Japan 2 the world: Why Do We Need An Excuse To Take A Vacation?

20 years ago, Japanese people were well known as a workaholic and criticized as an "economic animal". Actually, Japanese worked too much without any vacation. Since then, Japanese government and social system have worked hard to make the working environment better and now Japan has much more official holidays than the other countries such as the US. However, it's still difficult for workers to take a vacation. I picked up some voices from the internet community. Original article is here.

No atmosphere to take a vacation. When I took a day off for a funeral, they asked for holiday work in return.
One guy needed to leave the company because the others criticized him for taking a vacation. The company is listed in the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange, though.
If I took a vacation, I would be regarded as a rebel.
"The purpose of a vacation is no concern of the Article 39 of the Labor Standards Act, it's warranted by the law as a freedom of all employees." - extracted from the supreme court's verdict in some labor disputes.
When I took a vacation last month, I lost the attendance bonus. Is this normal? (No, it's illegal!)
I'd rather work more since I become broken-hearted...
I feel weird some guys still insist that no one can take a vacation until he achieve something important for the company (and they never admit one's result) and other guys still believe a vacation is given by the company, not workers' right, though they are also employees. To give up a vacation is the same as to give up a salary.
When I rejected to tell the purpose of my vacation, I was laid off. (As the supreme court's verdict clearly mentioned, there's no need to tell the purpose of a vacation.)
I asked for a vacation to the manager today, then he lost his temper, saying that he and the senior manager hadn't taken a vacation yet.
Someone who doesn't take a vacation just has nothing to do in the vacation.
I can freely take a vacation. However, I can't put up with the uneasy atmosphere, the manager's sarcastic remark and the colleagues' critical talkings when I say "I will take a vacation". You may think I shouldn't mind, but I can't do that because I spend half of my time in the company.
I asked the manager if I could take a vacation and he told me it's OK, so I officially asked an approval. But he told me he would never approve until right before the vacation because something would happen by that time. It's not a busy week and I would have to do some chores then. It sucks!
Every year, I consumed all of my vacation ... I'm truly happy.
The manager approved 6-day vacation of the young lady in my division. The purpose of the vacation is a travel with her lover. I really envy her.
My company has a very free atmosphere in terms of a vacation. Anybody can take a vacation just by writing the vacation schedule in an internal system as long as he or she finishes the job. I just have put my vacation schedule, which starts from this Monday, into the system on last Friday, so nobody knows I'm on a vacation now :-)
I need to have "more important" purpose than the job to take a vacation, but what's "more important"? - Funeral is obviously "more important", kid's school event is sometimes considered as "less important", court action is also "more important", relative's wedding is almost "more important", friend's wedding is "less important" and the leisure is definitely "less important." (Hey, take a look at the supreme court's verdict above! No need to have "purpose"!)
The manager never allowed my colleague to take a day-off for his sister's wedding.
You say, "No need to have a reason to take a vacation since it's workers' right"? But the ideal and the real is totally different. In my company, we can take a vacation only when the manager determines the reason is sufficient for a vacation.
Never call my cell phone in the vacation. Never leave a message like "Call back ASAP!" It's none of my business, I'm on vacation!
If you put higher priority on your private life, it's OK to take a vacation freely. I'm a timid person and always prioritize the job, so they regard me as a person with a strong sense of responsibility. But I'm far from happy...
Personnel administrator said "We have free paid vacation system formally, but actually the company decides which day to take a paid vacation. In addition, the company replaces past workday with a paid day-off when needed. In such a case, please modify the necessary documents such as meeting minutes. Not to mention, never talk about this outside." "Yes, Sir!"
Nobody in my company cares about the others' vacation. The manager approved a vacation just as I asked even it's a whole week. (This is the right way of paid vacation.)
I am allowed to take a vacation, but I can't do that because the customer always makes an urgent call. If I missed the call, the customer would call the senior staff, who would get angry at me.
The operational system is the problem. Such companies need to establish the system where anyone can equally handle the job. Excellent businessman would design the system to train the others to deal with the job as he do.
On the other hand, in the problematic company, there's a lot of "tacit knowing" which is just not systemized. It's a typical way for senior guys to protect their area. Such guys ask young guys to "steal" the way they work without telling the detail.
"Hey, do you really need this vacation?", told the manager today. Gee...
I had to pay the cancellation fee for a tour last year because the sudden assignment robbed me of the vacation. This year, again...
I envy the company which has a paid vacation system. "Your colleagues keep working even in the weekend!" "You're the only guy who doesn't work on weekend!" said the president.
I asked for a day-off for the funeral of the person who had been very kind to me, the manager told me "You can take a day-off only after you complete your task. Do you really need to attend the funeral above all?" I can't believe some companies allow employees to take a vacation without any question.
Many managers tell that employees need to meet their obligations before they insist on the right. However, if the manager trusts the employee, the manager admits a vacation without emphasizing the obligations.
In the previous office, a senior guy always took a vacation without any hesitation. He was so competent and strong, so the manager couldn't complain about him. As a result, it's also easy for us to take a vacation since he made an atmosphere.
If you ask for a paid vacation to manager, you can get it as a normal right. If the manager doesn't allow the vacation, just take a lawyer to the office. If the manager isn't insane, you can get it at this point. If the manager is insane, just bring him to the court. If you're not insane, you will undoubtedly win the suit and then take a vacation at this point.
The company mandated furlough and I worked 6 days this month. They paid me only 70K yen (US$700). I am a regular employee and didn't use any voluntary vacation, can I appeal to the Labor Standards Bureau? (Actually, he has a right to get monthly payment*(actual working days/standard working days)+0.6*(waiting days/standard working days), according to Wikipedia.)
Recently, young guys insist that a paid vacation is workers' right or guaranteed by the law, however, do they really fulfill their duties before complaining about it? They will be disqualified as a member of society, if they just behave selfishly. In my youth, I couldn't take any vacation and often worked through the night. It was natural to learn something for the job even in a holiday and study hard in a commuter train. Now those young guys leave the office before last train, take two day-off a week, and insist on a vacation for a leisure or a travel. It's outrageous thing for me. Never want more because they have taken enough! There are lots of people who work in much tougher environment. You can keep alive, you can work somewhere and you can eat enough. Just appreciate such happiness!!