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An article on Swiss vs. American life, but here we are, fighting about Russia.
*sighhhh*
Well Russia is keyed in in terms of how much danger it represents and how much ( what percentage of the pie) needs to be allocated for military expenses. Apparently the picture quite differs in this respect from American point of view and from European point of view ( that's not to say that in Europe the opinion is unanimous.)
A lot of info is left out of the article. She worked half-time? Even 1/4 time, sometimes? That's not possible to do, and pay rent and groceries in Swiss cities. She could do that because her husband was helping pay living expenses. There were two of them, plus a baby eventually, living in how big an apartment? That info is left out. Also left out is the fact that groceries are very expensive in Europe, generally speaking. Some people say they pay $1000/month for groceries. Many Europeans comment about how cheap groceries are in the US. As someone mentioned earlier: big COL differences, unless you're living in NYC or San Francisco.
There are part-time jobs in the US with full benefits. I've had several of those jobs. No one ate lunch at their desk, everyone took all the vacation they were entitled to; usually a month after they'd been on the job a few years. A car isn't needed in major US cities. I didn't even have a driver's license until a few years ago, after moving to a more rural area. Still, the benefits for parents are better, and unemployment benefits are better, no contest. And probably (not sure--the article didn't say) health insurance co-pays for surgery and other major expenses probably don't cause people to declare bankruptcy or rack up serious debt. Hurray.
OTOH, you can't do shopping on weekends, especially Sundays, and you're not allowed to do laundry on Sundays, if you live in an apt. building. You're not allowed to vacuum or do anything that creates noise on Sundays. Certain aspects of life are micro-managed for you. You're assigned a laundry day once/week, and that's all you get. That's life--trade-offs for everything.
oh, yeah; the author also neglected to mention the level of taxation on those wages.
NO US based MSFT or Google or Amazon employee gets 4-5 weeks. Sure they might get there after many years of service.
This is a lie. I have worked for four major U.S. corporations, and never had less than 4 weeks TO START.
Quote:
Originally Posted by evilcart
check MSFT site, they very clearly state 15 days vacation.
No, you made that up. They very clearly state 17 days vacation MINIMUM TO START plus additional comp time/personal time as needed. So you are starting just short of four weeks. Obviously experienced employees will have far more than four weeks.
And you are failing to mention that U.S. employers have far more FLEX time and work schedules. Much easier to work from home, take the afternoon off to visit a doctor, etc. In NYC most corporations have "Summer Fridays" where everyone leaves at noon, but this is never official "vacation"; it's just business practice. In Germany everything is more rigid and this would count against your six weeks vacation.
Also, you fail to mention that many law firms, tech startups and boutique firms have technically "unlimited vacation". They have no set vacation standards. It's up to the employee. This would never happen in Germany because they love their rules and standards, and would drive everyone crazy with the chaos.
Quote:
Originally Posted by evilcart
The point you are really missing is that even lower level employees in the EU get better PAID time off than most Americans. In fact many have laws requiring that all employees get at least 2-4 weeks full paid vacations.
No, I mentioned this, and frankly don't care. I'm not working at McDonalds. It's great that McDonalds in Copenhagen has such good benefits relative to McDonalds in Ohio; but it's irrelevant to most folks. The fact is that the average professional in the U.S. has better pay and comparable benefits as in Europe.
This is a lie. I have worked for four major U.S. corporations, and never had less than 4 weeks TO START.
No, you made that up. They very clearly state 17 days vacation MINIMUM TO START plus additional comp time/personal time as needed. So you are starting just short of four weeks. Obviously experienced employees will have far more than four weeks.
And you are failing to mention that U.S. employers have far more FLEX time and work schedules. Much easier to work from home, take the afternoon off to visit a doctor, etc. In NYC most corporations have "Summer Fridays" where everyone leaves at noon, but this is never official "vacation"; it's just business practice. In Germany everything is more rigid and this would count against your six weeks vacation.
Also, you fail to mention that many law firms, tech startups and boutique firms have technically "unlimited vacation". They have no set vacation standards. It's up to the employee. This would never happen in Germany because they love their rules and standards, and would drive everyone crazy with the chaos.
No, I mentioned this, and frankly don't care. I'm not working at McDonalds. It's great that McDonalds in Copenhagen has such good benefits relative to McDonalds in Ohio; but it's irrelevant to most folks. The fact is that the average professional in the U.S. has better pay and comparable benefits as in Europe.
That is ridiculous. Do you really think that tech startups want their employees to have 4-5 weeks paid vacation?
"The main culprit? America’s workaholic culture. It’s not that Americans do not want a vacation – it’s that they are afraid to take it. Currently, on average, each US worker fails to use about five paid vacation days a year."
"More than half of Americans, 56%, have not taken a vacation in the last year, according to the insurance company Allianz Global Assistance. That’s equivalent to 135 million people. The survey defined vacation as a week off from work during which those surveyed travelled at least 100 miles away from home." https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...ture-labor-day
I have flex time, but also paid overtime. I can also work from home. The system in Norway is far less rigid than in the US.
-Roads are immaculate, infrastructure is top notch! PLUS....
-EXCELLENT MEDICAL CARE, I mean I needed to see a neurologist and it took five days to see him and I got all sort of tests from fancy equipment and I paid NOTHING!
-You get TONS OF DAY OFF....
*The summer you get a month off (paid by your employer), most Swiss go on world tours, or just chill at home and go up and explore the alps!
*You also get between christmas and new years off!
-You're not expected to go to college, graduate, pay taxes, wave your US flag on your porch, have 2.5 kids, live in the suburbs and work forty hours plus a week like Americans are expect to do! that social pressure doesn't exist.... Succeeding in life is not working your butt off so u can make tons of money. For the Swiss working is NOT the center of their existence!!! For the Swiss work is something u do but not the only thing.
- Education, 500 dollars a semester in tuition, in very good universities!!!
- Everything is closed Sundays so most people chill, go out, enjoy, have BBQ's.... Sunday is like the big day off in Switzerland.... I spoke to several frustrated Americans who thought the world would end with things closed on sunday but quickly they realized how much good it does to a society to just stop and chill and live..... Stress levels in Switzerland are low!
To be fair - Switzerland would be a hard act to follow no matter what country you went to afterwards including America.
Really!? You mean this?
Again we're talking about a country of 8 million people, who have built a beautiful country since 900 years ago, which has not seen a war almost since two centuries ago. A country which is the money vault of the world's riches.
A country which is the money vault of the world's riches.
I said it earlier and I'll say it again, they are the world's washing machine. It's very easy to have a great lifestyle when much of the evil rich people's money is hidden there. They have quite a financial services industry for such a small population, wonder why...
I said it earlier and I'll say it again, they are the world's washing machine. It's very easy to have a great lifestyle when much of the evil rich people's money is hidden there. They have quite a financial services industry for such a small population, wonder why...
Very true. Not sure if anybody has yet brought up another fact for Switzerland -- this country is also a major hub for trafficking of drugs, prostitution, illegal emigrants, fake IDs, weapons, grand theft auto, etc.
Most of this "Marlboro Man" nonsense is corporate propaganda though. The long history of worker's rights and socialist struggles in America is carefully eliminated from schools and media. Nevertheless, if you look at opinion polls of what the American people actually believe, you see that it is by and large social democratic and people do support a strong social safety net. Here is one link for example:
Don't know if the myth is corporate propaganda since it predates that and involves the Protestant work ethic, but the myth is still believed by a large numbers of working class Americans. Very true about how "the long history of worker's rights and socialist struggles in America is carefully eliminated from schools and media." But try visiting non union states, Texas, the south, Maine, etc. and ask how they perceive social safety nets. They'll tell you it's "the churches" who will take care of the poor and the gummint should not be involved.
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*sighhhh*
