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We really only have to look to Germany. They are guaranteed 35 days holiday time and they are the most productive nation on the planet. Okay, you can quibble with that statement, but one thing is undeniable, workers in the USA work much longer hours and are less productive than many of their European counterparts.
I work for a company right now that gives every employee 3 weeks vacation. EVERY EMPLOYEE. This includes every employee that works in the office, in the warehouse, the janitors, the assistants, everyone. And you're encouraged to take your vacation time. You can't not take it.
This is the most well run and efficient company I've ever worked for. And the employee moral is very high.
I worked for a competitor in the same industry for three years. There was no vacation policy. The lower level employees didn't get any. And the employees in the office took time off now and then but it was never clear how much vacation time we had. Not only that, we were discouraged from taking vacation time. Employee morale was very low. And the mistakes in the office and more importantly in the warehouse were very high.
At this company that had no vacation policy the mistakes in the warehouse were pretty shocking. And why wouldn't they be? You had workers who worked 50 hours a week every week and never ever got time off. They were overworked. When one of them quit they'd hire someone else quickly who they would then overwork.
I know exactly why this company is less efficient. It's how they treat their employees. If an employee feels he is underpaid or if he is not getting vacation time when he feels he should, he is not going to work as hard. Eventually they just wont care.
But with a company that treats their employees right there is a camaraderie between employees. It's night and day.
When will american labor get it that starving low wage slaves built america and instead of more money and benefits boss man is going to either replace u with a robot or off shore your job
Still think unions are stupid? Lol
Actually, the U.S. has a higher GDP per capita than Germany. I'm almost positive that if you compared the daily or hourly productive value of a German vs an America (averages of course), you would find that the German is more productive.
This is why brave business leaders in America are fast at work automating every process imaginable. Think about it... The work will do itself with minimal supervision. The lucky American worker will oversee this process 51 weeks a year, 6 days a week, 12 hours a day... With this arrangement, the American will surpass the German in hourly productive value, and companies will not feel the effects of a lethargic, overworked workforce. Prosperity!
In all seriousness though, I have taken, on average, about 1-2 weeks of vacation time a year. In most cases, I am driving and running around during that "time off". It's not very relaxing, but it is time away from work. I don't think it's enough time, but even when I have more time available, I usually just bank it. When it's time to change jobs, I generally get the vacation time in the form of a check.
And really... When I take a long vacation, I have to work twice as hard when I get back to work. In most cases, nobody is covering my work, so it's all waiting there for me when I get back.
Here's what I think... The American workforce was bred to be overworked. It's been like this for many, if not most workers since this nation was founded. This is why people leaving the farm were ideal workers during the industrial revolution. Almost every day on the farm involved hard, labor intensive work, and the pay was usually pretty small. Well, that's what awaited most of these workers in the major industrialized cities. The pay more larger, but so was the COL. But the workers kept showing up, and raising families in these dense urban centers.
These attitudes towards work were carried along down the line, since older workers instilled their children with the same values. Work has always been one of the central focuses of working and middle class families, from the very beginning. Remember that line we were given growing up? If you work hard enough...
We really only have to look to Germany. They are guaranteed 35 days holiday time and they are the most productive nation on the planet. Okay, you can quibble with that statement, but one thing is undeniable, workers in the USA work much longer hours and are less productive than many of their European counterparts.
I work for a company right now that gives every employee 3 weeks vacation. EVERY EMPLOYEE. This includes every employee that works in the office, in the warehouse, the janitors, the assistants, everyone. And you're encouraged to take your vacation time. You can't not take it.
This is the most well run and efficient company I've ever worked for. And the employee moral is very high.
I worked for a competitor in the same industry for three years. There was no vacation policy. The lower level employees didn't get any. And the employees in the office took time off now and then but it was never clear how much vacation time we had. Not only that, we were discouraged from taking vacation time. Employee morale was very low. And the mistakes in the office and more importantly in the warehouse were very high.
At this company that had no vacation policy the mistakes in the warehouse were pretty shocking. And why wouldn't they be? You had workers who worked 50 hours a week every week and never ever got time off. They were overworked. When one of them quit they'd hire someone else quickly who they would then overwork.
I know exactly why this company is less efficient. It's how they treat their employees. If an employee feels he is underpaid or if he is not getting vacation time when he feels he should, he is not going to work as hard. Eventually they just wont care.
But with a company that treats their employees right there is a camaraderie between employees. It's night and day.
I do agree that well rested employee are more productive. When I was a manager, I encouraged my employees to take vacations and also not to come in sick. I always though that if a person came in sick, at best I would get a half day of real work. At the same time they would infect 2 or more others and I would lose their work when they got sick. If everyone one kept coming in sick I would end up with loosing 12 half days compared to the one day if the initial person stayed home. Unfortunately, HR told me that firing the person that gave me a cold wasn't justifiable case.
That said, look at the Japanese. Highly productive yet take almost no time off.
Actually, the U.S. has a higher GDP per capita than Germany. I'm almost positive that if you compared the daily or hourly productive value of a German vs an America (averages of course), you would find that the German is more productive.
This is why brave business leaders in America are fast at work automating every process imaginable. Think about it... The work will do itself with minimal supervision. The lucky American worker will oversee this process 51 weeks a year, 6 days a week, 12 hours a day... With this arrangement, the American will surpass the German in hourly productive value, and companies will not feel the effects of a lethargic, overworked workforce. Prosperity!
In all seriousness though, I have taken, on average, about 1-2 weeks of vacation time a year. In most cases, I am driving and running around during that "time off". It's not very relaxing, but it is time away from work. I don't think it's enough time, but even when I have more time available, I usually just bank it. When it's time to change jobs, I generally get the vacation time in the form of a check.
And really... When I take a long vacation, I have to work twice as hard when I get back to work. In most cases, nobody is covering my work, so it's all waiting there for me when I get back.
Here's what I think... The American workforce was bred to be overworked. It's been like this for many, if not most workers since this nation was founded. This is why people leaving the farm were ideal workers during the industrial revolution. Almost every day involved hard, labor intensive work, and the pay was usually pretty small. All of this pretty well carried on, since these workers instilled their children with the same values. Work has always been one of the central focuses of working and middle class families, from the beginning. Remember that line were were given growing up? Of you work hard enough...
GDP is not how you measure productivity. What raises GDP in America is very different than Europe. For instance, health care spending. We overspend on healthcare and it raises GDP at a much higher rate than Europe.
GDP is not how you measure productivity. What raises GDP in America is very different than Europe. For instance, health care spending. We overspend on healthcare and it raises GDP at a much higher rate than Europe.
I said GDP per capita. We produce more on the individual basis. It's certainly not an absolute measure of one's productivity... Do you have a more precise measure?
I do agree that well rested employee are more productive. When I was a manager, I encouraged my employees to take vacations and also not to come in sick. I always though that if a person came in sick, at best I would get a half day of real work. At the same time they would infect 2 or more others and I would lose their work when they got sick. If everyone one kept coming in sick I would end up with loosing 12 half days compared to the one day if the initial person stayed home. Unfortunately, HR told me that firing the person that gave me a cold wasn't justifiable case.
That said, look at the Japanese. Highly productive yet take almost no time off.
Japan's paid vacation law is 10 days for the first year of employment and 20 days for 6th year. Plus 15 days for public holidays.
I said GDP per capita. Do you have a more precise measure?
You don't measure a nations productivity by GDP. You measure it by output and hours worked.
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