I know in some other countries like the middle east, they operate more like what the writer of this article suggests. They work weekends but they get many many more random holidays.
I saw and ad for a Waffle-house manager with a salary range of 50-55k year.
That's about what I earn as a engineer in Sweden (pre-tax).
Most people in the US have 2 tiers of vacation days: mandatory holidays (I'd say between 8-14 mandatory holidays is pretty standard at tech companies) plus an additional 3-4 weeks (15-20 days).
For most engineers in the US, something like 10 holidays + 3 additional weeks (or more) can be expected for a minimum total of 25 days. Plus 3-5 "sick/personal" days brings you up to roughly 30 days.
In the mean time, though... consider. If you earned the same amount as you do now, but only worked 150 days a year (and even then, only maybe 4-6 hours per day), what would you do with your free time?
I could probably live to the same standards of living as a medieval peasant working only 90 (potentially less) days a year for a significant pay cut of what I make currently. A wood stove, no electricity or running water, an outhouse, etc. the tent I could afford today to camp in would be luxurious compared to a peasant’s home.
They worked 150 days on the field. Their other time was occupied with chores.
That was my thought as well. I get ~104 days off a year, not counting other holidays. I honestly feel like that is a pretty good balance. Obviously I want some other days off when I want to do something that takes more then 2 days, but I would rather have those as vacation days then mandated federal holidays.
Unless something has gone wrong, I generally don't do any work on holidays.
People who got shot by federal troops and Pinkertons while delaying mail trains until the railroad would come to the negotiating table are gonna say "no."