Working on Labor Day

Working on Labor Dayphotodune-2005039-hawaiian-vacation-sunset-concept-l.resized

Labor Day is an official American holiday celebrating the labor movement and the contributions workers have made to the social and economic achievements of their country.

However, this year a study by Bloomberg BNA data has shown that 39% of employers will expect their staff to work on Labor Day.

This brings up a point about paid vacation and how, compared to other developed countries such as the United Kingdom (28), Australia (28), France (31) and Germany (34), the US doesn’t have any.

Employers will be delighted at this news but employees not so much. This lack of time off could be the reason behind the strength of America’s economy, causing greater production and efficiency from workers. Left-leaning economists have argued that the effect of mandatory paid time off is minimal and who wouldn’t when extra holiday is at stake!

When drawing comparisons with other countries between time off, employee productivity and unemployment levels however, there is no clear link. Belgium requires 30 days of paid time off – its productivity per working hour was higher than the US, but so was their unemployment rate.

On a positive note, statistics have determined that US are the most productive workers in the world, so holiday time might be restricted but overall America is better for it.