During a tea with members of the media in Taipei on Aug. 20, which marked the three-month anniversary of her inauguration, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) reiterated her administration’s commitment to “fix problems,” including the nation’s oft-exploited “job responsibility system” and long working hours.
Tsai said that the regulations and requirements set forth in the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) should be deemed as the minimum standards. She also drew attention to each individual’s need to take an extended vacation at least once a year — which is often neglected or appears as a far-fetched dream for most workers.
“Regardless of what industry you are in and your seniority in the company, we should all ponder the idea of taking some time off from work each year to rest. We must start thinking about [implementing] a system of extended vacations,” Tsai said.
The president said such a proposal warranted serious consideration, particularly in a stress-laden society like Taiwan, and she urged management and workers to talk about the issue.
According to Article 38 of the act, an employee is entitled to seven days’ annual leave with pay after working for more than one year and less than three years. Annual leave days increase in line with years of service — up to a maximum of 30 days per year.
In theory, the act ensures that an employee with one year of work experience can enjoy, ideally, an extended vacation of nine days, which includes the seven days’ annual leave plus the regular two days off per week.
However, in practice, most employees either fall victim to peer pressure or are deterred by superiors’ subtle hints from using their annual leave.
According to an opinion poll conducted by 1111 Job Bank in November 2013, about 61 percent of the respondents said they had annual leaves, with an average of 11 days per year. Yet with only one month left before their leaves were set to expire, just 13 percent of respondents said they had used all their days off; 87 percent had used some of their leave; and 7 percent were not planning to take any leave.
Asked why they still had unused annual leave days, 25.6 percent of respondents said they were too busy with work, 20.5 percent cited insufficient manpower at work and 14.5 percent said they were discouraged from taking leave because of the “corporate culture.”
Among those who did use their annual leave, only half said they took a short trip. About 38 percent used their leave to rest at home, 37.6 percent used it to run errands and 23 percent to recuperate from an illness. Only about 10 percent said they went on a long trip.
The figures suggest that a culture of indentured servitude — which pathologically expects employees to prize diligence and unselfish dedication to the company over spending quality time with friends and family — is one of the root causes of unhealthy employment conditions in Taiwan.
If there is no guarantee that even legally protected leaves can be used by employees, what the government should endeavor to change might not only be the legal system, but also the corporate mindset that the ability to stomach unreasonable requests and long working hours — euphemistically interpreted as a virtue — is the most valuable employee quality.
As the saying goes: “To rest is to prepare for a longer journey ahead.” Employers’ obsessive emphasis on whether an employee is willing to sacrifice everything for their job and still be able to grin and bear it will only backfire in terms of productivity and sustainability in the long run.
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