It's amazing how reading your articles always makes me think deeper about stuff (and I always think deep).
The issues you put on the center of the discussion and your way of expressing things are relevant to how people think about things in this still not very established way of working: remote.
Regarding this specific article about public holidays, I have 3 comments (having had the experience of working in an office, remote and now as a freelance):
- I can't believe Canada has 5 (only five!) days, that's new and surprising information for me (I'm based in Argentina and we have an average of 20 days every year).
- I worked for a remote company and they gave us 8 days, and I suffered a lot because my husband worked for an Argentinian company and by the first half of the year he had enjoyed 10 days off due to public holidays while I'd been able to take only 3.
- I think that having people off while others are working is just part of being remote. If you're going to hire people all around the world (and enjoy all the benefits that we already know come with it), you need to also get used to the """"negative"""" things, like different public holidays. It happens with the yearly time off, too, so.....
Also, we know that remote work proposes a policy more based in objectives than in the hours you put, so I still think that having people take their public holidays while others are working, doesn't have a negative impact at all.
Also, my personal opinion is that North America has an exaggeratedly demanding way of working, which results in being extremely productive (but that also frequently leads to burnout), but again, that's my personal experience after having worked for a Canadian company with clients in the US. You people need to relax a little hahaha.
Always a pleasure to read you, Stefan! There's so much value in what you do, so thank you for that :).
Hey! Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment.
re: Canada - it's technically only 5 federal stat holidays, but with provincial stat days (each province is slightly different) I think it's 8-9 in reality. For instance, I live in Ontario, which has 9. Still far lower than a lot of other countries, though!
re: Thanks for sharing your experience about you vs your husband when it comes to public holidays. That's exactly the kind of challenge that got me wondering if they even matter from an administrative standpoint, but they clearly matter from a cultural standpoint.
re: Valid point about the "negatives" of having different public holidays. Even with some overlapping holidays, I can imagine if you gave everyone all the same public days off it would amount to 35-40+ days a year, which I don't think is feasible on top of vacation requirements.
Definitely agree with you that remote forces you to think more consciously of what's being done versus the hours you're "present." In that sense, there should be a more open mentality to taking more time off if you're accomplishing the right things.
Re: North America... I tend to agree. We are incrementally more productive, but at what cost? Sometimes it feels like the North American work ethic is to work people to the bone and work so hard we cause problems - which we then reframe as "opportunities" for other entrepreneurs. It's an interesting way to 'make the whole pie bigger' as economists say
It's amazing how reading your articles always makes me think deeper about stuff (and I always think deep).
The issues you put on the center of the discussion and your way of expressing things are relevant to how people think about things in this still not very established way of working: remote.
Regarding this specific article about public holidays, I have 3 comments (having had the experience of working in an office, remote and now as a freelance):
- I can't believe Canada has 5 (only five!) days, that's new and surprising information for me (I'm based in Argentina and we have an average of 20 days every year).
- I worked for a remote company and they gave us 8 days, and I suffered a lot because my husband worked for an Argentinian company and by the first half of the year he had enjoyed 10 days off due to public holidays while I'd been able to take only 3.
- I think that having people off while others are working is just part of being remote. If you're going to hire people all around the world (and enjoy all the benefits that we already know come with it), you need to also get used to the """"negative"""" things, like different public holidays. It happens with the yearly time off, too, so.....
Also, we know that remote work proposes a policy more based in objectives than in the hours you put, so I still think that having people take their public holidays while others are working, doesn't have a negative impact at all.
Also, my personal opinion is that North America has an exaggeratedly demanding way of working, which results in being extremely productive (but that also frequently leads to burnout), but again, that's my personal experience after having worked for a Canadian company with clients in the US. You people need to relax a little hahaha.
Always a pleasure to read you, Stefan! There's so much value in what you do, so thank you for that :).
Best,
Ayelén
Hey! Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment.
re: Canada - it's technically only 5 federal stat holidays, but with provincial stat days (each province is slightly different) I think it's 8-9 in reality. For instance, I live in Ontario, which has 9. Still far lower than a lot of other countries, though!
re: Thanks for sharing your experience about you vs your husband when it comes to public holidays. That's exactly the kind of challenge that got me wondering if they even matter from an administrative standpoint, but they clearly matter from a cultural standpoint.
re: Valid point about the "negatives" of having different public holidays. Even with some overlapping holidays, I can imagine if you gave everyone all the same public days off it would amount to 35-40+ days a year, which I don't think is feasible on top of vacation requirements.
Definitely agree with you that remote forces you to think more consciously of what's being done versus the hours you're "present." In that sense, there should be a more open mentality to taking more time off if you're accomplishing the right things.
Re: North America... I tend to agree. We are incrementally more productive, but at what cost? Sometimes it feels like the North American work ethic is to work people to the bone and work so hard we cause problems - which we then reframe as "opportunities" for other entrepreneurs. It's an interesting way to 'make the whole pie bigger' as economists say