August 20, 2012 at 12:51 pm
skron (8/20/2012)
I actually ended up going back to work early after heart surgery because HR would not stop calling me to tell me that I did not have short term disability and I needed to go back to work.
Reading something like that leaves me speechless. It certainly confirms my thinking that I will never work in the US as an employee, unless I am high enough in the command chain.
August 20, 2012 at 1:55 pm
I agree, wholeheartedly, that time away from work is needed and allows one to come into the work environment refreshed.
One key point, I think, is that it is very important to train others to be able to "fill-in" in one's absence. This is especially true in smaller companies/sites - if no one else can do the work, guess who is going to get called? Vacation becomes nothing more than working from home with, maybe, the benefit of sleeping in another hour.
August 20, 2012 at 1:58 pm
I would imagine that it depends a lot on what industry you work in. Some retail industries are so competitive that these companies will deny employees any time off because of constant deadlines they have to meet (been there). Glad I got out of that mess, and I now work in an industry (income tax) that is more predictable (always busiest from January to April). Much easier to take time off when the load is much lighter in the spring & summer months.
Tony
------------------------------------
Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?
August 20, 2012 at 2:44 pm
How is it in other countries?
In the US, we have the ability to choose what work to pursue. If we don't like the work environment, we can find a better employer. If too many people leave the employer, that company will suffer from a lack of employees. It's sort of an organic self correcting type of thing. Is that the same elsewhere?
Of course finding better work is not always easy but how many major life changes are?
August 20, 2012 at 2:54 pm
And that is what I did last year. I found a better employer that values me as more than a resource.
August 20, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Raoul Bastendorff (8/20/2012)
skron (8/20/2012)
I actually ended up going back to work early after heart surgery because HR would not stop calling me to tell me that I did not have short term disability and I needed to go back to work.Reading something like that leaves me speechless. It certainly confirms my thinking that I will never work in the US as an employee, unless I am high enough in the command chain.
That was a major reason why, when we decided to emigrate from the UK, the US was not on our shortlist of destinations. Life is for living and you only get one chance.
August 20, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Andrew-H (8/20/2012)
How is it in other countries?In the US, we have the ability to choose what work to pursue. If we don't like the work environment, we can find a better employer. If too many people leave the employer, that company will suffer from a lack of employees. It's sort of an organic self correcting type of thing. Is that the same elsewhere?
Of course that can be done elsewhere. The US is not the only country to be capitalistic. That does not prevent other countries to have a legislation that is more employee friendly, with minimum wage, minimum paid holiday, social security and so on. That does not make them run worse, probably better even because you do not have to worry about everything.
August 21, 2012 at 4:50 am
Raoul Bastendorff (8/20/2012)
skron (8/20/2012)
I actually ended up going back to work early after heart surgery because HR would not stop calling me to tell me that I did not have short term disability and I needed to go back to work.Reading something like that leaves me speechless. It certainly confirms my thinking that I will never work in the US as an employee, unless I am high enough in the command chain.
I don't think I needed to read that to be of that inclination - but it certainly helps! Reading between the lines of that and Jasmine's post before is it the case that you do not get paid for sick leave in the US as well as the general healthcare problems you would get at least if not wealthy? I expect to get paid if my children or wife is sick and I need to stay home for a day or two, with no warning. My company is still very profitable. My only interpretation can be that employees are just ground into the dirt in some areas, even in a generally cushy job like IT.
August 21, 2012 at 9:25 am
call.copse (8/21/2012)
Raoul Bastendorff (8/20/2012)
skron (8/20/2012)
I actually ended up going back to work early after heart surgery because HR would not stop calling me to tell me that I did not have short term disability and I needed to go back to work.Reading something like that leaves me speechless. It certainly confirms my thinking that I will never work in the US as an employee, unless I am high enough in the command chain.
I don't think I needed to read that to be of that inclination - but it certainly helps! Reading between the lines of that and Jasmine's post before is it the case that you do not get paid for sick leave in the US as well as the general healthcare problems you would get at least if not wealthy? I expect to get paid if my children or wife is sick and I need to stay home for a day or two, with no warning. My company is still very profitable. My only interpretation can be that employees are just ground into the dirt in some areas, even in a generally cushy job like IT.
I would get paid for the sick time, but let's say you had two weeks of that (which is what I had at my last job when I left, and that's a lot more than average). If you were in the hospital for that entire two weeks, you would still be making your normal salary, but then it would stop and you'd start having to use vacation or other time off. You could continue to pull your normal salary for however long that lasted. BUT... you would have a huge bill from the hospital. It can be really expensive, even after insurance has paid, you could easily owe $20K or more for a long hospital stay. I've been paying off $20K in student loans for almost ten years... I would end up dying before I paid off a hospital bill that large. So, that's why we need some kind of NHS - people can not take that burden on their own, it just can't be done. Even for people who make good money like we do, it's ridiculous to have that kind of bill to pay - we can't do it.
August 21, 2012 at 9:47 am
2 weeks? Is that all?
Before I left the bank I had 2 months sick leave allowance (accrued at I think it was 3-4 weeks a year).
No NHS-type system here. Government's trying to implement, but I suspect it's doomed to failure (too small a tax-base for the total population), so we have private medical aid. I have a mid-level plan, but hospital stays would be paid out 80-100% of the bill.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
August 21, 2012 at 1:42 pm
The vacation time discussion is fine but what I really want to know is your setup in that photo... details, Steve, details: board, bindings, boots...
Also, what resort?
August 21, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Love work? Leave Leave.
Love Life? Take Leave.
Love both? Take both.
Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!
August 21, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Grumpy DBA (8/21/2012)
The vacation time discussion is fine but what I really want to know is your setup in that photo... details, Steve, details: board, bindings, boots...Also, what resort?
LOL, that's one of my kids. No idea of his board or boots, but he as Flow bindings.
I ride a K2 Turbodream board, 159. K2 bindings, which I really like. they have one strap to tighten and the tow strap is connected with a wire that tightens as I do the top strap. The board turns like a dream (my 4th one) and is really fast. So far I can dust most of my skiing friends.
Ride boots, with the coiler wire to tighten. They've been nice for 4 years or so, but I need to think about replacing them. After 100 or so days, the rubber is coming loose in a few places.
August 22, 2012 at 1:47 am
Raoul Bastendorff (8/20/2012)
I switch my mobile phone off during those times.
Such a simple thing to do. Why do people feel the need to be contactable all the time? Better yet, do as I do, and don't have a mobile in the first place.
August 22, 2012 at 1:53 am
paul.knibbs (8/20/2012)
Brandon Leach (8/20/2012)
I've fallen into this trap many times. I'd find myself logging in to check on things on days off, etc.I do that too, but it's usually just to strip out the unimportant e-mails so I don't have to wade through 300 of them when I get back to work!
Why waste your holiday dealing with work e-mails? How's this for a radical solution: delete them all when you get back to work. If anything you deleted isn't followed up, it couldn't have been important.
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