I’m an American living in Australia and this is the strangest thing I’ve noticed about the holidays Down Under
An American living in Australia has shared her shock at the amount of time Down Under workers take off over the Christmas period.
Brooke Laven said she was “astounded” that Australians who work full-time get four to six weeks of paid leave a year.
She said most of her colleagues take a month off at Christmas and her employers have encouraged her to take some of her leave.
“Everyone in Australia is getting ready to go on holiday in the next month and as an American I still find it mind-boggling because we get about 11 days of paid holiday a year,” Brooke said in a video.
'In the US I was discouraged from using holidays and now in Australia it's the exact opposite.'
Brooke Laven (pictured) has moved from the US to Australia and is surprised at how much paid leave Australian workers are entitled to during the festive season
Brooke said American workers will get an additional four days of paid leave after working at the same company for five years. After ten years they receive a total of seventeen vacation days.
The expat said she hasn't worked in a non-freelance role in the US in more than seven years and remembers “cashing in” her leave as she hadn't used it all by the time she left her last US job left.
“Today I saw the statistic that said only half of Americans, less than half of Americans, 48 percent, use all their vacation days,” she said.
'I'm preparing for a week off and that's less than all my colleagues, and I was honestly quite pressured to take a week off for mental health reasons.'
Brooke said American workers average 11 vacation days a year and only get more if they stay with the same company for five or 10 years.
Part-time and full-time employees in Australia are entitled to a minimum of four weeks of paid leave, depending on the number of hours they work per week under the law. Ombudsmen for Fair Work.
'The work culture here is so different. It feels strange not to feel guilty for taking a week off,” Brooke added.
Brooke's video sparked debate among viewers.
“And usually two weeks of that (at Christmas) is mandatory leave,” one user explained.
“Work-life balance is important in Australia,” one man wrote.
“My mother has just returned from holiday and she has another week off and is receiving leave allowance for her time off,” said a third.
“Wait until you realize that work doesn't actually happen until after Australia Day, January 26, and that's when the working year really starts,” someone added.