People sunbathe on a beach of Pinheiro da Cruz, Portugal, Aug. 8, 2009. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)
Need a haircut? Sorry, everyone is 'en vacances'
All employees in the EU get at least 20 vacation days. Why don't Americans get the same?
BRUSSELS — "I’m told that in Brussels, the word 'August' doesn’t exist — the summer months here are June, July, Les Vacances. So it’s nice to see all of you today." That’s how new NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen began his first meeting with journalists earlier this month, either feigning surprise or truly not expecting to see several dozen reporters present in the NATO auditorium.
Of course the Dane couldn’t begrudge any scribe who didn’t show up; he comes from a country where people get an average 30 days a year of paid vacation.
While he was joking, he was barely exaggerating. Day-to-day business in Brussels, as in the numerous international institutions it hosts, downscales dramatically in August. A frequent response to a request for whatever one might need — from information on the economic downturn to a haircut for a toddler — is an unapologetic shrug that it’s simply not possible to help because everyone else is "en vacances."
How do all these people in all walks of life earn so much vacation?
It’s all part of the job. Any job. Every job. Thanks to what’s called the Working Time Directive, no employee in the European Union has to make do with fewer than 20 days of paid vacation each year — not counting religious or national holidays, which number more than a dozen in some EU countries — as long as they work at least 25 hours per week. In many countries, that minimum is considerably higher: workers must be given at least 25 vacation days in Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Sweden, 24 in Malta and the United Kingdom.
What people usually end up with is even higher than that, according to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). Eurofound figures show Sweden leading the pack with an average of 33 paid days off, followed by Denmark and Germany, tied with 30, then Italy and Luxembourg, each with 28. Workers in the newer EU member states (NMS12) tend to come out on the shorter side, but only those in Cyprus and Estonia end up with the lowest legal level.
(Credit: Eurofound)
Meanwhile, across the pond, Americans remain the only citizens of an industrialized country with no legal right to employer-financed R&R and about a quarter of the U.S. workforce doesn’t receive any, according to estimates by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
I was aware of the required vacation times in Europe, but I've never seen an article address the questions I have about it. If "everyone" is on vacation in August, who is catering to the needs of all these tourists and vacationers? Are people who work in the tourism and leisure industries being run ragged while all their friends and neighbors are relaxing? and what about businesses that *must* be staffed year-round, and even round-the-clock, like medical services, post offices, the justice system? Is August a very bad time to have a baby, or a very good time to commit a crime? Do people in these industries just tend to spread out their vacation time better?
Also, I would presume that with so many work-hours spent on vacation time, companies would need to hire comparatively more workers to staff the same number of hours as in the U.S. Why then are the unemployment rates of European countries so often higher than in the U.S.?
It is typical for Americans to worry more about rich business owners keeping profits, then their workers getting treated with decent health care and vacation time. Why is it that so many Americans fail to understand that 'the little people' make these businesses work in the first place and deserve much better treatment than what they are getting.
Americans just have a fundamentally different understanding about what the relationship between an employer and an employee is. I am about as liberal as Americans get and I don't have any expectation of a paycheck for time I spend at the beach.
My boss is not my parent or caregiver. My boss is a customer to whom I sell a product that I offer (my time and skills). Sometimes that is an a-la-carte sale (hourly wage/contract work), and sometimes it is a subscription fee (salary job). But when I am a customer, I resent paying for services that are not delivered to me, which is why we empathize with "rich business owners".
LauraM, if someone has 20 - 30 days of paid vacation, it doesn't mean that they take their vacation days all in one stretch. A summer holiday may last two weeks, then another one is taken in winter to go skiing or spend Christmas holidays with the family. People who have children take their vacation adapted to the school holidays. In Germany for example, the different federal states spread out the summer school holidays between June and September (e. g. Norther states start their school year already, while the Southern states just begin their summer school holiday), that way they alleviate some of the traffic jams they would have if all states had school holidays at the same time (driving to vacation destinations by car is common, since spending Germany itself is the #1 vacation destination for Germans). Some companies close plants for a few weeks in summer (Werksferien), others have flexible vacation schedules for employees. Of course "everyone" is never on vacation in areas like law enforcement, health care or seasonal business like tourism. That's the situation in Germany, which I'm more familiar with. Generalizations about Europe are usually a bit tricky, since the continent contains such a wide variety of countries, economic systems and cultures.
As for unemployment rates - my guess is they are a lot more tied to economic crisis or structural changes (jobs moving to low-cost countries) than to the impact of paid vacation days.
LauraM
Answers are quite easy.
The tourism industry is the obvious exception: a lot of restaurants, small hotels and so on only open in summer time, and close in winter (except the ones located in the mountains, of course)
For other services, basic assistance is guaranteed anyway (even if it is true that - at least in Italy - some public services work at lowest rythms)
A for private companies is the same: I work in Milan financial district, and I can assure you that for at least in the two central weeks of August everything is frozen.
And in London, Paris, Madrid or Franfurt is not that different.
It's just a matter of balance between life and work, and of productivity: you get more from people not imprisoning them in their offices but offering them a better balance between work time and private time. It's a fact.
Of course European system has its cons (like any system), but if I take a look around at what the alternatives look like, well, I think it wins hands down, from this point of view at least.
Europeans also pay less and receive more for healthcare. I'm seriously considering moving over there!
I grew up in the UK and most people (especially council, government etc) get at least 30 days off plus public holidays. Most businesses give you more or less unlimited sick leave on full pay provided that a doctor has signed you off - certainly at least 3 months in most cases.
I now live in New Zealand (a place next to Australia in case Global Post editors are reading - GP don't have a section on this part of the world!) and they have just crept up to 20 days.
My brother lives in California and even after 6 years he struggles to get 20 days a year - the US workforce must be like zombies.
The purpose of life is NOT to work. It is to live. I work for myself and probably have at least 5 months a year off in real terms, as I rarely do more than 2 or 3 hours a day and take vacations whenever I feel like it unless I have something specific to prevent it.
What is the point of being a paid slave?
Recent on European Union:
Greek prime minister fights "credibility deficit"
Nicole Itano - Europe - February 8, 2010 06:40 ET
George Papandreou has stuck by his pledge to increase transparency despite economic woes.
Bulgaria's violent crime problem
John Dyer - Europe - February 2, 2010 06:38 ET
Do a recent murder and political corruption scandal signal a resurgence of crime in Bulgaria?
Will Europe block a US anti-terrorism program?
Teri Schultz - European Union - February 1, 2010 11:26 ET
The European Parliament's new powers allow it to block agreements like SWIFT.
Poland's PM bows out of presidential race
Jan Cienski - Poland - January 30, 2010 09:55 ET
Donald Tusk says he wants to remain prime minister in order to pass needed reforms.
Istanbul celebrates being a European cultural capital
Iason Athanasiadis - Turkey - January 24, 2010 08:38 ET
Turkish city that has hosted Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman empires now a European capital.
How the industrial Ruhr Valley became a Cultural Capital
Cameron Abadi - Germany - January 23, 2010 13:59 ET
Long known for its coal mines and steel mills, Essen and the Ruhr have transformed themselves.
Europe's airport security dilemma
Teri Schultz - European Union - January 20, 2010 21:42 ET
Body scanners: You'll see them at US airports. But whether European airports will have them is up in the air.
.jpg){kind=spacer}
Europeans still give Obama the thumbs up
Tom Fenton - Worldview - January 19, 2010 20:04 ET
They may see him as a "rational military commander," but Europeans still like Obama more than Americans do.
Lithuania's new energy quandary
David L. Stern - Russia and its neighbors - January 14, 2010 06:44 ET
The closure of Lithuania's nuclear power plant leaves the small EU country dependent on Russia — for now.
Meet Herman "the gray mouse" van Rompuy
Teri Schultz - European Union - January 10, 2010 22:55 ET
The EU's new president, Belgian Herman van Rompuy, faces challenges of his own and others' making.
Balkans: Some gain right to visa-free EU travel
Phil Cain - European Union - December 19, 2009 16:34 ET
But the lifting of restrictions on Serbians, Macedonians and Montenegrins leaves Bosnia and Kosovo behind.
On Location: Geneva — The Swiss ban on minarets
Ben Barnier - European Union - December 15, 2009 08:39 ET
EU politics cause UK-France rift
Teri Schultz - European Union - December 15, 2009 06:44 ET
The appointment of a new European Commission every five years sees countries jockey for key slots.
German government pushes electric cars
Cameron Abadi - Global Green - December 12, 2009 10:01 ET
But experts say electric vehicles are not the most efficient way to conserve energy.
Experts worry that Greek unrest will spread
Iason Athanasiadis - Europe - December 7, 2009 11:39 ET
Some see Greece as “soft underbelly of Europe” and an entry point to the rest of the continent for weapons and radicals.
Germany and France remain non-commital on Afghanistan
Teri Schultz - European Union - December 2, 2009 22:24 ET
Many, but not all, European allies rally behind Obama after his speech.
Video: The Birds — Rome's Hitchcock-ian problem
Angelica Marin - Italy - December 1, 2009 07:22 ET
As Rome shoos away starlings, scientists study the mathematical precision of their flight.
Turkmenistan: The new Great Game
Miriam Elder - Asia - November 28, 2009 10:08 ET
Europe, Russia and China battle for access to Turkmenistan's energy resources.
Poland is in an energy bind
Jan Cienski - Global Green - November 27, 2009 15:48 ET
Heavily reliant on coal, Poland is facing pressure to switch to renewables while its facilities already need an upgrade.
Opinion: China has a President Hu, now Europe chooses President Who?
Michael Goldfarb - Worldview - November 20, 2009 21:12 ET
The process of elimination that led to Van Rompuy's appointment represents all that is institutionally wrong with the European Union.
Watch GlobalPost videos:
Reporter's Notebook
It's not often the U.S. comes away from a NATO meeting with more than was expected, but indeed, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed home from...Read more >
Well, they did it! The EU now has a "permanent" president and a high representative (EU code for "foreign minister.") Whether...Read more >
Update: EU leaders have chosen Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy for the position of president and Britain's Catherine Ashton as foreign...Read more >
Featured: Special Projects
Oceans:
Assessing their health
After the Fall:
20 years since the Berlin Wall came down
Life, Death and the Taliban:
Videos and stories
Study Abroad:
Students report from the road
Living in the Shadows:
An intimate look at China's migrant workers
A World of Trouble:
The global economy in 20 hotspots
Comments:
7 Comments.
Login or Register to post comments