The value of vacation around the globe
Let's start with europe
The daimler work-life balance approach
This is no longer a problem for employees at the German company Daimler. The car and truck maker has implemented a new program that allows employees to set their email software to automatically delete incoming emails while they are on vacation. When an email is sent, the program, which is called “Mail on Holiday,” issues a reply to the sender that the person is out of the office and that the email will be deleted, while also offering the contact information of another employee for pressing matters.
In my experience, especially career-oriented and younger professionals are struggling with balancing work life and private life. It is just so easy to read and answer some emails when it is so reachable. In the end, it all comes back to your personality. However, the interference with work in your leisure time is by far lower than in the States.
Want some good vibes in your inbox? Travel Guides? Coaching Exercises?
DO GERMANS STILL EXPLORE THE WORLD WHEN HAVING KIDS?
Biene shared her idea of a perfect vacation with me on instagram. I love that exploring the world never stops - even with kids. You just have to prepare:-)
Vacation means for us exploring! Now with two little kids it's a way different kind of vacation but still possible. So we recently came back from a trip to Mexico. Everyone around us was like "Whaaaat? With two little ones?! You are brave..." No we are not. We are well prepared! So why should we give up to travel? There is so much out there to see. People, Culture, Food! I love to make lists for everything. So maybe this is a typical German thing. So most likely we are on vacation three times a year. Summer times means camping time for us. But we also love Airbnb.
What about the value of vacation in the US
Gary, marketing associate for a political party in the US
While writing these lines at a nice spot along the Chicago River I was approached by Gary who is doing some promotion for a local election campaign. I used this chance and asked him about how he values vacation. He said it is most of all time to spend with loved ones. He was shocked to see that we have so many days off in Germany and that our economy is still working. However, he said, he should not be surprised as he heard the rumor that in France everything is shut down for a whole month in summer. He said he is, of course, writing emails during vacation and calls his colleagues regularly. He only stops, when his wife starts to grumble about him being absent. In this case, he said he tries to limit it to a couple of hours a day for the sake of the family’s peace.
How Americans perceive the European Lifestyle
Back in our apartment, I talked to Charlene, Arnett, and Bruno. All three are living in Chicago and we had our talk next to the pool while the sun was shining. A truly recreational atmosphere. They told me that the amount of vacation differs each year. They spend roughly 2 weeks each year on vacation, spread throughout the year. They have heard that Europeans have much more days off and Arnett’s comment was: „Europeans know how to appreciate life!“
The Phenomenon of not taking vacation at all
Using the holidays to unplug is not at all common and more seen as something very spiritual and modern. I also recently talked to a woman who went on her first real vacation within the last 15 years and it was a life changing experience for her. She said this was the first time she actually valued the holidays as something purposeful. She perceived it as being lazy before but now she realized she actually MIGHT do it again :-).
I also talked to my new favorite hairdresser about this topic. Her name is Jo, and she is (as most hairdressers in the US) self-employed but working together with other colleagues in a studio. She never in her life had a vacation yet. When she was 9, she went to Disneyland in Anaheim and can’t wait to go back there as a grown up. For her the decision whether to take a vacation is a simple business case:
„Each day I am not working I am not earning money.“
However, she is dreaming of a great vacation within the next two years. Her expectations are so high that she can’t decide yet on a destination. Maybe she will leave the US for the first time in her life.
„I might go to Santorini in Greece one day! I loved the scenery!“
My dear Jo, I wish you see the world someday!
Asia: The value of vacation in taiwan
To include an example from Asia I remembered my time in Taiwan. I recently traveled back for a quick short trip of 2 days of traveling back and forth and 2 days of actually staying in Taipeh to visit my old friends. I know this might sound crazy to some of you but sometimes I just have this urge to discover the world so I just booked in last minute and while it was, of course, exhausting, it was totally worth it. I had two of my best days in Taipeh! Most of all thanks to my dear Taiwanese friends who took a 2-days vacation without telling me and driving me around the island, showing me places and spending such nice quality time with me.
Little did I know back then that you have on average 7 days of vacation in Taiwan and that my dear friends just took a huge part out of it to spend time with me and to fulfill the typical Taiwanese hospitality. For Taiwanese people, vacation is also a lot about family and most of all, vacation days are spend for Chinese New Year and the celebration with the family.
career or happiness?
Thanks for sharing the love and stopping by
Send this article to a friend & share the love:
You also might like:
When preparation becomes a form of procrastination
Have you ever asked yourself if you are really taking the right approach to your job search? In this blog post, I’ll address the two most common strategic mistakes I observe as a career coach and invite you on a little journey of reflection.
Create your own Clarity Circle
In this blog post, I will provide you with a great coaching exercise to help you reflecting on your WHY concerning your next professional step. In case you are thinking about re-entering the workforce or switching roles but are not yet fully clear on what this new profession looks like this is a great tool to kick off the thought process.
The big entry ticket: What enables a smooth re-entry?
How do women land a job after a long career break? Is it by sending out traditional CVs to recruiters? I was curious to learn more about it, especially when there is a rather non-linear CV involved. So I interviewed women around the globe and asked them straight away. In this blog post, I am sharing two strategies that worked for many of them. You can also download the full study for free including all 5 essential access strategies. What will be your approach?
The Career Decision Tree Model
In this blog post, I present you with a new career concept about decisive and influencing factors on female careers around the globe. This model called, the career decision tree model, is also a great starting point to reflect on your own career decisions and I will show you how to work with it in this blog post.
The emotional rollercoaster of a career break
A career break is a phase in life that is always associated with self-doubt and uncertainty. Often women make their peace with this time after they have re-entered the labor market and have found for themselves that they have enjoyed the best of both worlds. Only in retrospect are many women very grateful for this time and at peace with their decision. In this blog post, I am sharing the emotional rollercoaster of women around the globe with long career breaks. Read about Lisa, who re-entered the workforce after 7 years and learn from her personal approach.
Why do women decide to leave the 9 to 5
About 62% of the workforce has taken a career break in their professional history at some point (LinkedIn, 2022). While in the past, career breaks have been a huge stigma and often led to career breakers not re-entering the workforce at all, we are experiencing a new era. But why is it that especially female employees, committed to their profession and boosting recognition and acknowledgment, are deciding to take a career break? In this blog post, I am shedding some light on the reasons for taking a career break and its implications.
3 Antworten
-
Hi! This is a drum I bang constantly with my fellow Americans! Since moving to Germany, I have become a BIG believer in 5-6 weeks per year of vacation (although , growing up in my family, vacation was always valued highly. We were weirdos!) I cannot emphasize enough how important time away–real time away–from the work environment is.
What I also have to say is that the German work environment is much more intense and focused than most work environments in the USA, which is why the vacation time in Germany does not translate to decreased productivity.
I honestly hope Americans catch on soon.-
Hi Michelle, funny to hear that from an American! The last US company I talked to told me I can have a two-week sabbatical if I am staying at the company for more than 2 weeks. It was hilarious considering that taking 3 weeks off is quite common in Europe. When we plan sabbaticals we are talking about months not weeks 🙂 So interesting to see the different perspectives on vacation. Glad you liked the blog post.
-
-
Sometime you want to travel with other people but nobody really wants travel with you, so sad but it’s true!
Schreibe einen Kommentar
We use cookies to optimize the website and our services. More Info on Cookies used
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
3 Antworten
Hi! This is a drum I bang constantly with my fellow Americans! Since moving to Germany, I have become a BIG believer in 5-6 weeks per year of vacation (although , growing up in my family, vacation was always valued highly. We were weirdos!) I cannot emphasize enough how important time away–real time away–from the work environment is.
What I also have to say is that the German work environment is much more intense and focused than most work environments in the USA, which is why the vacation time in Germany does not translate to decreased productivity.
I honestly hope Americans catch on soon.
Hi Michelle, funny to hear that from an American! The last US company I talked to told me I can have a two-week sabbatical if I am staying at the company for more than 2 weeks. It was hilarious considering that taking 3 weeks off is quite common in Europe. When we plan sabbaticals we are talking about months not weeks 🙂 So interesting to see the different perspectives on vacation. Glad you liked the blog post.
Sometime you want to travel with other people but nobody really wants travel with you, so sad but it’s true!