The American Work-Year

On this Labor Day I was thinking about the American work-year.  Coupled with some statistics I heard over the weekend, I thought it would be worthwhile to review and post my thoughts.

We know that are 52 weeks in a year and we often think of Americans as getting two weeks vacation bringing our work-year down to 50 weeks.  When calculating hourly rates and salaries this 40-hour week multiplied by 50 weeks per year, works nicely to a 2000 hour-year.  But do Americans work 50 weeks per year?  Let’s take a look at my Holiday schedule. (some would call it “generous”, but I call it “practical”)

New Years Day 

Presidents Day*

Easter Monday

Memorial Day

Fourth of July

Labor Day

Columbus Day

Wed. Before Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 

Fri. after Thanksgiving

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Day after Christmas

New Years Eve

A persons Birthday

*Lincoln and Washington have been condensed into Presidents Day.  You could through in MLK Day as an extra day or alternate the years in which you switch the day that the company observes.

Some might say that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is not a real day off.  Well try telling it to the person that is trying to drive or fly a good distance to be with family.  Moreover, is there any real work getting done on this day?  The day after Thanksgiving has historically been extended as part of the Holiday. 

Christmas Eve is also included for practical reasons. Thoughts are not really on work.  The day after Christmas I will accept legitimate criticism over, however I include it just for the additional family time. 

Even though the activities for New Years Eve do not take place until evening, it is an international day of celebration that takes place throughout the day all around the world.  In addition, if you are really doing something special, your mind is probably not on work and you would be leaving early to get ready for the evening anyway.

A company providing their employee with their Birthday off is just good policy.  A person should not have to work on their Birthday.

So we, arguably, have 15 days off.  In a statistic I heard, it was said that Americans get 13 paid days off per year.  Moreover, only half of all Americans take all their time off.  What this means is that most Americans do not even get all the days off mentioned above, let alone time off for vacation.

Furthermore, the 50-week work-year, by my Holiday schedule, is now down to 49 weeks.  Throw in another 3 weeks of actual vacation time along with 5 sick days, you have 20 days of paid time off (PTO). PTO is a concept that enables the employee to take time off at their discretion without having to provide exaggerated, falsified, or completely made up rationales.  However, the company may still have policies in place for what qualifies as ample notification as well as restricted times based on historic “heavy” work periods.  That being said, it overall brings the American work-year down to 45 weeks.

My rationale for breaking down the PTO into 15 days off for vacation and 5 for sick days is as follows:  I figure two family vacations a year for a week each (10 work days total) and 5 days to take separately, as needed for possibly a long weekend, making a Holiday weekend longer, or for just family/household matters.  However, as expressed above, PTO is just that, paid time off and how an employee actually uses their time is up to them.

Now if anyone out there knows me, they know I am not a socialist or a supporter of Labor or Unions. However, as a person that studies Organizational Behavior, Labor Economics, and is Pro-Family, I think a 45-week work-year is good for the health of the business, good for the wellbeing of the employee, and good for the institution of the family.

With technology tethering us more and more to work, the time we are away we are not truly off.  So by providing more time away from work, even if not completely in mind and spirit, makes up for less time away and truly being away; a concept that appears to be less and less realistic.

In all, we can take our 2000 hour work-year and shave it down to 1800.  In the whole scheme of things, I do not think that 200 hours off, spread out over 12 months, is going to hinder the American Spirit or the concept of American Exceptionalism. In fact, I think it strengthens and solidifies both.

Enjoy your Labor Day.  Summer is unofficially over.  It is time to get back into “work” mode and prosper.