General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why do we work harder than Germans? [View all]KitSileya
(4,035 posts)They may be paid the same as American workers, but they don't have to pay for health care, or university (probably), have better tax systems (more deductions for those who earn less), perhaps the housing costs are less - the transport costs are definitely lower, as most all towns have public transport. And so on, and so on.
Personally, I don't think I could work in the US - I see my friends working 80+hr work weeks every summer (I am a teacher, and spend my summer vacation in the US) and they feel they cannot take their measly 2 weeks of vacation consecutively for fear of their jobs. They have hardly any sick leave, no job security, a work environment that is brutal in its demands, and they feel they have it good! (Most work in IT, one's a teacher, another is middle management in a huge US company, one works freelance/is building their own company.) All have at least one degree.
Why would I swap a 1687,5hr work year, health care, a salary that's well above the median, 24 sick days (not counting doctor-mandated sick leave, which means if the doctor thinks I cannot work, I get paid those days and they're not taken from the 24 sick days,) a tax burden of 36%, no problems being unionized, proper salary negotiations done nationally every other year, sturdy worker's rights, and public transport? Granted, as a teacher, I have only 4 weeks vacation instead of the usual 5, and the rest are time worked (which means if I should get doctor-mandated sick leave during summer, I can only get 4 weeks vacation back at a later date, not 5 if I'm sick the entire period, but....) Of course, that's Norway, not Germany, but those Northern European countries are pretty similar.