Yours is not an extreme case at all. In fact, this is standard fare in the industry, but nobody wants to admit it happens to them because it's embarrassing.
Europe has very strict vacation policy (mandated 5-6 weeks), healthcare benefits and employee protections (hours worked, overtime pay, etc). I wonder why that is? Western Europe isn't exactly a developing region. Maybe they realized that you can't give employers all the power and expect them to act benevolently at the expense of profit.
American work laws are dystopian. Being an employee in the USA is sheer stupidity. PG says as much during his essays. I always find the "Who's hiring" threads comically ironic on HN.
We're here not to be employees, but to become entrepreneurs.
I always find the "Who's hiring" threads comically ironic on HN.
We're here not to be employees, but to become entrepreneurs.
And you don't find ironic the fact that most entrepreneurs need employees (that are usually paid substantially less than the value they create, in line with all other companies).
There are lots of thing in that comment that indicate it is not a USA based employee at all. For instance, I don't know of any jurisdiction in the USA that has a vacation mandate.
So, that isn't to say that USA's work laws are good, only that European style work laws are not enough to prevent abuse.
The difference is that if Europe/Canadian workplace laws are being violated, you have recourse, which means you don't have to choose between 'whatever the employer decides to require' and 'quit my job and suddenly have no income'.
Comments
Yours is not an extreme case at all. In fact, this is standard fare in the industry, but nobody wants to admit it happens to them because it's embarrassing.
Europe has very strict vacation policy (mandated 5-6 weeks), healthcare benefits and employee protections (hours worked, overtime pay, etc). I wonder why that is? Western Europe isn't exactly a developing region. Maybe they realized that you can't give employers all the power and expect them to act benevolently at the expense of profit.
American work laws are dystopian. Being an employee in the USA is sheer stupidity. PG says as much during his essays. I always find the "Who's hiring" threads comically ironic on HN.
We're here not to be employees, but to become entrepreneurs.
And you don't find ironic the fact that most entrepreneurs need employees (that are usually paid substantially less than the value they create, in line with all other companies).
There are lots of thing in that comment that indicate it is not a USA based employee at all. For instance, I don't know of any jurisdiction in the USA that has a vacation mandate.
So, that isn't to say that USA's work laws are good, only that European style work laws are not enough to prevent abuse.
The difference is that if Europe/Canadian workplace laws are being violated, you have recourse, which means you don't have to choose between 'whatever the employer decides to require' and 'quit my job and suddenly have no income'.