>>And of course I'm OK - it's only money and job; after living a dozen years under Milosevic, this is just a nuissance, hopefully a temporary one.
>
>Dragan,
>
>How easy it is for some of us to forget what's important. We could be well-served to have a perspective like yours. I'll try hard to keep this in mind next time I'm complaining about my rate or trying to take vacation.

Back home, I am a small-time capitalist, and we do hire programmers. Can't pay them much, because the country's money is drained out, and the customers are poor, but I know the psychological value of both the raise and the vacation, from both standpoints. Having been on both sides of the barricade, my opinion is that the guys should get a raise now and then, or at least bonuses at times, because they feel the appreciation that way, and won't threaten to leave that easy. And the vacation is usually well-deserved, specially when it comes after a period of intensive work. Hey, even the batteries need to be recharged, right?

My rule #1 for programmer's vacation (from both sides) is no phone calls from or to the office. It's the time when both should forget about each other.

My former employer in Hungary had a good philosophy about these matters - "the business runs the best when everyone's satisfied". He had some success with it, but only in the beginning, because the sales were below expectations :).