College Student Shocked by Reality of Full-Time Job Goes Viral: ‘Wild’

A college student has gone viral after realizing the harsh reality of full-time work in America.

The Redditor, u/securityimpossible50, shared their bewilderment in the “No Stupid Questions” subreddit about vacation time, garnering 6,700 upvotes.

“Does one week of vacation mean you work the other 51 weeks?” they asked.

They elaborated further: “This is a really dumb one but the concept is wild to me. I was interviewing at a company that said you’re allowed 1 week of vacation. Does that literally mean you can’t call out any other days other than like 3 sick days?

“I’ve only worked part-time jobs as I’m in college. I’m just realizing how crazy it is to work that much just to pay bills and have no free time…”

The Reality of PTO in the U.S.

Compared to other developed nations, the United States offers some of the weakest employment rights when it comes to paid time off.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require private employers to provide vacation time, making PTO policies entirely at an employer’s discretion. According to a report from Foothold America, while some companies offer generous leave policies, the national average for paid vacation is 11 days per year.

In contrast, European countries typically offer 20 to 30 days as a legal minimum, with additional paid holidays.

Expert Insight

Robert Bird, Professor of Business Law and Eversource Energy Chair in Business Ethics at the University of Connecticut told Newsweek: “Limited PTO encourages employee burnout. It gives employees limited opportunity to recharge away from work. Limited PTO also discourages a healthy work-life balance between professional obligations and personal obligations such as being a caregiver to children or aging parents.

“This often falls disproportionately on women who shoulder the majority of caregiving obligations in a family. Employees who are dissatisfied with their working conditions may leave and take their human capital with them.

“An overworked employee may be physically present at work but will not be able to offer their best productivity and creativity to their employer,” he said.

Bird also notes that U.S. employment law treats jobs as contracts between equals, assuming employees can negotiate for better PTO. However, in reality, employers hold more bargaining power and can simply hire someone willing to accept minimal leave. This imbalance contributes to some of the weakest employment protections in the developed world.

Bird advises: “Employees can best negotiate for better PTO benefits at major work events, such as when they are hired, promoted, or transferred to another position. However, employers are under no obligation to give more PTO benefits than what is legally required. In this case, the most effective way for an employee to get such benefits is to leave their current employer and find one that values work-life balance.”

Redditors Weigh In

The discussion sparked a flood of reactions, with many users expressing disbelief at how little paid time off Americans receive.

“Yep, that’s what that means. And yes, it is crazy,” said one user.

“That honestly sounds horrible. I work in IT, corporate setting, and get 6 weeks vacation, 5 sick days… And can pretty much call in sick anytime I need to. And not just being ‘sick’ sick, like some days you just don’t feel like it,” another shared.

International users chimed in to compare their own experiences.

“This is wild to me. I come from Norway and at my company, you have 25 sick days and if you are sick for more days than that you can get a doctor’s note and then there’s no limit to sick days really. You keep 100% salary for a year. If you are sick beyond a year you will go on some sort of benefits,” wrote one commenter.

“Not to brag, but I get zero sick days plus I have to bring in a doctor’s note if I call off sick,” another user lamented.

“I worked at one place where it was 10 days vacation + public holidays, but I couldn’t take more than 4 days vacation at any one time,” added another.

“Yeah from Spain reading this thread is wild. Someone pointing out you have 2 days off a week, like it’s a perk. It’s the bare minimum.”

Newsweek reached out to u/securityimpossible50 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

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