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Should Canada do better than last-place for stat holidays?
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Should Canada do better than last-place for stat holidays?
As the first long weekend of the summer season approaches, Canadians across the country are undoubtedly planning how they will spend the precious holiday. But in light of a study that says Canadians are entitled to the fewest number of holidays of any developed nation, should we be lobbying for more days off?
A couple of American roller coaster enthusiasts took their time-off deficit in hand with the launch of a "Roller Coaster Day" Monday, in which they encourage others to simply "take a day off of your usual routine to do something fun."
Their idea may be little more than glorified truancy, but it speaks to an issue that should have even more resonance north of the border. After all, employees in Canada get just 9 officially mandated public holidays while workers in the hemisphere's most generous jurisdiction, Venezuela, enjoy 24.
According to the study from global employer consulting firm Mercer, Canada ranks last among developing nations when it comes to public holidays.
Workers in Western European countries, for example, have access to the greatest number of statutory paid holidays in the world, with Denmark, Poland, Austria, Greece and other nations offering employees between 34 and 39 official vacation days.
The survey, published in December of 2011, also makes an interesting connection between time off and national productivity.
"Germany has lots of holidays and it has a very productive work force," Huffington Post writer Daniel Tencer told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.
Of the 62 countries surveyed, Tencer noted, Germany offers 29 statutory holidays to workers -- and still enjoys a robust economy despite all that time off the job.
The implication, said Tencer, is that there is something to be said for giving workers more time off to refresh their minds and bodies in today's economy.
"Communication technology has broken down the barriers between home and the office. Work is almost becoming a 24/7 phenomenon," said Tencer.
The data, culled from Mercer's Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines, is used by multinationals to co-ordinate their employee benefit policies among the countries in which they operate.
The report also highlights Brazil, where employees not only get 34 statutory holidays, they also have the right to "sell" the time back to employers.
"You can sell days back for extra pay," said Tencer.
"In order for a system like that work you'd have to have more time than what we get in Canada," he said.
Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120515/canadians-numberofholidays-survey-daniel-tencer-huffington-post-mercer-120515/#ixzz1uy2e2Wcp
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