How much vacation do you take?

[Randi]

It seems that most US citizens only get 14 days, and they don't even use them! I wonder why that is.

Expedia vacation survey

	Days given	Days taken	Days unused
France	30	30	0
Spain	30	30	0
Denmark	30	30	0
Brazil	30	30	0
Germany	30	28	2
Italy	28	21	7
UK	25	25	0
Sweden	25	25	0
Netherlands	25	23	2
Norway	25	21	4
India	25	20	5
Ireland	21	20	1
Argentina	21	20	1
Australia	20	15	5
Canada	16	15	1
Mexico	15	14	1
Singapore	14	14	0
U.S.	14	12	2
Japan	11	5	6
South Korea	10	7	3
Total	24	20	4

Germany, France, Spain and Denmark top the list with 30 paid vacation days, while the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the UK come in second with 25 days. European respondents also turn most of it into holidays. German respondents said they use 28 of 30 days, while France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark use all of them. American respondents earn 14 days, from which they use 12.


Asia, however, is more vacation averse. According to the survey, Japan is the most vacation-deprived nation in the world, with respondents saying they receive 11 paid days each year but only use five of them. South Koreans take seven out of their 10 days.


Hard working employees can also be found in India, where five days from a total of 20 are not used, respondents said. “In India, vacations tend to be viewed as a guilty habit,” marketing head of Expedia India, Manmeet Ahluwalia, said in a press release. “As many as 54% Indians spend vacations usually secretly checking emails.”

Besides economic performance, vacation levels might have an impact on the employees’ temper. Top scorers in the recentLegatum Institute’s listof the world’s happiest countries have many things in common.


One of them, however, is a high number of vacation days.

[Freedom]

I always took ALL my vacation time, and ALL of my sick time. Heck, if someone is going to pay me to take off and have fun, I'm all for it!

Must admit I saved my sick time on an annual basis, so if I did get ill I had time coming. Then if I left the job during that year, I'd get the pay for the saved time, so that was also good.

My jobs mostly had 4 weeks off annually for vacation, I think 2 gave me 6 weeks; but I was at the executive levels.

[pomtzu]

When I retired, I was at the point where I got 4+ weeks of vacation - 4 weeks for 20 years service, and then 1 additional day for each year over 20. The company I worked for did not allow you to carryover unused days (except in extenuating circumstances) into the next year, and if you didn't use them, they were lost. I don't know of anyone there that never used all of their days that they were entitled to. I sure used mine!

[Alysser]

I did a research paper last semester on something called 'workaholism' which has been notorious in the US and Japan. Many people become obsessed with work and making money so they don't take as many days off. It's pretty interesting to read about, but it does end tragically sometimes.

I've only had part-time jobs or seasonal jobs thus far so I never got told how many days I can request off. My places of work have generally been very generous with that, except for Six Flags...but I don't work there anymore.

[happylabs]

What??? People not using their vacation??? That is crazy.

I have been at my job for 25 years. I just got to the point where I earn 26 days a year and 4 personal days. I haven't been on a real vacation for about 10 years. When I was married and the kids were young we always went to the beach every year. Last year when Caleb got married at the beach was like a little mini vacation. I really miss going to the beach for a whole week.

My employer starts out giving you 7 days your first year of employment and then you get more in like 3 or 5 years and then when you hit 15 you get more and then 25 years is the max of 26 days. You start out with one personal day and they go up to 4 as you move through the ranks.

[Randi]

What??? People not using their vacation??? That is crazy!

I don't get it, either.

The table below outlines the Danish Holiday Act:
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/The_Danish_Holiday_Act_11011Final/$FILE/The Danish Holiday Act 11011Final.pdf

[sparks19]

hubby gets 4 weeks of vacation I think and he earns time for the overtime he works. We always use ALL of it. His vacation days reset in May and we already have a bunch of trips planned lol. a week long trip to canada, a week long trip to florida (a few days at the inlaws house and a couple days at disney) both of those vacations are in september and then another week at Disney in December.

Plus a few random days off here and there to "extend" a weekend and such.

[Randi]

I always took ALL my vacation time, and ALL of my sick time. Heck, if someone is going to pay me to take off and have fun, I'm all for it!

Good for you! Of course, I use all my days, too. Not that I have a job now, but you're still entitled to 5 weeks of vacation whether you have a job or not.

Teachers, of course, have 7 weeks of vacation.

I've heard about the one additional day per year you've worked for a company - I guess that is fair, but younger people are surely not happy about it. Do many companies have that rule?

Yes, it seems that the US and Japan works a lot more than the rest of the world, and China, too for that matter, but I'm sure many in these countries go down with stress. Some even do in Denmark. With the unemployment figures we have, it's a shame that some can't work less, so others could get jobs. It seems to all or nothing.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Where I work you only get 10 days of paid vacation days per year and when you've been with the company for 10 years and over you then get 15 days. I've been with the company for a long time so I do get the 15 and I use all of them. As for sick time, we can only use it if we are sick so I never use all of them unless I have surgery or something that requires a long recovery time. We now also need a doctor's excuse if we're out sick for more than a couple of days. We are allowed to carry over some of our sick time to the next year and as far as I know we can also carry over any unused vacation time. We also get our birthday as a paid holiday so I really have 16 paid vacation days. We used to also be able to use our sick time for personal time off or even vacation time when work was slow but ever since the poor economy we can't. Sometimes if we have to work on a Saturday we can also get comp time which would go towards vacation time. I usually just take staycations, I just stay home during my vacations, because I can't afford to travel and I have 6 cats to take care of and I don't have any one close by that could cat sit them. I also can't afford the prices of professional pet sitters.

[Pinot's Mom]

That table may be a bit skewed. In general, as far as I know, many American companies START with two weeks (10 days) vacation and 3 personal days. It is true many people leave some on the table; I am not one of them.

I am, at this point, middle management. I get 4 weeks vacation, three personal days and usually 3-4 floating holidays. As far as sick time, mine is unlimited, so it's not a matter of taking/leaving. If you're sick, if you have surgery, you stay home. I also use one day every 7-8 weeks for my IV treatments, which is paid.

As far as leaving vacation on the table: so many American companies, my own included, are cut so close to the bone as far as personnel, you can't take off because there is just too much to do and no one to cover. It's a sad result of a combination of the economy and some very badly run companies, IMO.

[Edwina's Secretary]

That table may be a bit skewed. In general, as far as I know, many American companies START with two weeks (10 days) vacation and 3 personal days.

Not exactly. There is no law in the United States requiring employers to offer paid (or unpaid!) vacation or holidays.

In fact, one in four workers in the private sector (non-government) gets no paid time off. No, none.

Those folks frying your burger at McDonald's, serving your meal at the local diner, ringing up your sale at Walmart most likely get no paid vacation. (That does not mean they cannot take time off - just not paid for it.) And probably no paid holidays as well.

Most medium to large employers do offer vacation - one or two weeks to start - but often that cannot be taken until the second year.

And people not taking vacation is a problem for many employers. It must be carried on the books as a liability. Some states (California is one) do not allow "use it or lose it" vacation policies. But only a handful of states. Many employees stockpile vacation - where they can - or are afraid to take it for fear of annoying the boss. Taking two weeks at as stretch has become very rare.

The basic holidays are eight per year (New Year's, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day After, Christmas Day.) There is no law requiring an employer to give any of these days off - with or without pay. NOr to pay you extra if you work them.

So if your employer gives you paid vacation, paid holidays, paid sick time...be sure and thank them. They do it because they want to - not because they have to!

[momcat]

After 30 years at my job, I now have 25 vacation days. Since I hate to travel, I take extended weekends when I feel I need the time off and catch up with stuff at home.

[Randi]

A week here and a week there is nice, and also to be able to extend weekends.

Wow KAK, 16 days aren't much, and I bet you work more than 37 hours a week. You need to talk to you boss and negotiate.

I think is unfair that the rules aren't the same for everybody.

[krazyaboutkatz]

A week here and a week there is nice, and also to be able to extend weekends.

Wow KAK, 16 days aren't much, and I bet you work more than 37 hours a week. You need to talk to you boss and negotiate.

I think is unfair that the rules aren't the same for everybody.

Yes, it sure isn't. I do usually work 40 hours per week and sometimes a bit more. Ever since the poor economy though, our boss doesn't want us to work any overtime. Since I'm now paid an hourly plus a commission, I'm required to do a certain amount of work per day within my 8 hours. If I can't do this then I will just punch out after 8 hours and then work off the clock which I don't think is fair but if I don't finish my work then I don't get my commission and in my department we have to always finish all of our work. I work at fairly small company of about 40 or so workers. We're actually one of the largest dental labs in our area though. Most dental labs are very small with only from 2-5 employees.

The way the I make the most of my vacation time is to not take it all at once. For the past few years I've been taking off a few days here and there during the summer so that I get long weekends. I usually do this in the months of July and August. Then I only work either 3-4 days a week depending on if I have a 3 day weekend or a 4 day weekend. I use my 10 days during this time and I save my other 5 for the end of the year between Christmas and New Years. Since we also get some paid holidays during this time, I've been able to take almost 2 weeks off sometimes. My holiday birthday is also in Dec. so I always use it during this time too. We work with a limited staff during these holidays so my boss encourages us to use any vacation time that we have left. We're also usually very slow the first week of Jan. so many people take that week off too.

We have an employee handbook that is updated every year but it also says that things are subject to change without notice. We receive the following holidays:
New Year's Day
Presidents Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day After Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve (1/2 Day)
Christmas Day
1 Floating Holiday- Employee's Birthday

We aren't allowed to keep accumulating a lot of vacation time though. We can carry over accrued vacation time into the next year but when our total vacation accrual reaches 150% we will no longer accrue vacation until we reduce the total below the maximum. I do remember there was an employee that had build up so much vacation time that my boss forced him to take some time off. My boss also doesn't like us to take long vacations like a month off at a time. I don't know why people wouldn't just want to use their vacation time every year.

We get 4 sick days a year and we can carry over a maximum of 48 hours of sick leave from calendar year to calendar year. If we are absent for more than 3 consecutive work days due to our own illness or injury, then we must provide a physician's statement verifying the disability, its beginning and expected ending dates. This verification may be required as a condition for receiving sick leave benefits. Also if we're out for 10 work days or more then we must provide a physician's verification that we may safely return to work. When I had my eye surgery I had to do this.

After receiving approval from our supervisor, we can take up to 3 days of paid time off because of the death of an immediate family member. My company defines "immediate family" as our spouse, parent, child, sibling, in-law, grandparent, domestic partner, child of domestic partner, or significant other. When my grandparents passed away I never took any time off. I did,however, take one personal day off when I had to put my RB Pepper to sleep. This was back when I was able to take personal days off though. I guess I should just be glad that I have any benefits at all.

[happylabs]

Where I work you only get 10 days of paid vacation days per year and when you've been with the company for 10 years and over you then get 15 days. I've been with the company for a long time so I do get the 15 and I use all of them. As for sick time, we can only use it if we are sick so I never use all of them unless I have surgery or something that requires a long recovery time. We now also need a doctor's excuse if we're out sick for more than a couple of days. We are allowed to carry over some of our sick time to the next year and as far as I know we can also carry over any unused vacation time. We also get our birthday as a paid holiday so I really have 16 paid vacation days. We used to also be able to use our sick time for personal time off or even vacation time when work was slow but ever since the poor economy we can't. Sometimes if we have to work on a Saturday we can also get comp time which would go towards vacation time. I usually just take staycations, I just stay home during my vacations, because I can't afford to travel and I have 6 cats to take care of and I don't have any one close by that could cat sit them. I also can't afford the prices of professional pet sitters.

As much as I miss the beach, I do LOVE my staycations. I will take a Friday and the following Monday sometimes and make a 4-day weekend. I am becoming very much a homebody. Sometimes I think I could be a hermit - LOL!