The Canadian dollar is sinking. Gas prices have been going up for the past month. Banks are making noise about raising mortgage rates. The housing market is cooling. The weather seems changeable on the hour.
It must be summer.
And with the ever-increasing gloom and doom that seems to drain our optimism and energy at a quickening pace, it's never been more imperative to tune out and step back. At least for a stretch.
Getting away from the workplace, turning down the busyness of our lives is an important change to routine. It reduces anxiety and stress, allows us a chance to recharge, maybe even refocus.
Holidays make for happier, more motivated employees who are able to return to work re-invigorated.
But Canadian holiday entitlements lag behind those enjoyed by workers in many other countries. We get a minimum of 10 working days off depending on the province and tenure of employment. That's supplemented by 10 public statutory holidays, like Canada Day, which many people took the time to enjoy last weekend.
Australian workers get 20 working days off, plus 10 paid public holidays.
Brazilians enjoy 22 working days off, plus a 33% premium on top of their regular pay. Workers in Denmark get 25 work days off plus an additional nine public holidays.
German workers get four weeks off plus nine to 13 public holidays. In Finland, the minimum mandated holiday time is 30 days.
Even workers in developing countries like India are granted 12 work days a year for holiday.
But in the United States there's absolutely no legal provision for mandated holiday time. Employees are completely at the mercy of their employer.
Canadians may not feel we get enough holiday, but at least we get something.
-The Burnaby News Leader
