Strange things you're not used to

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I get 5 sick days too - i guess I better not get sick.

OTOH, when I lived in the UK, I used to get so pissed off the number of times a certain individual would get signed off 2 weeks for "stress" only to be found drinking merrily away in the local pub

[Reba 2]

yes, its an incredibley stupid system...they act as if one can choose how many days they are sick per year...at my current job, i get a pathetic 5 sick days per year...5!!!!!!!!!

Now that I've been at my job for a full year, I get 80 hours "paid time off" per year. That's to be used for vacation time as well as sick time and personal time, and doctor appointments and and and...Hopefully I won't get sick, but I've already had to use up 2.25 hours for a doctor appointment, which is likely where half my PTO will go to

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

yes, its an incredibley stupid system...they act as if one can choose how many days they are sick per year...at my current job, i get a pathetic 5 sick days per year...5!!!!!!!!!

Now that I've been at my job for a full year, I get 80 hours "paid time off" per year. That's to be used for vacation time as well as sick time and personal time, and doctor appointments and and and...Hopefully I won't get sick, but I've already had to use up 2.25 hours for a doctor appointment, which is likely where half my PTO will go to

oh my god that is terrible...at least if i take a half day or need to take a couple of hours for a doctor's appt, my job doesnt deduct that from anything...total i get 10 vacation, 5 sick, and 2 personal days, in addtion to what i just described (which i tend to try and milk as much as possible B) )

thats still clearly not enough

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

10 holiday days??? per year??? ugghhh that's good????

maybe i'll stay in england

[melusine 5]

lol welcome in north america (canada is the same when u start a job u get 2 weeks vacations a year)

[StillThePrettiest 4]

wow, teaching is looking more attractive than it has in years...

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

wow, teaching is looking more attractive than it has in years...

hence one of the many reasons i am going back to school to be a professor B)

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

10 holiday days??? per year??? ugghhh that's good????

maybe i'll stay in england

that's typical. My first job in the US I had 15 days and we all thought that was amazing.

It is the one single thing that has made settling back into life in the USA the hardest! I had 27 days in the UK, now reduced to 10.

[Reba 2]

lol welcome in north america (canada is the same when u start a job u get 2 weeks vacations a year)

Yeah, but at least in Canada that 2 weeks vacation is federally mandated, plus you usually also get sick days, plus statutory holidays pretty much one per month. (and I read in the last year or so they're considering adding one week to the mandatory vacation allowance) Here in the US, vacation time is NOT federally mandated, (the only western country that does not) employers DO NOT HAVE to give employees vacation time or sick time. Nor do they have to pay you for or even give you the day off for "holidays". As a fer instance, the company I currently work for does not allow for a day off on Memorial Day. Another company I used to work for here doesn't even allow for a day off on Independence Day! Its just another day of the week.

[StillThePrettiest 4]

...Here in the US... (the only western country that does not)...

yeah, you guys are stand-outs on a number of things

especially, I am proud to say, signing the Kyoto Protocol, which Australia FINALLY signed after a leadership change, leaving the US on its lonesome

even though it's largely symbolic now, with how much the whole environmental issue has moved on and complexified (made up word alert ), I feel SO much better about being Australian

go Kevin

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

i wanted to add that my fiance thinks american breakfast is absolutely ridiculous...i kind of agree with him

in italy and albania (the two places where he has lived), people generally have a coffee and little pastry or croissant for breakfast...not the case here in the good ol' usa!!

lol i LOVE typical american breakfast foods, but could definitely not handle eating them everyday...i mean fried eggs with potatoes, sausage/bacon and toast...or pancakes....or french toast....mmmm delish, but oh so fatty!! lol where is the obese smiley when you need it?!

[*julez* 124]

Wel, I just "celebrated" my tenth year with the bank I work for. I have 25 vacation days, 1 floating holiday, 8 sick days and all the national holidays off. Not a bad gig if you can handle the boringness of the job!

[StillThePrettiest 4]

I was reading an article the other day that was talking about the Full English... saying that these breakfasts became the norm when people worked so hard that they burned off the 3000 calories from the breakfast by lunch time, but now we're still eating them and our lifestyles are *ahem* somewhat different... the author of the article persuaded a truck-driver to swap his daily fry-up for porridge and the guy lost a stone and a half in a fortnight

I'm guessing similar things could be said of the origins of the hearty American breakfast...

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

Wel, I just "celebrated" my tenth year with the bank I work for. I have 25 vacation days, 1 floating holiday, 8 sick days and all the national holidays off. Not a bad gig if you can handle the boringness of the job!

good times, what the heck is a floating holiday???

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

I was reading an article the other day that was talking about the Full English... saying that these breakfasts became the norm when people worked so hard that they burned off the 3000 calories from the breakfast by lunch time, but now we're still eating them and our lifestyles are *ahem* somewhat different... the author of the article persuaded a truck-driver to swap his daily fry-up for porridge and the guy lost a stone and a half in a fortnight

I'm guessing similar things could be said of the origins of the hearty American breakfast...

i had to look up what a stone is but good god!! he must have been quite the husky fellow!!