I'm sorry, what?! You mean no vacation time whatsoever?! Could this be that in the land of freedom, economic development and opportunity, four out of ten people are working year round with no chance of looking forward to a paid holiday, getaway, escape from the norm...time to recharge.
It got me thinking about my recent family trip home where family and friends would innocently and inquisitively inquire, "So, why are only staying in Dublin for two weeks, gosh you must wish you could stay longer?!"
Wish? Capital Yes. Realistic? No. I am luckily not one of the forty percent of employees in America who get no paid time off. I currently get four weeks for my years of loyal service to my current employer. However, the majority of my friends and America get a mere 10 paid days off...just two weeks!!! But when you consider that there are 52 (sometimes long) weeks in the year, four weeks doesn't seem long at all, now does it?!
In my homeland of Ireland, 25 vacation days with nine glorious Bank holidays is pretty standard for the average employee. So, in doing the math, I figured that in my 10 professional years of working in the U.S. I have forfeited approximately 40 WEEKS, close to one full year of time off work. Time to bask in the sunshine, let my hair down, visit new places, try new foods and simply not be at work.
So tonight as I mourn the loss of my vacation days, I am reminded just how precious my time not working is. And as we approach the American Labor Day holiday weekend, I plan on celebrating this holiday in honor of the economic contributions of workers by guess what... NOT WORKING!
So my fellow Americans workers, join the movement of vacation day mourning by not working on Labor Day. We'll have the rest of the year to make it up!
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