Work Reform

No, what it doesn't show is what the French people did to get all that paid leave.

How could the poor, poor CEOs afford their super yachts?

pretty much the same in Denmark. I still don't know how to spend all of the vacation days. We just used up Mandatory 3 summer weeks, and I'm kinda tired of resting this year, but I still have 3 weeks left

I've always found it dumb that fathers get less paid leave. but i guess it's better than... checks notes... zero.

Yes, that's the point.

There are a ton of people in the US who have none of that paid leave.

In France (and many other countries), paid leave is a right that's protected by law. So everyone gets it.

Your comment is kind of like saying "It doesn't matter what minimum wage is because lots of people make more than minimum wage!"

I used to work in France. The 30 days is just the beginning. I ended up with 44 paid holidays per year towards the end of my contract. There are different types of paid leave and I got 9 days extra because one of my children has a disability.

However, the work culture in France is extremely toxic. You face a sort of social othering if you don't conform with the unspoken rules which are even harder to understand if French is not your first language. Punishments include being managed/bored out and being "put in the cupboard" where you're given a dead end role and basically left to rot until retirement. There's a history of work related suicide in France.

Even so, you are a lot more free than in other countries. I'm not complaining. Plus, unions still have actual powers there (although they're being eroded down)

That's just bare minimum mandated by law. Some companies offer even more than that.

Don't want to spend all your money on vacations? Just take Fridays off during your favourite season to spend outdoors!

Between my current job (unlimited PTO) and my last (30 days PTO) I've had 30+ for the last 10 years.

Last year I used 35+ days.

A lot of it goes to smaller things. 1 or 2 days here and there. Few days camping, turn a 3 day weekend in to a 4 day, etc... It really can change how you use your time.

Australia too. At least until we imported all that "contractor" bullshit from overseas. After 1 year service you get four weeks leave - every year.

I'm in France and have ~120 paid vacation days per year. My full time is 18h/week. The pay is okayish. But for all those advantages, it's great.

That's not a joke, that's just a fact. A sad fact for some of us on the left side of the pond.

It'd be cool except the non zero chance of catching a bullet just because I wanted to have benefits other people have for free.. and I know that I could be shot in civilian life too. But like, doesn't that just make it worse

Edit: to be clear, US Coast Guard.

Was about to say, the Lesotho coast guard doesn't have anything that good.

When one's employer has lower regard for their employee's welfare than the US military, something is well and truly borked.

t. many military friends and family with infinite horror stories about health damage outside of combat zones and lots of "Not Service Related" responses

im in Virginia and one time i had a really bad norovirus infection and my employer told me i would terminated if i didn't show up and that he couldnt do anything about it (this was my 6th sick day in the past 11 months)

i showed up and had an accident on myself, very messy. Norovirus messy.

I walked into his office, reeking like hell, and i asked him if he had any mints or febreeze

He tried to send me home to change and i declined.

The toxic culture in Japan stems from the unspoken expectations.

You have a 40 hour schedule, but you're expected to be in the office for +60. You get vacation time, but it's shameful to use it. Women (particularly young women) aren't given promotions or professional advancement because it's assumed they'll quit to become housewives as soon as they find a husband of a higher station.

All that shit you hear about microaggression, implicit bias, and structural racism run rampant in the Japanese corporate world.