Vacation is sacred above much else in France. First, a brief review:
Number of vacation days received on average:
US: 14
Great Britain: 26
Germany: 27
Netherlands: 28
Austria: 28
Spain: 31
Italy: 33
France: 37
Assuming a directionally correct source, France has far surpassed the rest of the world in terms of time away from work. As an attestation, visit a Parisian office in August. Behold the legendary summer exodus.
One might call this complaining. It is not. It is unabashed envy. How can a nation afford to spend so much time away from the daily grind? What is the secret?
Part of the truth is that the hours worked here are little different than other parts of the developed world. Believe it or not, even though it is technically (so I hear) illegal, people do work overtime. My suspicion is that sole proprietors and those that work for them hustle more than is thought of from the outside world.
Another piece of the puzzle is a trade off. In general, there are fewer conveniences. Most stores are not open on Sunday, 24 hour anything is a myth, and services like dry cleaning are astronomically expensive.
One could mention that there is more productivity here. But keep in mind, there is rational suspicion that people work more than reported. An understated denominator works wonders in boosting this figure.
Whatever the reasons for the extra vacation days, though, this author is certainly looking forward to more than 12 per year.
Number of vacation days received on average:
US: 14
Great Britain: 26
Germany: 27
Netherlands: 28
Austria: 28
Spain: 31
Italy: 33
France: 37
Assuming a directionally correct source, France has far surpassed the rest of the world in terms of time away from work. As an attestation, visit a Parisian office in August. Behold the legendary summer exodus.
One might call this complaining. It is not. It is unabashed envy. How can a nation afford to spend so much time away from the daily grind? What is the secret?
Part of the truth is that the hours worked here are little different than other parts of the developed world. Believe it or not, even though it is technically (so I hear) illegal, people do work overtime. My suspicion is that sole proprietors and those that work for them hustle more than is thought of from the outside world.
Another piece of the puzzle is a trade off. In general, there are fewer conveniences. Most stores are not open on Sunday, 24 hour anything is a myth, and services like dry cleaning are astronomically expensive.
One could mention that there is more productivity here. But keep in mind, there is rational suspicion that people work more than reported. An understated denominator works wonders in boosting this figure.
Whatever the reasons for the extra vacation days, though, this author is certainly looking forward to more than 12 per year.
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