> About 25 percent of American workers in the private sector do not get any
> paid vacation time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
This is one of those things that makes Europeans' jaws hit the floor. They really can't quite believe that there is *no* statutory right to vacation time in the US.
Americans, OTOH, are always shocked by how much vacation time Europeans get (here in Ireland it's four weeks, and that's not high by Euro standards) and usually say something like "how do European companies make any money that way?" Which always struck me as nonsensical. I suppose it depends what type of work you're doing, but it's tended to be my experience that when someone goes away for two weeks or more, their work still gets done because other employees cover for them ... whereas when they're only gone for a short time the attitude of "it can wait til s/he gets back" kicks in. Hence, longer holidays => less resulting drop in productivity. I have no idea whether this has ever been tested empirically though, anyone know?
(BTW, every few months or so when I start getting nostalgic for living in the US, this is one of the things I think of to remind me why I never want to move back. It might seem trivial, but you really get used to your four weeks' holidays.)