I realized I probably should have been more specific about that. It's not really the amount of leave that's a problem, rather how leave in general is used/abus

I realized I probably should have been more specific about that. It's not really the amount of leave that's a problem, rather how leave in general is used/abused to compound other problems in the government culture. Big project coming due in 6 months? Several people who should be accountable to deliver major parts of the effort are scheduled for leave on the due date. Need to backfill someone who will be gone for 4 solid weeks during a busy period? Sorry, you can't bring on a short-duration contractor, only FTEs are allowed perform this completely generic role. So you've decided to be a bold manager and take issue with any of this? The grievance is already in the inter-office mail. I have to imagine (hope) that where accountability exists, the bottom line matters or employees are invested producing something these things wouldn't occur. >In fact to me it's one of the defining features of being on the upper side of middle-class, that you can both afford and are allowed take a few weeks of vacation each year. You don't have to be upper or even middle class, even within the hierarchy of the organizational layers. It's often just a matter of having seniority within your job description.