From MSNBC comes this interesting analsysis, which puts far too little emphasis on the mandatory aspect of European job benefits: “According to a recent Expedia.com study on U.S. vacation habits, Americans were allowed an average of 16 vacation days in 2002, but most only took 14 days off, handing back more than $21 billion in unused vacation days to their employers. In most European nations, by contrast, an average of about 30 vacation days is the norm, and so are shorter work weeks.”
