This year we will have 14 extra days of rest. Is this good or bad for the country's economy? Our views differ. In winter, you can often hear politicians and economists saying that a long weekend is an unacceptable luxury, resulting in huge losses for the national economy. Opponents argue that rest is a guarantee of the employee's physical and mental health, while a more efficient workforce is a boon for the economy. What do the statistics say? Contrary to popular belief, Russia is not the leader in the number of days of paid rest. Yes, we have a lot of holidays, but as far as recreation is concerned, there are better countries. According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Austria and Malta are the most "idle" countries - with 38 days of rest a year (including public holidays, as well as holidays excluding weekends paid by the employer). But Canada and the Philippines are countries of forced workaholics: there are only 19 and 20 days of rest here, respectively. Russia in the Mercer rating with 32 days of rest (vacation 20 working days and 12 weekends-holidays in 2011) is placed in the middle next to the Czech Republic, Latvia, Morocco and Malaysia. There is no correlation between the level of economic development of a country and the number of days of paid rest. In the southernmost country in Europe, Malta, per capita in 2011 accounted for 21.2 thousand dollars of national gross product. In Austria, which shares the Maltese love of recreation, - 49.6 thousand dollars. Almost the same amount - 50.3 thousand - in Canada. Despite the fact that they rest there twice as much. But the Philippines shows a sad 2.4 thousand dollars of GDP per capita. Some successful states do not even consider it necessary to provide citizens with a long vacation. So, in the United States, there is no statutory minimum leave paid by the employer, and 10% of companies use this opportunity to avoid paying extra. Firms that are more loyal to the staff are willing to pay an employee 10 or even ... Read more