Vacation Time

In the Daily Texan, Leah Kashar did an editorial on mental health and how students need vacations. The title of this opinion piece was called Vacations necessary for students' mental health. Leah Kasha, the author, is directing her argument towards the United States, especially their colleges, and is making them their intended audience. We know that Kashar has made them her intended audience because she specifically specifies it in her editorial. She states " The United States’ culture values work much more than it does breaks, which are seen as unproductive. Other countries boast siestas, two-hour long lunches and 40, yes 40, days of paid vacation." From this statement we can understand that she is comparing the United States to other countries whose footsteps we should be following. Kashar's credibility comes from a company called the Fast Company who experimented with unlimited paid vacation time. The results might be surprising to many of us because we do not offer this kind of luxury. "People did not increase the number of days they took off despite the ability to do so. Rather, they found that their employees trusted the company more because they saw that the company viewed them holistically rather than simply as workers. They saw the company as more compassionate towards their personhood." She also used percentages to demonstrate that allowing more paid vacation days makes a difference. Kashar claims that people who take more vacations tend to have lower stress and suggests that UT should make a policy where breaks, such as spring break, are a more effective stress relieving experience. The evidence that Kashar has to back up with this claim is the evidenced from other countries. She stated that when we are given paid vacation, or longer breaks, we tend to respect our employer more and that we feel we are viewed more holistically and that we are also more compassionate. I would agree with Kashar's editorial partially because, well, I am a student who would love a stress free break and just longer breaks especially if it meant my health would be better. But I also think this is logical because if this works for many, maybe even most, other countries and lowers stress levels as well as increases respect in the work place then why could it not work for us?