Give us a break
More holiday time would make happier, more productive workers
BY Barbara Byers
The day after his government was re-elected, Premier Dalton McGuinty celebrated by giving everybody the third Monday in February off, making Ontario the third province, after Alberta and Saskatchewan, to grant its citizens a winter long weekend.
Despite the expected Scrooge-like grumbling from employers claiming the extra holiday will cost them money and complaints from Chambers of Commerce that they were not given a chance to object in advance, there is no doubt working people in Ontario deserve more vacation time. But then again, so do all Canadians.
While it varies by province, Canadians on average enjoy eight statutory holidays and two weeks of paid vacation a year, with many receiving three weeks after five or more years of service. Compare this to British, German and Dutch workers, who look forward to four weeks’ paid vacation. The Scandinavian countries are particularly generous, with Danish and Finnish workers receiving a whopping 30 vacation days after one year of service. Interestingly, all of these countries have higher Global Competitiveness Rankings than Canada, which in 2007/2008 ranked 13th.
While there’s no way to guarantee that more vacation time would lead to more productivity, it is something that Canadian workers feel they need more of. A recent survey by Angus Reid showed that 75 percent of Canadians wanted employment laws changed to provide longer minimum vacation times, while half would take extra vacation time over an increase in pay.
Giving every Canadian worker another long weekend would clearly be welcomed. One more day—just one—is not too much to demand. Neither is a new, country-wide standard that sees every Canadian entitled to the same minimum amount of paid time away from work to rest, recharge and enjoy the things that really matter. The results of such a standard would certainly be a boost for Canadian workers and maybe even the economy.
