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I get 4 weeks vacation, 1 week PTO, 2 weeks sick, 1 volunteer day, and 2 weeks sick time. Add in flex-time and work from home ability and you've got a happy American here. This is the starting amount, I get more after 5 or 6 years.
I get 4 weeks vacation, 1 week PTO, 2 weeks sick, 1 volunteer day, and 2 weeks sick time. Add in flex-time and work from home ability and you've got a happy American here. This is the starting amount, I get more after 5 or 6 years.
I am jealous in a good way. Glad to hear there are companies out there that value their employees enough to offer that tier of benefits.
So I'm half American half Danish, I hold 2 passports, but I'm planning on moving back to the States for job reason soon. When I was 15 I moved to Denmark and have remained there into my early 20's. The area I want to work in (advertisement/marketing/PR) is limited in Denmark and I have some job opportunities set up back in the US.
But one thing terrible I've learned about America is that the majority of Americans get just a paltry 2 weeks off!!! In Denmark, by law, it is required that all citizens receive 5-6 weeks paid vacation (4 weeks off by the law in the EU). The law is so that workers are insured quality of time with their family and that companies are not exploiting the hell out of them, as well as making sure the whole rat race mentality doesn't allow that bc one person takes vacation and another doesn't, they should loose their job.
People have been telling me that in the US it's looked down upon to take vacation and you're considered "lazy" by doing so. I still can't grasp the idea of just 2 weeks...it seems so little, what are you supposed to do with that?
The thing is, travel has ALWAYS been my passion. I love visiting new cultures and exploring the world. By just 2 weeks I can't do any of that...and it's depressing to me that the whole of EU gets so much time off and to enjoy life but in America everyone is a slave to the corporation.
So my question is, how true is this point? Are there major companies that are more generous? Or is 2 weeks the rule? Is there no other alternative? What about UNpaid time off, can an employee ask for such thing?
This is a major deterrent for wanting to move back to the US, my quality of life is vital!
IF I lived in Denmark right now NOTHING on this Earth would convince me to move to the US. Americans are the most exploited workers in the world. You say 2 weeks? I laugh...my husband barely has had a week and had to work remotely while in vacation! A lot of people get no vacation at all...actually we need sick days and all that and we don't get any...we are discriminated against like you can't begin to imagine...
Stay in Denmark; trust me, you'll thank me later...
BTW We also don't get any maternity leave; so avoid having kids here. Some companies offer a ridiculous tree to 6 weeks!
I get 4 weeks vacation, 1 week PTO, 2 weeks sick, 1 volunteer day, and 2 weeks sick time. Add in flex-time and work from home ability and you've got a happy American here. This is the starting amount, I get more after 5 or 6 years.
You're 1 in a million+. Consider yourself insanely lucky.
At my new job I now get 8 hours of vacation a month plus 8 hours of sick time a month. It just continues to accrue. After a certain point though, they will convert some of your vacation time to sick time, how much you can carry forward is dependent on how long you've worked for the company.
We also get New Years Day, Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas off. There are also about 4 minor holidays that we only need a skeleton crew working, so you get that day off with pay, or if you work you earn 8 extra hours of paid time off. This past year the office shut down at noon (with pay for the extra 4 hours) on the day before Thanksgiving, and the day before Christmas Eve. We also got an extra day off with pay on the Friday before Easter. They even gave us 4 hours paid that we could go Christmas shopping with.
I've been here almost a year now, and with all the days off with pay, I haven't felt like I needed my usual vacation. Next year I will have to look at taking time off so I don't overshoot my rollover allowance.
Last edited by molochai2580; 08-13-2014 at 05:01 PM..
I lucked out in my current job. No vacation policy. Basically my boss told me she wasn't sure when the holidays were, so just tie them off when I see fit. Vacation and so on were all fine with warning. I've taken 12 or 13 days off in my first 10 months!
And another weird cultural quirk? People can work from home, but oddly no one wants to schedule meetings with you if you are working from home. They just wait for you to get back in the office.
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Glad to hear there are companies out there that value their employees enough to offer that tier of benefits.
