Why Americans Should Have Paid Vacation

557 Words2 Pages

Americans Need More Paid Vacation Time The average American is allowed 16 paid vacation days and holidays on average annually, whereas most European countries require at least 20 days. Some countries even require their workers to take time off, one of them being Austria. Also, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act, currently in the U.S. there is no minimum required amount of time employees can take. This means that the United States is allowed to make their workers work every day of the year. The U.S. needs to put in place a system that requires at least some paid vacation days for employees. This essay will focus on what other countries that require paid vacation time have noticed, the work benefits, and the health benefits. The U.S. is the only country that doesn't have a minimum amount of paid vacation days for full time workers annually. For example, somebody working at a grocery store might only recieve one week of vacation including holidays. In the European Union, it is required by law to allow employees a minimum of four weeks of vacation including holidays. In fact, even countries with struggling economies require time off. For example, Spain has an unemployment rate of 25.1% and still requires a minimum of four weeks since it is in the European Union. The U.S. has an unemployment rate of 4.4% so the U.S. can afford to …show more content…

Even though some may argue that paid vacation is bad because the workers will not be working for as many hours, it has been proven that vacation increases productivity. It is also a way to reward hard working employees and acknowledging them as valued personnel. According to Shawn Achor, "...the brain can think positively, productivity improves by 31 percent, sales increase by 37 percent, and creativity and revenues can triple." Paid vacation is healthy for the work environment, and for the workers. It will create more productive, efficient workers, and happy

Open Document