Taking a break from work is essential. Not only does it provide quality time with family and friends, but it also allows us to step away and reset, returning to our jobs refreshed and clear-headed. And while studies tout the importance of taking time off, many U.S. companies still keep their employees on a tight leash, providing minimal vacation days. The result is a workforce that's often obliged to push through looming burnout in an effort to make it to that long-awaited (but never long enough) vacation.
The U.S. is renowned for its less than stellar work conditions in this area, but in an effort to see how it really stacks up, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a economic organization with 38 member countries, ran the numbers. The 2020 study is somewhat dated, but provides our best guess on how paid time off in the U.S. compares to other nations with advanced economies — from Australia and Austria to Chile and Canada.