Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"

Re:Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide ove... by sanderjd on Thursday January 22, 2026 @10:38AM (#46720664)

There's a pretty big generational divide on this point, I think. I don't think many people under the age of 45 or so still see the "never took a sick day" thing as a laudatory statement.

(Also probably a regional divide too. I worry that I'm wrong about this when it comes to some places on the coasts, but I think it's accurate for most places in the country.)

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Re:Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide ove... by Netcob on Thursday January 22, 2026 @04:27PM (#46725325)

That's good news. Hope the kids fight for some basic worker's rights.

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Re:Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide ove... by sanderjd on Thursday January 22, 2026 @07:31PM (#46726926)

I mean, in my career (coming up on 20 years), I've never had an employer that gave me a hard time for taking time off. YMMV I guess!

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Re:Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide ove... by denkmoon on Thursday January 22, 2026 @11:31PM (#46728441)

How many days off do you take per year? For context we get ~43 legally protected paid days of leave per year in Australia, sounds like the UK is about the same.

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Re:Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide ove... by dlivingston on Thursday January 22, 2026 @07:37PM (#46726965)

Anecdotally (under 45; American), I agree that "never took a sick day" is indeed not a laudatory statement, but I also strongly believe that working hard is a prime virtue.

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