I’m a 31M. I’ve been working for a corporation for 9 years. My 20s were sacrificed to college and paying off all my debt. Now that I’m in my 30s, I feel like I’m finally starting to bloom as a person. Unfortunately, corporate America does not provide anything close to sufficient work/life balance.
I currently get 3 weeks of vacation out of 52 weeks in a year. Upon my 10 year anniversary that will become 4 weeks. That doesn’t sound awful on the surface, but it’s really not much. If I want to visit my family and friends around the country and actually get time to disconnect (a full week or 2 off, not just a 3 day weekend), I run out of PTO very quickly. And oh yeah, we don’t get sick days.
Throughout the year I have to be extremely conscientious about how I use my 15 days. Work through sickness so I can attend my best friend’s bachelor party and wedding, go on a trip with my friends, spend time with my parents, etc. If given the choice, I’d gladly sacrifice 20% of my salary for an extra 9 weeks or so off.
I still have some fun during the year, but like 92% of my weeks are working 5 days a week. That’s fucking ridiculous when you really think about it. It makes me want to consider quitting the corporate life in a few years when I’m more financially comfortable and getting a part time job that includes insurance. Anything to give me extra free time from week to week.
TLDR; the lack of time off in the US isn’t talked about enough. It’s really bad.