexibility. As already stated, many Americans do not even use all of their vacation days, but I am certain they still appreciate having that option. Providing too many vacation days can easily lead to lower productivity; while it is hard to say for certain that the higher ranked countries have too much paid time off, I do believe they could stand to work a few more days each year.
I think I totally agree with Hillary, we cannot compare paid vacation days. These days are very meaningful to the individual Countries. What I'm curious to see is the life expectancy of those countries on the higher end and/or other incentives that companies provide on the lower end to make up for rest/holidays. As we've discussed in class, so many things make up a country- culture, food etc. by just taking one aspect of it would not provide the whole picture. Certainly, with globalization, things are bound to change the big issue will be the willingness to change and /or compromise.
I think too many Americans are workaholics and should want to take more vacation. I think 2-3 weeks per year where people totally tune out of work would probably a healthy move... although this is probably not a reality for most. I can't really decide whether I think the Swiss, Finns, and French take too much time off. If it works for their culture, then do it.
Issues that may arise for global companies with global countries are obvious. Imagine a French person working for JPMorgan in New York... do you think he or she would have a problem with working 12 hour days sometimes 6 days a week with 1 week vacation annually? Probably so. On the other hand, an extremely hard-working American might get bored having 6 full weeks off!
I honestly think that the amount of vacation should directly relate to an individual's ability to manage their time effectively. Some people mess around all the time at work gossiping and surfing the internet. These people need as much time on site as possible to get their work done. On the other hand, some people focus on their tasks and finish things efficiently. It's not fair to give these people the same amount of vacation. Those who work more efficiently deserve more time off.
The only real problem with vacation internationally is becoming familiar with the local holidays and adjusting the work schedule to fit the local culture.
David Mouron
I do agree with the others above. It really has a good number of variables. Many of us in the US have the ability to work remote and able to access work from their cell phones. I don't think it is comparable simply because of the different cultures. Some cultures have full weeks of celebrations, some have more family oriented holidays than we do. On the other hand I do believe there should be a legal number of vacations days assigned to all US employees. I would agree with possibly two weeks paid vacation. There is a reason why we are one of the most productive countries in the world. But with the addition of regular holidays and paid vacation I think there is plenty.
I think that the people of America would be a much happier, healthier population in general if we had more vacation time. I don't think that other countries give too much vacation time, but I do agree with the comment above that says that there is a possibility that those from other countries might feel overworked if they came here and that Americans might end up bored working in other countries and having so much vacation.
I tend to agree with the consensus here. Americans, overall, seem to be workaholics. My roommate, for example, has accrued just about enough time to take 6 months of work off paid all because he would rather work and make his money than sit at home making his money. It is kind of illogical to compare our vacation/holiday set up to those of other countries because it is going to vary on culture, religion, tradition, etc. There is no way to fairly compare them.
The challenge is when people from various cultures work together in the same organization and especially on the same work team. Should a German expat working in America receive more vacation time than the American co-worker in the next office? Should the American who goes to work for three years in Denmark receive less time than their European colleagues?
This is the type of Human Resources issue that gets tricky!
We've talked so much in class about the importance of adapting to new cultures when traveling for work. If you are working in a different country, you should follow their rules and guidelines. If you can't handle the difference in vacation time then you probably shouldn't be an expat.
To give someone more or less vacation time than coworkers is unfair. Whichever country the expat is in that person should be adapting.
For the most part, I agree with what everyone has said about the amount of vacation taken in different countries. But, I think there needs to be some sort of balance between work and vacation so that workers can both get some time off from work, but also stay focused on their job at the same time. I believe that if given too much time off, it becomes somewhat of a distraction and it becomes hard to get back to work. Whereas if there were a few days allowed off every now and then it is a big enough incentive to stay focused on one's job as well as some allowed time off for some relaxation.
Wouldn't it be nice to have as much vacation time as the Swedes, French, and Finns. These countries are doing very well economically speaking. Clearly more days off hasn't directly caused any damage to these countries. I believe that the more time off an employee has, the more productive they will be when they are on the clock. It's only a win-win. As far as the expatriate situation goes, it has been addressed above. I think it is logical to have the employee adhere to cultural norms and work the same amount as coworkers in the host country.
-Tricia Bruce
With so many companies being global now a days I say that many of these countries with months of vacation days available will slowly start reducing days. Its hard for companies to conduct business when important pieces of your company are sitting on the beach for weeks at a time. Perhaps companies will eventually slowly start to exit countries such as these? It is difficult to think that there could be people working for the same company and getting double the time off that you would get. I guess we cant have everything in American can we.
All the opinions above are very interesting- I feel as if a balance needs to be found due to the global nature of the economy. I was speaking to a few friends of mine recently (from the UK) and they said that they would much sooner move to Canada than the U.S due to the vacation time. They feel as if people "chase the dollar" too much over here, and as a result are not happy. They also believe that having more vacation time allows one to appreciate the money that they have earned, although John raises an important issue of companies potentially exiting nations that take more holidays than that of the nation in which the company is headquartered.
I agree with Lauren. Which ever country an expat is in should determine how much vacation time one should get. If there is a conflict about someone who is doing the same job at the same company in the EU as someone in the US then there should be a company rule about paid vacation days and holidays that is a compromise between the two cultures. When all else fails companies should give more time for those cultures used to more vacation time and if americans want to disregard the amount of time they have been allotted that is their choice. I do however agree that technology is the reason it is hard for so many to leave work completely. This thanksgiving break for example I know i was checking my email for school assignments and my dad was checking in on patients via email and such. I am also writing this post via an IPad while riding in the car. Technology has made communicating to easy it is hard not to keep in touch with work so you don't get behind when you come back from a vacation.
I do not believe American receive enough vacation time. Almost every other country really values family time and time for yourself through vacation. In America, we believe that we must work all the time. I know that when I go on vacations I find myself still be surrounded by work. Like with my company now, they also restrict certain times of the year that you can take vacation and we only get 2 weeks if you are a full-time employee. I think that if our country were a lot more family oriented and took time off more that it would be a better working environment for every one and we would be a lot less stressed out in this country.
Before taking this class, I had no idea that other countries had longer vacation times than the US. After learning that fact it kind of sparked a fire in me into why do we not get as much vacation time?
I feel like the answer comes with how fast paced American society has become. To the point of a minute relaxing relates to a minute you should have been working. For example, I really struggled with this pace of life in Spain and France. Dinners, lunches, and classes we much slower and drawn out almost to the point of I would get agitated and be ready to get up and move on. I do agree that Americans need more vacation time, but will they take it when the could be working is the bigger question.
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