An annual break from work is far from a luxury - it's a chance to switch off and recharge the batteries

In downtown Brussels, traffic is starting to pick up, and bars and restaurants in the Schumann area where European Union institutions are located are becoming crowded again as EU officials return to their offices after healing their weary minds during paid vacations. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and other top politicians took time out from their schedules despite their heavy responsibilities, including the fight over seats in the ongoing EU leadership transition, the worsening security global situation and the bleak economic growth prospects.

Employees in Europe go on holidays because labor laws in almost all EU countries entitle them to 20- to 30-day paid vacations. Besides, employees can buy 10 extra days to extend their vacations, which means they don't get paid for the extra days they are absent from office. The 25-year-old security guard of my office building, which is next to the European Council, told me that he goes on vacation in September to avoid the peak summer season. Though he plans to visit China sometime in the future, he will spend three weeks in Spain this month.

Vacation is an essential part of European life; it rejuvenates the mind and energizes the body. I remember the shock expression on a neighbor's face in 2011 when I told him that my family had not planned any vacation. I could understand why, because one late summer afternoon when we took a tram from downtown Brussels to our apartment on the city's outskirts, we found that ours was the only family in the vehicle even though the EU was still battling the debt crisis.

But things are gradually changing for Chinese too. Adjusting to the European way of life, we have started planning breaks during Christmas and/or summer holidays. And as time passes, I meet more friends and colleagues spending their vacations in Belgium or other parts of Europe.

Moreover, during my recent summer break in Sichuan province, the owner of a private company told me that he had decided to allow all of his 200 employees to go on paid vacations from this year. Why? He said that after taking a 10-day break earlier this year, during which he traveled in Europe without thinking anything about work, he found himself more energized than ever. Realizing the importance of taking a break from work, he decided to allow his employees to go on paid vacations.

He, however, said that his generation had been taught that work is the golden rule of excellence, and the Chinese work culture still encourages people to do extra work without expecting any payment. Moreover, some employers still believe granting employees paid leave is a matter for their discretion and has nothing to do with workers' welfare. A few even believe that vacations are a luxury, not fit for ordinary families.

As a result, only about half of Chinese workers enjoy paid vacations, according to a recent government survey. Chinese society has been on the fast track since the launching of reform and opening-up in the late 1970s. But now that the country's leadership has decided to make a slower pace of development the "new normal", it is time to make paid vacations a rule rather than an exception.

China and the rest of world will benefit from such a move, because it will increase productivity and boost the tourism industry.

But since vacations are more of a family affair, schools have to give more breaks to students so that families can have multiple choices to plan their holidays to avoid the peak travel season of Spring Festival and National Day holidays.

And of course, the government should take measures to ensure that everyone, from top executives to unskilled workers, get to enjoy this benefit. The government is already in a position to ensure that every citizen lives a more meaningful life. It should start to make that a reality.

The author is China Daily's chief correspondent in Brussels. Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 09/05/2014 page11)