Because paid time off is not a thing in the US I can imagine that people have difficulties imaging how this could be organized in the company, especially for sm

Because paid time off is not a thing in the US I can imagine that people have difficulties imaging how this could be organized in the company, especially for small ones. This is what I experienced in Switzerland. - Sometimes the company just closes for two weeks the summer (Betriebsferien). You see this for restaurants, bakeries, and so on. They post a sign at the door with the dates and when they open again. - If the company can't close, colleagues aren't allowed to take paid time off at the same time. Colleagues tell each other what they do such that substitution is possible. - Sometimes the company partially closes and has only a minimal service running. - It is accepted that during the holiday seasons everything runs a lot slower. - Sometimes it just does not matter, especially for large companies or for very fluid working situations like health care. There will be always some people picking up what needs to be done. - Sometimes the employee takes the work into holidays but this is somewhat frowned upon because the expectation is that you really take time off. And when the company reopens or the colleagues return from their holidays they bring a lot of fresh energy. And because all companies do this there is no loss of competitive activity. Companies tend to focus how to manage paid time off well instead of blocking it.