duh!

But do employees necessarily work harder as time goes on, hence deserving of more vacation, or do they often (but not always) become complacent, working less?

Having more vacation time does not mean employees will become "a bunch of self-entitled, lazy, unmotivated employees" (per Darvey), since they still must perform up to standards the remaining weeks.

And I will question the practice of "awarding" generous vacation time that is not allowed to be used. It is the vacation TIME, not the money, that allows workers to get "recharged" in order to face employers who, like Darvey, only have contempt for those who fatten their purses.

travellyn

I'm self-employed, and I set my own vacation schedule. My income drops proportionately for any time I take off, so I have to keep work and time off in balance. I end up taking about 6 weeks a year, including some holidays, but also working some weekends and holidays. I'm hoping to raise my time off to 8-10 weeks per year in a few years.

nina

I take vacation whenever I want since I quit my dull job and let my hubby support me. Of course, when you make $1 million a year you can go anywhere and anytime you feel like it.

xxxx

Teacher: Why is it that your profession is so eager to flaunt your vacation time, and then so defensive as to why you have it? Why can't you all just shut up and enjoy what you have? If I had your job I'd just quietly enjoy it, and not brag and then whine.

teachers

It really irritates me that teachers brag about their 2+ months off a year and then complain about the crappy pay. In my opinion teachers do pretty well considering they probably only work a full 9 months out of the year. If the pay is so terrible what is stopping you from working in the summer? Plus most of the teachers I know in this area make $50K and I know a couple of people in the administration end of things who make over 100K. Not rich, but not horrible considering the number of days they take off.

Teachers

Teachers, If teaching is such a great profession with alot of time off, why don't you become a teacher also? My Mother has been a high school teacher for 35 yrs, and despite the summers off she, as well as her colleagues, do work for the school in the summer. It does take time to prepare courses for the upcoming year, order books and supplies, set up your classroom, copy and make up exams. What many people do not understand is that teaching, unlike many other higher paying professions, is not a 9 to 5 job. At the end of the day there are papers to grade and students that have questions or that are in need of tutoring. Let us not forget that most teachers, at least at the high school level, teach about 150 students per day and are on their feet lecturing for 5 or 6 hrs. every day, with only a half hour for lunch and one 10 minute break in the morning. Then they still must take care of administrative duties in addition to their teaching responsibilities.

So think about that next time you are at your desk surfing the internet to just pass the time or taking some extra time for lunch, at a job making significantly more than a teacher who actually deserves alot more than he or she earns.

To

I am not a teacher b/c I've never had a desire to do it. You should go into a profession because you have a true passion for it. I still think the pay in the teaching profession isn't horrible considering the number of days and hours they work. When you go in to the teaching profession, you know it is not as high paying of a profession as say an investment banker. Why complain about it? There are plenty of other honorable professions that don't pay well: policemen, firemen and social workers to name a few. You don't hear them complaining.

Teachers

To, Let's be honest, you never went into teaching because you feel that teachers are underpaid. If you do not feel that they are underpaid, what a fool you are for not going into teaching for the great vacations and few hours they work.

Let me ask you this, when a teacher goes to a grocery store, does the teacher get a discount because he/she is a teacher? No way. Teachers have the same bills to pay that everyone else has.

I agree that you should have a passion for your profession, but a passion does not pay the mortgage.

Apparently you did not read very closely what I posted previously. Teaching , as I said earlier, is not a 9 to 5 job. When a teacher goes home he/she still has 3-4 hours of work to do ie: papers to grade, lesson plans to get ready for the next day, etc. They do not get extra pay for that. As I mentioned earlier, teachers also have to work during the summer, even when the students are not there, to get ready for the next academic year. Again, no extra pay there either. In addition to that, teachers are expected to do several service activities for the school during the year including supervising students at after school sporting events. All of this is part of a teacher's duties without extra compensation. Therefore, teachers actually do more work than most people making higher salaries. So why shouldn't they be granted a more decent salary for their work.

You should never forget that teachers are the ones that prepared our students who will be in those high paying postions that you are talking about. We should at least hold our teachers in high esteem for their sacrifices and also compoensate them fairly.

Utahtea

DH earns 5 weeks of vacation a year, plus 7 management leave days, plus 3 floating holidays and can carry over half but can't accure more than 1 1/2 times his annual vacation days, so it is use it or lose it. So we USE IT!

He has a 9 to 5 job. No weekends. I mention my DH's vacation because it's his vacation time that limits how long we go. I work for my parents company part time so I take off when ever I want.

Utahtea

Secretary

I get 25 days (basic leave) + 1 week for Easter, 2 weeks for Christmas + 8 other Uni related vacation days.

48 days total.

parent

Teachers work 3-4 hours per night grading papers? When????? I know so many teachers and that is such a myth about the after hours work. The truth is that teachers have several "planning periods" during the day and alot of their outside of the classroom work is done then. Or it's done when the students leave for the day which is my area is 2:15 for elementary school and 2:45 for high school. Maybe a first year teacher spends alot of time on lesson plans, but once you've taught it, the planning time is greatly reduced. And as far as teachers working in the summer, that also is a myth. Sure they spend the last week of the summer getting their rooms ready, but the rest of it is pure vacation time. I know too many teachers to think otherwise.

taxpayer

in my area teachers make $70,000 after 15 -20 years. If I hear one more teacher say "I never get home before 5:00" I think I'll puke. Who does get home before 5?

SA

Since most of the posters on here are not teachers, let me give you the real story.. My wife works exactly 182 days a year (1/2 the year). For the time she works, her hourly wage is not bad... but she tutors on the side & makes almost 1/2 as much as her salary doing that evenings & summers. Many teachers do similar things, teach seminars, etc. to supplement their income. The bad part is, most of our vacations are taken around her holidays, spring breaks, etc. because you can get better deals then for most places we like to go. In the summer, no deals. Again as previously mentioned, new teachers spend a tremendous amount of time out of the classroom working (if they are good teachers). If you are fortunate enough to stay @ one school & teach the same classes (w/the same books) that out of class time diminishes greatly. Hope this helps those w/the many misconceptions previously listed...

nina

My SIL has been a teacher for 20 years, she has a Masters and 6th year degree, earns 78K, but is home by 3:30 everyday and admits she does no work at home since she has planning periods free during the day to correct and prepare work.

She also of course has the whole summer off, and never worked during it. She complains about the pay too. Maybe she doesn't get paid what she would if she were in the corporate world or as an attorney like her siblings, but they are working 60-80 hour weeks, and only take a few weeks off a year. It's a trade off.

I work as a consultant two or three days a week, and can take of as much time off as I want, I just won't get paid.

Girl

HobbyWizard must work here with me. I'm too work 35 hours a week and get paid for 40. I am the ONLY person in my office that gets here before 9am. Although I only get 2 weeks vacation, we get 10 personal days and use-as-necesary sick time. We also get 11 paid holidays. The best thing though, is the 2 weeks paid time off during the christmast holiday. This year I'll end up with 16 days in a row off. It's like heaven. I haven't had that much time off in a row in 11 years!! Woohoo!! Sorry, I got a bit carried away.

Lenore

I just had my sixth anniversary at my current job. I now get 15 vacation days per year, which must be used (or lost) during each calendar year. I also get 2 personal holidays which must also be used (or lost). We all get 6 sick days per year which can be rolled if unused. Bottom line....it's not nearly enough for all the travel I want to do, and the stress and hours I have to deal with throughout the year. I would be willing to trade a portion of my salary for more vacation days!

Mary

I currently get 15 vacation days per year. Starting my 14th year (2004), I will receive 20 days. We get 9 days off for the holidays, and sick days when necessary (unless abused).

I agree. It would be GREAT to have the kind of vacation schedule the Europeans get.

Mary

I totally disagree with Darvy that having 6 weeks of vacation, just like the Europeans, would make me a lazy employee. If I became lazy, not only would I lose those 6 weeks of vacation but I would also lose my job. Keeping my job and knowing I get 6 weeks of vacation would definitely keep me motivated.

Whatever

To: teachers are underpaid. That is laughable. No, I am not jealous of teachers. I own an IT business and I make a lot more money than a teacher makes. I can also take off when I want, as long as I want, but of course since I am self employed I won't make as much if I don't work as hard. It took me years to build up my business to it's current client base. There were years I worked harder than a teacher and was paid less than one. And I probably still have less benefits than the average teacher has. I cetainly won't get a full pension when I retire! I don't whine about it though. I love what I do and take the positive and negative aspects of the job, so should teachers.

As for your second point, I have never known a teacher who brings 3-4 hours of work home with them a night. As for they sometimes work late. Boo hoo, most professional people I know work a lot more hours than that and guess what? Some professions work longer hours, in more dangeours jobs, for less pay and don't whine about it like teachers do. Also it does not take you the entire summer to get your classroom ready for the coming year. There is absolutely no reason a teacher can't work during the summer if they want to supplement their income.

My Uncle is the vice prinicipal of a school in this area. He now makes $130K. I know this because all of the school administration salaries are posted in the newspaper. He is going to retire with a full pension next year at his current salary, with full benefits. Not a bad life for someone who worked 9 months a year for his whole career.

gigi

I work for a non profit and get 4 weeks vacation, 8-1/2 holidays and 8 sick days. We can carry a few vacation days over, and unused sick days can be carried over until you've banked 30. After those are banked, any you don't use, you lose.
We don't get overtime pay, we get flex time. However, if I have an early morning meeting (1-1/2 hrs) in the same week as a holiday, I don't get flex time. While my coworker works 32 hours plus gets 8 hours holiday pay for a total of 40 hours pay, I work 33-1/2 hours and the 8 hours holiday pay, but get 40 hours pay also. It seems to me I should get the flex time off the day I put in the extra morning hours or overtime pay. Do all businesses work this way?