Holiday? What holiday?

So my immediate family members all got today off for the new Ontario Family Day statutory holiday, and I couldn’t be more pleased for them. The two DD’s both work their butts off in retail environments, so therefore normally they work every weekend, almost every religious holiday, and every other day that the G-man and I, being public servants, would get off. This means that aside from their 10 days vacation each year, they only get 3 statutory holidays: Christmas, Easter Monday, and the Provincial Civic Day. And rarely do they get 2 days in a row off either, let alone an actual weekend. So I am pleased that just as the February blahs hit full tilt, they get a well-deserved day off.

Me? Yup - I worked today. Yes. I know I’ve mentioned I’m a public servant, but strangely I am federally regulated despite working for the municipality and therefore not entitled to the Provincial holiday. Actually did you know that only about 82% of Ontario employees actually get the day off? Hummm. That doesn’t seem like everybody to me. And did you know that some people who get today off will have to trade it for another day they might have got off instead? Huh? How exactly does that translate in more quality time with family?

Me? Ya, I was looking forward to this extra day to spend with all of my family for a change - both DD’s are actually off, and it would be one of only 4 possible days where we might be all off at the same time. Sadly this is not to be. I am hoping that by next year, the regulations will have been sorted out and perhaps this holiday will be added to our list, but I won’t hold my breath. And I’m ok with the fact that some of you will undoubtedly remind me that I already have a great deal of extra days in relation to other Ontario workers, particularly in the private sector. Yes – I know that, and truly I’m not whining, merely observing the differences, and lamenting the missed opportunity to spend with my DD’s as they are going their own ways more and more with every passing day. You will at least begrudge me that from a maternal perspective, please.

In related thoughts, although I am often envied by friends for the number of statutory holidays I get off in general here (and rightly so in comparison to some as already mentioned above), I had cause to be seriously envious myself of mandatory vacation time recently, while speaking with some Brits during our recent vacation to St. Lucia. In England they apparently get approx. 26 plus days vacation time a year when starting a new job, plus 2 days every second year thereafter (to about 6 to 8 weeks max, depending on the company). How wide spread this is I can’t confirm, but as I understood the conversation, regarding vacation allocations to be uniformly relatively commonplace. In addition to that, they of course have what they call the bank holidays, the equivalent to our statutory holidays. However, most people there, get the bank holidays not just the government workers, as compared to our retail workers who work through most of our holidays, except for the three, now four, days as noted above.

I know from previously working for a German owned company, the same or better holds true for many German workers. Every August in the sweltering North American heat, we kept our plants across the continent churning, while in Germany most of our counter-parts would enjoy 4 weeks of down time, sunning in the south of France, Italy or Portugal. In addition, another 4 weeks taken throughout the winter, fall and spring were also enjoyed, for things like skiing the Alps. Even those who didn’t have the means or wherewithal to travel, enjoyed time with family and friends and cite it as an important part of their lifestyle and one they can’t imagine being without.

Now both England and Germany are seemingly prosperous countries, and there seems to be little in the way of economic impact from the extensive time off, and the Brits I spoke with appear rested and fit from their vacations, although I admit I do not know what business owners think of that time that they must give employees off. I wonder at the positive impact on the health care – would there be less stress, exhaustion or burn-out related claims? These countries seem to function just fine with all these people enjoying their extended recuperation periods. It was interesting to note that in both my encounters with the various Europeans groups, they expressed their disbelief at the precious little amount of time we Canadians, being only slightly ahead of our American friends in this regard, are given to spend with family and recharge our batteries so to speak and wonder how we manage our both our young and ageing family members. It’s a good question! One we should as employees in all sectors give careful consideration to. If we had sufficient time to recuperate each year or mange family responsibilities, would our rising national health crisis in the areas of heart and stroke, mental health, and other socio-health concerns known to be influenced by work, see a sharp decrease for the better?

No don’t get me wrong, I think working hard is good for a body, and I am not advocating that we get 6 weeks a year starting tomorrow, although that might be fun! But playing hard is also good for us too. I recognize and even perhaps understand a little bit the economic change that would bring to business owners, especially small ones, if such a plan was implemented without care. But still, doesn’t it make you wonder how other countries do it? I sure do.

Something to think about as you pick up your knitting today, on your new Family Day holiday. I hope you enjoyed it!

Knit on…….