With summer in full swing and the rain coming in heavily each week, it’s nice to take a moment to appreciate the idea of paid vacation from work. Just imagine working hard all year and being able to take off 1-2 weeks when you want for vacation and still get paid for it.
Two weeks of paid vacation is the average for many Americans, but I won’t be focusing on Americans today. That is because the American work force has one of the highest rates of hours worked in comparison to average annual income. We work around 40 hours per week and bring home around $55,000 per year on average. Factoring in the two weeks of vacation and we work longer than any other country in the world, behind only Canada and China.
Now let us look at the other end of the spectrum. It takes us all the way to the Netherlands. The average work week is only 29 hours and the annual income hovers around $47,000! This is due to the Netherland’s creation of the permanent 3-day weekend. Furthermore, workers from the Netherlands enjoy 3-4 weeks of paid vacation per year. Not surprisingly, a recent study on happiness ranks the Netherlands in the top 5, and other countries in the top 5 have a clear correlation between happiness and amount of vacation and hours worked per week.
So how is this possible?
Much of this is due to Dutch laws that have been passed promoting a work and life balance as well as a strong part-time worker force. Yes, even the part-time workers in the Netherlands receive paid vacation benefits and even health care! Unfortunately, a system like this could never work in America due to the amount of taxes we would have to pay for programs these countries have. However, it is always nice to daydream of living in the Netherlands, Switzerland, or Norway where the 4-day work week is the norm and spirits are high.
On the other hand, if you prefer more tropical locales, try moving to Brazil, with the highest record of vacation days of any country. At a staggering 41 days off, with 30 days required by law and 11 national holidays, Brazilians enjoy over a month of vacation each year! Compare that with America’s 0 days required vacation days and 12 holidays and you may be packing you bags for vacation, with intent to stay!
