I tried for years to start my own business. Self-employed people are the ultimate wage slaves - you don’t work, you don’t eat. It takes a lot of success for most entrepreneurs to feel they’ve earned a week off. Even then, it can be hard to find a trusted lieutenant to handle things while you turn off the iphone.
Now I’m on salary, and I use all four weeks a year. It’s heaven.
I’ve run a few of my own. Working for someone else is much healthier.
Capitalism eats its young.
Even if you love your job, taking a break is great for you and for your productivity. Even if it’s a see-everything, go-everywhere vacation.
Toddlers, on the other hand …
Kids aged 14 to 19 are a total loss on vacations.
They just don’t want to see and do the shit you want to see and do.
That’s the spirit of the first one, the “Yeah, let’s do Maui!” synonymous with, “Yeah, let’s catalog the Louvre in a spreadsheet!” Whatever gets your blood pumping and feels restorative, depending on your personality type. Some people get a good recharge just from staying home. I know I sometimes do.
The alternative scenario is like a misshapen cork trying to hold your life force in from leaking out because a job is draining it. That’s an existential crisis no vacation is ever going to fix. I’ve been there, too.
Also, toddlers. Oy, don’t get me started. There is no real vacation from toddlers. The only things that help with that is surgery, so you can sleep at the hospital, or them growing up.
Agreed. I do both. The salary position is definitely easier, but the bullshit is miles thick. My consulting is harder because it’s hit or miss, but the bullshit is ice-thin. The client either likes me and keeps me, or it’s clear we suck together and I gotta go. Except when I go… no more paycheck, which makes business tough because you can’t just walk away from cash that easily… which leads to unwarranted compromise… which leads to bad things. Business is definitely harder overall, but I’d say it’s more rewarding. I wouldn’t give up my day job though unless it was plainly apparent that I had a chance to strike it rich, which is basically a snowball’s chance in hell.
The stunning thing is that you consider that to have accrued “almost a whole month” of paid holidays something exceptional.
Back here in Europe, that’s the yearly standard in most countries (and after quickly checking that up, it also is the standard in Afghanistan, of all places)!
As a reference :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statutory_minimum_employment_leave_by_country
Can confirm- at the end of the month I’m taking my first proper week off since I started five years ago. Will have to close shop for a week, but will still have to be contactable for customer support from previous sales.
can’t we have both? 
We get 21 days a year in India (plus sick leaves). Have I (or anyone I know) ever taken 21 days off? Never!
This is simply because I am expected to break this into smaller portions of 5-7 days, anything more means my job is not worthwhile or my boss is crazy.
End result? I have not taken a vacation in around 2 years. Only 4 day trips to my Mom’s once a year.
I have never NOT taken my whole paid holidays, and most people over here do the same.
Only very few people don’t do so, coincidentally, their workplace is usually the kind that rewards being there for extremely long hours (never mind the fact that for most of those the people playing that game just while away the time on facebook and some such).
I like that thought. So yes, I plan to take vacations…at least this year. But I know it will be restrained to a 7 day one. Everyone wants to go on leave, just don’t know how to work it out.
You guys are in the wrong industry, clearly!
If you work in finance/investments/banking, you are REQUIRED to take a two-week vacation every year, in one lump sum. (You might have more vacation days coming, but one chunk of 2 weeks is mandatory). Why? Because then auditing swoops in and checks everything you’ve been doing to make sure you’re not committing any crimes.
Yay for the few financial sector regulations which still exist!
That has one big disadvantage: you’d be working in finance. Bleh.
How many days do finance people get?
I didn’t like going from 26 days to 10 when I moved to a US employer. And all those lovely bank holidays gone, too.
Finance salaries --> $$$,$$$
Everything else --> $$,$$$
On the other hand, the finance people will be the first to go to the wall when the revolution comes.
Before the Marketing Department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation?
Galt’s Gulch is Über-productive.
Kids don’t realize all the hassle from your end to make it that magical wonderland they remember where the ygot lots of useless crap and ate at expensive places.
