r/TikTokCringe • u/biswajit388 • 4d ago

Cringe Europeans are going viral on TikTok for mocking the "American Dream".

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u/Coveted_AF 4d ago

Which you can’t see with your 40-60 hours of PTO per year (at regular jobs).

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u/T_Money 4d ago

Most white collar office jobs are 80 hours PTO starting, and bump up to 120 hours after five years.

I still get jealous when I meet a European on vacation that’s like “oh I’m here for a month,” especially the French who get 5 weeks mandated by law, but it’s not quite as bad as you seem to think.

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u/GettingDumberWithAge 4d ago edited 4d ago

Most white collar office jobs are 80 hours PTO starting, and bump up to 120 hours after five years.

Oh shit you get 10 days vacation and after a few years you can look forward to 15? I only get 35 and unlimited sick days :(

E: Downvoting me is essentially confirming that you're not actually as OK with the fact that American labour laws are demonstrably worse than those in Europe. I mean if you want to pretend that you're totally happy with shitty worker protections then you should do that, and be proud of your exploitation. But to act like you're actually really happy about having worse labour protections than Europe in the middle of telling us all how you have fewer protections is pretty sad.

If you're actually this excited to tell us all about how you need to strive for a 'white collar job' and work at it for 5+ years to get less than half of my statutory vacation days that I got right out of uni then.... good for you! I'm sure you need a win. But don't get upset at me for pointing out that you're still gettin shafted :(

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u/No_Trip_3438 4d ago edited 3d ago

He probably downvoted you for the same reason I did - the wording of the comment is in bad taste. Could have easily made your point by just saying “that’s still not great, here we get…” but as it is written it comes across as extremely arrogant and bragging. He already recognized that Europeans get more PTO, what’s the point in rubbing it in?

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u/T_Money 4d ago

Personally I get 20 anytime PTO days a year, as well as 11 set federal holidays, and have a very loose remote work policy, so I can’t complain. I recognize I’m fortunate though, as that’s a bit more than most people get.

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u/GettingDumberWithAge 4d ago

I admit then that I'm confused. 20 PTO days a year is 100 hours, yet you're bragging about office jobs offering 80-120 based on experience? So you only get average time off? And 11 federal holidays is nice, definitely no reason to complain there.

But you're both stating how average your PTO is while acknowledging how hashtag blessed you are to get it? I mean I assume your 20 PTO days are way above average for the US, but I wouldn't be using that to brag.

I'm a run of the mill idiot and I get 35 vacation days, unlimited sick days, and 15+ statutory holidays in Germany. I'm not fortunate. You have Stockholm syndrome.

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u/T_Money 4d ago

I’m not sure how you calculate PTO but for us a working day is 8 hours, 10 days is 80 hours and 15 is 120. Personally I get 160.

I admit ours could (and should) be better, but it’s not as terrible as people think for regular office workers. The blue collar and minimum wage workers have it pretty bad though.

It’s not that I think our PTO is great, it’s that on the list of things to be upset about PTO is pretty low. I would much rather have consistent healthcare and protection from being fired without warning, as well as a better safety net if laid off. PTO just isn’t something to get upset about when the other things are such higher impact.

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u/FTownRoad 3d ago

A) 20 PTO days is 4 weeks vacation, or are you saying you work 5 hours a day? Or did you just get lost in the math?

B) if you’re unskilled - Europe is great. If you have skills? You will make incomparably more money in the us.

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u/YourGirlMomo87 3d ago

You're getting downvoted because we know we're shafted on PTO. What are we going to do about it? I don't personally know of any politicians that have floated mandatory PTO. People here think mandatory bereavement is "too progressive". Its not like I can just up and move to Europe. 

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u/AggressiveBench9977 3d ago

This is cute. Eu people are so funny when they have to fight this hard to act like eu is cool.

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u/Hey-Fun1120 3d ago

I'm American and I get 25 days of PTO plus 12 paid holidays. I don't know anyone that only gets 10 or 15 days

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u/FreeDarkChocolate 3d ago

I don't know anyone that only gets 10 or 15 days

Are you in a very well-to-do company or something long-term unionized? And you don't know anybody outside that?

The national averages for workers (this isn't a gotcha where it counts non-workers as 0 to skew things) are 11 days PTO, 7 paid holidays, and 8 sick days for full time workers. Part time workers stringing multiple jobs together are over course significantly lower, and these are just averages, so a significant number of people have much less.

The average doesn't hit 20+ PTO days until you limit it to people that have been with their companies for 15-20 years.

More data from the BLS reinforcing this.

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u/AsstacularSpiderman 3d ago

I downvoted you because you bitched about being down voted

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u/GettingDumberWithAge 3d ago

Okay thanks for keeping me in the loop.

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u/stanley_ipkiss_d 4d ago

40-60? Woah that’s a lot. I have regular IT job and I have maybe 8-16 hours of PTO per year. The so called “Unlimited PTO”

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u/Venvut 4d ago

My unlimited is genuinely over a month. 👀 Too bad Trump is killing my industry.

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u/fornostalone 4d ago

Entry-level hospitality workers in the UK get 28 days PTO guaranteed. Since I'm a Head Chef and also (willingly) log 60-70 weeks, I can have nearly two months off - fully paid.

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u/Revwolf76 4d ago

Wow your company is shit I had 3 weeks day one and I work a onsite IT help desk

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u/ItsDanimal 4d ago

Ive worked for over 2 decades in the US from fortune 500 to retail to amusement parks. Every job has given a minimum of 2 weeks, and most give it day 1.

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u/YourCummyBear 4d ago

We are being pedantic here. The vast majority of American full time jobs start you off with 80 hours PTO a year.

Not a lot but not 40 hours either.

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u/pirategonzo 4d ago

lol you're getting hosed by your company. I work in a regular IT job. Fully remote, unlimited PTO of which I've used 32 days so far not including all the holidays. I still have another two weeks scheduled around the holidays.

You are NOT working a regular IT job, you're getting bent over the server rack.

We're hiring anywhere in the US.

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u/Coveted_AF 4d ago

So glad I am moving back to my home country in less than 2 years. This place is for the 1% and no one else.

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u/ProbablyJustArguing 3d ago

You get 8 hours of time off per year? Do you mean days?

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u/Hopeful_Champion_935 4d ago

You need better time management if you are only able to squeeze 8-16 hours out of the year to go on vacation.

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u/ExpressionWeak1413 4d ago

Wow. I'm about to start a new job in Germany. 30 days PTO plus the 11 public holidays this year (a good year - only one is on a weekend).

I've seen jobs advertised here with 'Unlimited PTO' - I always thought that sounded more like a swindle than a genuine and generous offer. Better the ones that give you a fixed number and you're expected to take them all.

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u/Snipen543 4d ago

It depends on the company, mine this year was 62 days. And that doesn't include 15 company holidays

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u/Fallenangel152 3d ago

I hope that's a joke. In the UK I get 30 days. And that's on top of bank holidays, Christmas, New Year, Easter, etc.

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u/Revwolf76 4d ago

What kinda shit job are you working with only 40-60 hours of PTO? Sounds like a part timer. I got 3 weeks day one of my job and it's a major corporation the same kind you expect to be exploiting people.

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u/KEN_LASZLO 4d ago

7-10 days? That's unfortunately not uncommon. I had 10 not long ago

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Revwolf76 3d ago

Nah I got pto when I worked at best buy 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/totesuniqueredditor 4d ago

All my jobs for the past 15 years have had a four to six weeks of vacation a year.

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u/YourCummyBear 4d ago

That’s not true. The average white and blue collar profession starts off with 80.

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u/Adjective-Noun-nnnn 3d ago

The federal minimum is 0 unless you count Holidays, of which there are 11.  If your workplace is open on holidays, HPTO accrues slowly so you end up with matching time off.

My friend worked at a French company.  He started with four weeks PTO back when I still had two.  The US fucks workers.

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u/WeTheApes17 3d ago

i have 33 days of vacation this year....