Archive - Sep 2007 - Article

Longer vacations

Making fun of the French is a favorite American pastime, none more so than when it comes to how much vacation French workers take. This really gained national attention here in the USA when France opted for the 35-hour workweek. Laugh all we want, but in my humble opinion, they will have the last laugh. The issue goes far beyond just how much one works or plays. The United States ranks last among 21 industrialized countries in the number of days of paid vacation and holidays it guarantees workers by law, says a study by the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. So complete is the corporate grip on the American psyche that no day in the year, not even July 4, the most patriotic U.S. holiday of all, is a paid holiday guaranteed by law.>>>