After a year of service, the typical American receives 10 vacation days, all of which are paid holidays like Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. When left to the discretion of employers, the typical American worker receives an additional 11 days of paid vacation during their first year of employment.
In the meantime, it's common for employees in many nations, notably in Europe, to take extended holidays. Many can thank the early 1990s passage of the European Union Working Time Directive, which mandates at least 20 working days of paid vacation in every EU member state.
Many nations go one step further and provide employees with more than a month's worth of workdays worth of vacation time each year by legislation. Not included are paid public holidays, which in some nations, like Spain, can entitle workers to an additional 14 paid days off per year.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the following nine European nations provide employees with more than one month of paid vacation time per year:
France offers 30 paid vacation days annually.
28 days of paid vacation per year in the United Kingdom
25 days of paid vacation per year in Austria
Denmark offers paid vacation days of 25 per year.
Finland offers paid vacation days of 25 per year.
Norway offers paid vacation days of 25 per year.
Spain offers paid vacation days of 25 per year.
Sweden offers paid vacation days of 25 each year.
Portugal offers 22 paid vacation days annually.
Given the importance placed on relaxation in Europe, many employees receive additional paid vacation days from their employers.
Kimberly Sorce, 32, who now lives in Sweden but was born and raised in New Jersey, works for a digital company. She is legally entitled to 25 paid vacation days in Sweden, but her company gives her an additional few days to make it up to 30 paid days.
To make sure employees are taking vacations from work, some companies mandate a set number of vacation days. Lene Vindenes, 28, receives 25 paid vacation days annually from her employer in Norway, and she is required to take three weeks off throughout the summer, from June to August.