Last week was Labor Day, and along with it came the unfortunate truth that University students still had to attend classes. Joining us, however, were the workers unlucky enough to work for the almost 40 percent of employers that still kept operations open on Labor Day.
Employers are not completely at fault; it is both the responsibility of Congress and the American people to take action. The United States is the only developed country in the world that does not guarantee workers paid vacation or paid holidays. Among the 20 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries not including the U.S., there is an average of 21 required paid vacation days and an average of roughly six paid holidays a year. Japan and Canada are the only countries with less than 20 paid days off. Yet, America requires none. It is time for American workers to receive at least one guaranteed paid day off.
The first reaction to this fact is to claim that employers in America still provide workers with paid days off: sick days, parental leave, etc. And this is true. Many workers do get at least a few days off here and there, and many companies provide employees with a multitude of benefits. But what about workers who work low-end jobs without paid days off? Or what about workers who can’t afford to take days off? These workers may receive days off, but they do not have the economic stability needed to take advantage of it. For the 50 million Americans who live below the poverty line, those who do have jobs probably are not working for companies that provide lucrative benefits. Furthermore, the 7.3 million Americans who are employed part-time are even less likely to receive a day off either because they are not in the best economic situation to take a day off or because part-time workers rarely receive benefits anyway. This is not to mention workers who work two or more jobs to maintain a living. These workers are in need of a day off.
Then there’s the Americans who do receive days off, but choose not to use them. It seems illogical, yet there are many rational reasons why 41 percent of Americans do not plan to use all of their paid time off this year. First, some workers are afraid of the heavy workload that awaits them when they return. Others want to show dedication to their job and don’t want to seem “replaceable.” Indeed, a worker under the poverty line needs his job at all times and can’t risk any chance of losing it. For these workers the benefits of time off don’t match the fears of leaving work. The goal, then, is to level the playing field and to ensure that workers across all sectors have an equal amount of guaranteed time off.
One option is to require that all companies, public and private, guarantee their workers at least one paid vacation day that they must use. The immediate issue with this, however, is that Americans may not want to use the day off. Some Americans, like those who don’t use all of their time off, may fear an increased workload, and others, like the ones who live under the poverty line, may fear being replaced.
So the best solution is a nationwide day off. This day off can take the form of a restored Labor Day. In order for the holiday to effectively work, all American workers, except certain necessary ones such as those working in emergency services and policemen, would have to take the day off. This way, workers don’t feel the possibility of being replaced, don’t have extended workloads to return to, and can afford to take the day off. The goal isn’t to adapt to foreign countries’ day-off policies, but at the same time it is not acceptable that no other developed OECD country gives less than 10 paid days off to their workers. Although one day may not seem like a lot, it’s more than nothing. Right now America is an overworked and overstressed nation, and maybe one required day off is the first step towards relaxing at least a little.
Jared Fogel is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at j.fogel@cavalierdaily.com.
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