Following Local Traditions
The United States is the only industrialized country without
government-mandatedvacation time. Employees in U.S. firms average
just two weeks of vacation per year. In contras~ their European
counterparts receive an average of five to six weeks of vacation annually.
Countries such as Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and
others have regulations that guarantee workers at least a month of
paid annual vacation. It is, therefore, not surprising that U.S workers
are likely to work about 250 more hours than workers in Western
Europe. While many U.S. managers see the European vacation as
excessive, European managers counter that U.S. organizations have
misplaced goals.