On this Aloha Friday in late summer, you may be thinking about the weekend…or even vacation. While the week leading up to Labor Day means time off for some Americans, it’s a different story in many parts of Asia. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
As the month of August winds down, so does traditional summer vacation time—a topical issue in Asia. In South Korea and Japan, governments are encouraging workers to take more time off, while in Singapore, there are calls for companies to give more vacation time.
First, a little context. The online travel agency Expedia does an annual survey about vacation time—how much is granted and how much is taken. The global average: a little more than 20 days off. Americans get about 15 days off, but take about 14. South Koreans are granted 15 days off…but actually take less than half of that time. Most Japanese get 20 days off on paper, but in reality also take about half their vacation days.
At the other end of the scale, the French get thirty days off…and most take every single one of them. Some South Korean companies are making adjustments. The Financial Times reports several companies including Doosan, SK Energy and Shinhan Bank have started to make employees take two weeks off a year. In Singapore, a recent graduate student essay in a contest complained about the country’s obsession with what he calls “face-time culture”, the idea that an employer judges a worker’s productivity by how long they stay in the office.
