Traveling the World on Your Company's Dime

A friend of mine at MIT is currently travelling the world documenting other MIT students as they work on their fellowship programs in less developed countries.

Check it out at csk07.blogspot.com

I don't know where you work but you are kidding yourself to think that most companies offer a minimum of four weeks vacation. People our age need a realty check. While I am also going through a conundrum of emotions including feeling like corporate America is sucking my youth away, I realize that four week vacations are earned. Gen Y has a bad name amoung anyone not in it and I have to agree with a lot of the qualities that people dislike, including thinking we deserve everything including paid-for flights every other year. Nice thought but keep dreaming.

I agree. As nice as it would be, it's not going to happen. And it shouldn't.

As much as I want to roll my eyes every time someone mentions paying dues, some things are earned and need to be earned. Otherwise when we're 50 (and someday we will be) we'll be demotivated by the fact that not only are we still getting the same benefits we got when we started (because the company can't afford more) but it's also the same package the young kids are getting when they walk in.

I don't want anything handed to me. I want to earn it. And I know that I'm not worth enough to any company yet to earn 4 weeks vacation and free flights.

We need to be careful about expecting such things if we really want older generations to take us seriously and stop acting like we're entitled to whatever we want.

Hey guys, thanks for the comments, but I completely disagree. The United States is at the very bottom of the ladder when it comes to vacation days. Highly productive countries in Europe offer more than a month of vacation time. We need to get it through our heads that just because that is how things have been, it doesn't mean they need to stay like that. I can accomplish some work on vacation and if I get more time off, I will be much more productive and happy when I do work. Don't let baby boomers or the negative media view of our generation make you think things can't or shouldn't be different.

See here for vacation stats. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922052.html

Ryan I actually completely agree with you. I'm 24 and currently working in my first "real" post-college job. Its full-time but I get paid hourly.

I think your idea regarding travelling is great. See, I'm quitting my job next month to travel. My work (for the govt) doesn't give me my 12 days vacation until I've worked there a year. A YEAR!! I have no desire to be miserable at a desk for 8 hours a day waiting and waiting for some time off. No thanks.

A lot of the disparities between this generation's thoughts towards work and the previous generations revolve around the conflicting messages. When we heard "follow your heart" and "do what you love", where was "sit at a desk for 40 years and pay your dues in order to get a good retirement?" I'll pass on that one.

"You don't own me or my time. You own my output and the work I do for your company. And that is all."

I love it. I've been following your blog for a while, and that line deserves a comment.

Very interesting post! I work for a nonprofit, who compensates me for lousy pay with an immense amount of vacation time – three weeks of vacation plus 10 paid holidays each year. My mom finds this outrageous given how inexperienced I am with the company; she worked 20 years before getting three weeks vacation. Ironically, I make so little money that I can never afford to travel. I would happily trade a week of paid vacation for a week of paid travel somewhere else, and check my email daily while I was there.

"People our age need a realty check… four week vacations are earned." – Ashley

"I don't want anything handed to me. I want to earn it. And I know that I'm not worth enough to any company yet to earn 4 weeks vacation and free flights." – Jacqui

If you two aren't "earning" 4 weeks in your current positions, maybe it's time for you to find new jobs. There are PLENTY of employers in a wide range of indusries who offer new hires 4 weeks and more of vacation… To say that an entire demographic hasn't "earned" its right to time off due to its age or length of work experience is completely absurd.

If your employers offered a comp package that included 6 weeks of vacation per year, would you magnanimously refuse 4 or 5 of them? Doubtful…

Ryan,

thanks for the comment. i certainly wouldn't turn down 6 weeks of vacation!
Just to clear things up, Ryan is not Ryan Healy or Ryan Paugh.

Ryan Healy: "Highly Productive Countires in Europe offer more than a month of vacation time"

Which "highly productive countries would they be? US ranks at the top for productivity (GDP/population) except for the tiny country of Luxembourg : http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_ove_pro_ppp-economy-overall-productivity-ppp

Luxembourg itself offers 25 vacation days, and outranks the US in productivity. http://www.mercerhr.com/pressrelease/details.jhtml/dynamic/idContent/1267495

But wait! Luxembourg is a tax haven and gets more than a quarter of its revenue from it's banks. And 60% of its population doesn't live there, but commutes from other companies. So this skews the GDP/Population equation. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070609080204AAqMw6g

So sure, we could get more vacation time. But our productivity and standard of living would go waaaaay down.

TANSTAAFL : There ain't no such thing as a free lunch!

I just came back from a six month assignment to southern China — the manufacturing center of the world. There are plenty of opportunities for people if they look for them – and learning Chinese is a plus, but not a must. Expat pay is a huge grey area though that I would warn people to tread carefully through.

What kind of cannabis are you smoking, Ryan? You want four weeks off and you will probably quit within a year, anyway….. I would pay good money to see your blog posts ten years from now – when you get a dose of the real world. And as far as the standard "this is just crap coming from another boomer" reply I will probably get, I am a Gen X/Y border person but someone who has just gotten tired of reading all the naive, self-indulgent nonsense that blogs allow so-called "experts" such as yourself to spout. Businesses exist to make money – not cater to your needs. They will do what they need to attract talent, but no more. Name three industries besides education thet offer 4 weeks off to a brand new hire. Another article that reinforces the Gen Y "me me me" stereotype.

"Europe" and "highly productive" in the same sentence is hilarious. I just got back from living there – so don't tell me I do not know what I am talking about. The US is the most high;y productive major country in the world, and it go tthere by not offering the huge social welfare net the EC does.

Mark:

We also have the highest rate of depression in the world.

-Goo

Tyson:

If you read that article about depression all the way to the end, you would have seen that the difference in rates could be due to data differences. For example, in asian countries, mental illness is more likely classified as a physical ailment, not a mental one. And in poorer countries, mental illnes is stigmatized, so a person is less likely admit to it or get treatment.

Definitely "could be"…but is it? I guess we don't know. But why not point it out?

At my company you have to work for 2 years to get three weeks of vacation. Once you hit the 7 year mark, you get four weeks of vacation, and after that, no more than 4 weeks. One of the girls in the office says once you hit 7 years, you're a lifer, because no one wants to lose their 4 weeks.

I just want to freelance and be free of all this corporate drama.

This is classic…20 year olds whining about being disrespected by corporate America while nearly all of the messages above where sent during work hours presumably on work PCs.

Stop surfing the web while you are being paid to perform a job. Start looking for ways to add value to the organization. Everything else, including vacation time, will take care of itself.

If you don't like it…quit.

Lindsay,
Take note from the BossMan, quit and stop whining

Boss Man,

This is classic, another baby boomer assuming 9-5 are "work" hours. It's 2007.

This is a fascinating discussion on generational differences in the workplace. I just recently left a job working at a Consumer Foods company that offered best in class benefits offered to all employees. They just recently offered 4 weeks vacation (2 weeks paid, 2 weeks unpaid) for all starting employees plus a chance to earn an additional week after 5 years. They also added a sabbatical option for employees who have put in 7 years. Even as an Xer, this seems pretty fair to me. While I love to travel and work abroad (hence why I left), the biggest benefit I had was working from home. Additional vacation time is mainly needed when you are in an office environment that has required work hours. I would gladly give back the 2 unpaid vacation weeks for a job working at home. Furthermore, I wouldn't expect a company to grant me vacation days for traveling, regardless of the altruistic benefits.

I find more fault in corporate America in granting young employees positions abroad vs. additional vacation days to travel abroad.

I cannot stay away from the Generational debats going on in the workplace! I love it. it fascinates me. mostly because I see points on both sides. I straddle the fence between Gen X&Y (though I think I'm way more Y than anything) and I am totally intrigued by this new way of thinking the Millennials are bringing to the table.

In just a few weeks my company is sending me to Switzerland for two weeks, for work. I will be working at our headquarters over there, and more than likely, getting a first-rate tour of the country and surrounding areas. My company considers this part of the "experience" of coming to work over there – and yes, in Europe, they take long lunches, they have much more vacation (most companies are closed completely for 2 weeks during the summer and another week or so around the holidays), and also work extremely hard. The U.S. should take a cue from this mindset.

Anyway back to the trip – I also take every opportunity I can, when discussing with my friends or those just entering the job market – think outside the box when it comes to company perks and benefits. My job isn't particularly glam – I work in marketing in the manufacturing industry – but I get the most incredible perks (like travelling to Europe) and a lot of freedom in my day-to-day work that I absolutely would not get at a huge company. And I wouldn't have had any idea this existed if I hadn't just taken this job on a leap of faith. I think it really pays to NOT follow the crowd and to NOT settle until you find what works for you.

[...] Since the advantage is ours, however, let's use it, and to negotiate more than extra vacation time: [...]

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