Current Events > Why do you Americans work 40+ hour work weeks...

(+) Yeah! (+)

...with only 2 weeks paid vacation and bad healthcare? Most European countries give 4ish weeks off paid vacation and 35 hour work weeks with better healthcare.

Cuck mentality.

Because bootstraps, the American dream, and the Good Lord Jesus Christ.
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I get about 2 months paid vacation, full medical, dental, vision, and I pretty much come and go as I please. As long as I put in 25 hours and get my shit done each week, i'm golden.

My employment is a special exception compared to most though.
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Chinese work like 60 hours per with no paid time off besides statutory holidays.
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Cold War fucked us pretty hard
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MabusIncarnate posted...

I get about 2 months paid vacation, full medical, dental, vision, and I pretty much come and go as I please. As long as I put in 25 hours and get my shit done each week, i'm golden.

My employment is a special exception compared to most though.

What do you do?

MuayThai85 posted...

Chinese work like 60 hours per with no paid time off besides statutory holidays.

China at least has mandatory paid vacation. USA is one of the few countries that does not

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country

Conservitive Capatalists.
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because youre not an american if you arent miserable
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SSJCAT posted...

because youre not an american if you arent miserable

we give all our money to our corporate overlords and hope they'll let it trickle back down...
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Because the Japanese work even more than that, we gotta keep pace with productivity
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Because fair treatment for workers is a commie thought.

You should be grateful you are allowed to work at all.
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I work as many hours as I want, take as much vacation as I want, but I do not have healthcare.
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I work 40 hours, get full health/dental/vision for free and pay $200 a month for my wife's coverage, and get 4 weeks paid vacation a year.

No paid leave for when we have our kid though which kinda blows. I'm saving up my vacation time though since it carries over each year. Gonna try to get at least three weeks off for it.
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The working man is low man on the totem poll in America and the only time anyone in power pretends to care about them is when voting time comes around

We actually get to keep the money we make

We aren't guaranteed two weeks paid vacation
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SageHarpuiaHX posted...

We actually get to keep the money we make

Why are you saying "we" as if you actually have a job
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Kazi1212 posted...

Because the Japanese work even more than that, we gotta keep pace with productivity

No they don't.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/the-countries-where-people-work-the-longest-hours/

And Japan (as well as developing countries like China and India) have mandatory paid vacations and maternal leave. The US is the only industrialized nation that doesn't.
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Americans are hard workers.
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Learning posted...

SageHarpuiaHX posted...

We actually get to keep the money we make

Why are you saying "we" as if you actually have a job

Dude I probably work more hours than you lol

I work 80 hour weeks and it feels great when I get my paycheck.
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I get 4 weeks and 2 days of PTO plus all the major holidays off, I have really good health insurance and in my state I can walk into a gun store and walk out with a firearm in less than an hour. That's what freedom tastes like.
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SageHarpuiaHX posted...

Learning posted...

SageHarpuiaHX posted...

We actually get to keep the money we make

Why are you saying "we" as if you actually have a job

Dude I probably work more hours than you lol

If you're referring to 'shitposting on CE' then yes, you do, but that's not something you get paid for.
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I can't speak for myself but my brother works about 52-54 hours a week and gets 1 month paid vacation with another month of sick days. He likes working though he stays over time and even works on his days off. Last year he didn't even take his vacation at all and worked instead.
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I'm working 40 hours a week now but I wish I was doing 50.
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Because people have been convinced that their only value in this country is how much they produce and how efficiently they produce it.
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5 weeks vacation

being a gynecologist is fun, but i always wonder how different it would be if i was straight
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Meh, I get 3 weeks sick, 3 weeks vacation (both of which carry over), 12-13 paid holidays, and full medical, dental, drug, and vision. And I just started working for the AG recently; state benefits used to be even better in the past.
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Guynecologist posted...

5 weeks vacation

being a gynecologist is fun, but i always wonder how different it would be if i was straight

@Guynecologist

I'm into girls and even I try to pass off pelvic exams to colleagues.

How can anyone find them even remotely sexy? They're always with Pannus Pat with cottage cheese discharge.
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fuzzylittlbunny posted...

Meh, I get 3 weeks sick, 3 weeks vacation (both of which carry over), 12-13 paid holidays, and full medical, dental, drug, and vision. And I just started working for the AG recently; state benefits used to be even better in the past.

Genuine question, whats the difference between vacation time off and the paid holiday time off?
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spaghettyhoop posted...

fuzzylittlbunny posted...

Meh, I get 3 weeks sick, 3 weeks vacation (both of which carry over), 12-13 paid holidays, and full medical, dental, drug, and vision. And I just started working for the AG recently; state benefits used to be even better in the past.

Genuine question, whats the difference between vacation time off and the paid holiday time off?

Probably means that when his office is closed for a holiday, he still gets paid for the day whereas vacation time is when he just picks a week to take off work.
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That makes sense. I assume vacation time is paid too?

We just lump everything into the single term holiday here.
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Tons of poor Americans have been brainwashed to accept shit working conditions and lack of benefits and vacation time because they're deluded to think that one day they will be the ones making the rules and all the money. At the moment they're only "temporarily embarrassed millionaires". The "American Dream" narrative is still going strong.

Our warped version of capitalism is a religion here. The rich are seen as noble, hard working, geniuses who deserve everything good they get and more and anyone who's poor is a parasite who deserves the bad treatment they get because they just don't really see how good they supposedly got it.

I'm no socialist or commie either before someone starts throwing that out there.
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Unions had to fight to get it down to 40 hours too

well, americans do earn more per capita than most (not all) europeans
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i take comfort in knowing i keep more than 3/4ths of my money.

I work in sawmills everywhere across North America and I feel like the southern USA ones are the worst. They regularly make 12 hours shifts 5 days a week. Some of them can randomly decide to start earlier (like 4:30 am) and call everyone in to operate longer and catch up on any downtime.

Everyone in there look so miserable. I have great respect for the Mexicans in there who can keep working hard in such conditions while not getting depressed.

Because America has not yet figured out that productivity actually goes up when people are happy. Companies still think the only way to get productivity is to grind people down to dust and constantly threaten their job.
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ScazarMeltex posted...

Because people have been convinced that their only value in this country is how much they produce and how efficiently they produce it.

That sounds a lot like the general mentality that was promoted in the USSR. Guess it rubbed off on the US after all.
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GiftedACIII posted...

Kazi1212 posted...

Because the Japanese work even more than that, we gotta keep pace with productivity

No they don't.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/the-countries-where-people-work-the-longest-hours/

And Japan (as well as developing countries like China and India) have mandatory paid vacations and maternal leave. The US is the only industrialized nation that doesn't.

I dont think I agree with the numbers in that article at all. Japan works an average of 33 hours a week? Yeah bullshit, they wouldnt have a suicide epidemic nor would everyone be chain smoking despite horrific pictures on the box if they only worked 33hrs a week.

And the US average is 32hrs? Lol no. I mean maybe like a true average, if you count ever single person from the age of 16 to 80 and you include everyone who is 16-20 and 65-80 who is unemployed or retired. Literally every single person I know works 40-60hr weeks.

Also lol at I get to keep most of my money yeah you arent giving half your check in taxes because you dont live in Norway but you get a large chunk (~20%) in taxes stolen out of your check and you dont even get free health care. Then the dmv spits in your face when you buy a new car and pay taxes to register it and get plates so youre allowed to drive on roads you already pay for.

Also lol, pretty much every penny of overtime gets stolen from you. Jokes really on you if you work over 55hrs lol.

Yeah Uncle Sam could take more taxes out, but lets not act like you get a hell of a deal for your tax money, because that simply is not true.
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Dark_Spiret posted...

i take comfort in knowing i keep more than 3/4ths of my money.

Is this including rent/mortgage and other bills? (Not taxes)
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spaghettyhoop posted...

That makes sense. I assume vacation time is paid too?

We just lump everything into the single term holiday here.

Yup. So even for state-specific stuff, like Statehood Day or Kamehameha Day, we dont go to work, but still get paid. And as mentioned, for vacation/sick days, we pick when were off and also still get paid.

Plus we had a hurricane warning for hurricane Lane this year, giving us 2 extra paid days off :3
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KStateKing17 posted...

Because bootstraps, the American dream, and the Good Lord Jesus Christ.

Hell ya brother
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Cause we need le money
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Europeans are taxed so much it's not like they can even use that vacation time
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