Question of the day
Thursday, Nov 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce has once again collected the results from its annual paid Holiday Survey which indicates how Illinois employers and their employees will be handling paid holidays in 2020.
The Chamber’s Annual Holiday Survey is an instrumental tool for many Illinois businesses in helping them to make a decision on holiday benefits for employees. It has, for many years, been regarded as the standard to follow. The results provide a good indicator of what employers will be doing in 2020 and are provided by a good cross-section of businesses from across Illinois. […]
Compiled from hundreds of responses from Illinois businesses of all size and industries, the survey indicated that the average number of paid holidays for Illinois workers is 8.2 days, up very slightly from 2019. The average number of paid personal days is 2.9 days, identical to 2019.
* Holidays and percentage of firms providing a paid holiday…
New Year’s Day 2017 - Wednesday, January 1 - 96.0%
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (observed) - Monday, January 20, 22.7%
Lincoln’s Birthday - Wednesday, February 12 - 4.2%
President’s Day (Washington/Lincoln Day) - Monday, February 17 - 21.3%
Casimir Pulaski’s Birthday (observed) - Monday, March 2 - <1%
Good Friday - Friday, April 10 - 32.4%
Memorial Day - Monday, May 25 - 94.5%
Independence Day - Saturday, July 4 (30% of noted observe on Friday, July 3) - 95.6%
Labor Day - Monday, September 7 - 94.8%
Columbus Day - Monday, October 12 - 12.5%
Election Day - Tuesday, November 3 - <1%
Veterans Day - Wednesday, November 11 - 18.5%
Thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 25 - 6.5%
Thursday, November 26 - 96.5%
Friday, November 27 - 68.9%
Christmas
Thursday, December 24 - 50.9%
Friday, December 25 - 96.0%
New Year’s Eve
Thursday, December 31 - 30.7%
Employees Birthday - 2%
Floating Holiday (1 or more days) - 5.2%
Jewish Holidays (1 or more days) - About 1%
Average number of paid holidays - 8.2; Average number of paid personal days - 2.9
Number of firms responding - 351
* Percentage of firms from each industry classification responding…
Manufacturing - 22.7%
Services - 13.1%
Finance/Banking - 2.2%
Retail Trade - 4.5%
Wholesale Trade - 3.4%
Insurance/Real Estate - 5.4%
Utility/Transport/Communications - 3.7%
Construction - 3.9%
Non-Profit/Association/Chamber of Commerce - 18.8%
Government - 7.1%
Other - 14.8%
* The Question: Your Thanksgiving plans?
- @misterjayem - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:20 pm:
Thirteen hours of driving, followed by Thanksgiving dinner with 180-200 of my closest friends.
– MrJM
- SouthernCentrist - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:33 pm:
Flying home to Illinois tomorrow, spending the weekend in Chicago, and taking the train to Central Illinois Sunday night. Spending the week with family. Flying back south on 12/1. Will be good to be home.
An early Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
- Flapdoodle - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:35 pm:
Family, friends, food, adult beverages, and cats
- Drake Mallard - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:37 pm:
Bears. Food. More football and friends and family
- Ken_in_Aurora - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:44 pm:
Flying to Boston to have dinner with my girlfriend’s in-laws.
- RNUG - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:48 pm:
We don’t want to home this year, so a short trip (Wed-Sat) down RT-66 to stay in an old motel we’ve visited before, doing some antique and thrift shopping along the way.
- Cheryl44 - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:49 pm:
Signature Room, party of 8
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:54 pm:
Home with the family. This year is very special, after what the state has accomplished. Really thankful for it and looking forward to the new year.
- Just Me - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:54 pm:
I’m a little surprised Lincoln’s Birthday is less than Columbus Day.
Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year. It is the only truly American holiday that everyone regardless of the religion, ethnicity, or immigration status can celebrate.
- Stones - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 12:59 pm:
Very quiet this yr. No family in town. Just smoking a turkey breast for Mrs. Stones and I. Maybe some libations too.
- Robert the Bruce - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 1:11 pm:
Hosting a small gathering. I’ll be on turkey duty. Not sure what to do with myself Wednesday, as CPS added that as a makeup day and I had previously taken it off in anticipation of kids being home. Maybe there’s a good movie out.
- Scamp640 - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 1:13 pm:
2% of the companies surveyed let their employees have a paid vacation on their birthday. Amazing. I did not even know that was a thing.
- Responsa - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 1:13 pm:
Dinner at the home of longtime friends (since U of I college days several decades ago). As always, much to be thankful for.
- Gooner - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 1:21 pm:
Cooking for about 15 people, as I’ve done for the past 20 years.
The one difference is that we’ve moved closer to family this year. Because of that move, my sister-in-law and her family will be joining on the night prior to help do the cooking prep work.
They always see the final product, but the prep is fun. My wife and I usually open a great bottle of champagne or chardonnay and enjoy it while we cook. It is far more relaxed than Thanksgiving itself.
With regard to time off work: in my line of work, no work means no pay. I try to put in longer hours the week prior to Thanksgiving so that at the end of the month, the hours are there but even doing so, November and December are a bit slow. Judges tend to want to kick things over to January, and most things like briefing schedules are extended out further.
- Give Me A Break - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 1:38 pm:
Delivering free Thanksgiving meals with my fellow church members to those who request them in the Springfield area. Then, home with 25 family members and friends for an afternoon of giving thanks, eating and football watching.
At some point in the early evening someone will say, hey, lets got to Best Buy or Target which will trigger various reactions from those not sleeping off their food comas.
- Downstate - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 1:39 pm:
Thankfully, the longest trip on the holiday will be the 1.5 mile trip to the in-laws.
Specific plans include: Football, Turkey, repeat.
- Northsider - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 1:58 pm:
Turkey, football and WKRP’s Thanksgiving episode.
“Oh, the humanity!”
- Amalia - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 2:25 pm:
Friendsgiving. Turkey. And the Bears….although that could be considered turkey as well.
- Just Peachy - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 2:36 pm:
Quiet day alone for me as my husband is in retail so he has to work all day but hope to visit with some of the kids for treats later in the evening.
- The Most Anonymous - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 3:13 pm:
Very far south of the border among palm trees, sunshine and my family.
- Huh? - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 3:29 pm:
1. What ever my wife tells me to do.
2. Most likely staying out of the kitchen, daughters will be home and will take control of the cooking.
- pool boy - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 3:48 pm:
I’ll be hanging out with Oswego Willy smoking Cubans and sipping 25 year old Scotch.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 3:51 pm:
- pool boy -
We, you and I, will be truly thankful.
We just need to make sure there’s enough of both.
Be well.
- Stoney - Thursday, Nov 21, 19 @ 4:09 pm:
Planning a nice dinner at our house with our kids and a couple of my brothers. Our mom passed in 2007 and every year since it’s a crap shoot on where, when, and who but it all works out.
I really miss the days when my parents were alive and Thanksgiving was a massive cluster####, (parents, six of us kids and our wives and kids). It was the best day of the year.