I agree Americans should have more vacation time. Some of my associates in Trinidad were shocked that in a job as mentally taxing as mine, I can only accrue four weeks of leave time per year, and that leave time must be used for vacation, personal days, and sick days, however I need it. My sister and I just had a discussion about that, this morning.
I don't think employers allow less vacation time because most Americans can afford air travel; I think employers are simply stingy and do not want to pay for benefits overall. (The disappearance of pension plans is one part of that monster.) If the price of air travel goes up, I do not see employers increasing vacation time in order to allow people to travel by alternate means, unless it was mandated on a federal level. (An ice cube has a better chance of surviving in the La Brea Tar Pits.) I just see less people able to travel, because their already minimal leave time simply won't accomodate longer travel times by other means.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-09-21 05:55 pm (UTC)I don't think employers allow less vacation time because most Americans can afford air travel; I think employers are simply stingy and do not want to pay for benefits overall. (The disappearance of pension plans is one part of that monster.) If the price of air travel goes up, I do not see employers increasing vacation time in order to allow people to travel by alternate means, unless it was mandated on a federal level. (An ice cube has a better chance of surviving in the La Brea Tar Pits.) I just see less people able to travel, because their already minimal leave time simply won't accomodate longer travel times by other means.