Every now and then a “feel good” story pops up on American morning TV that would make most Europeans spit out their tea in horror.

Good Morning America, for instance, ran a piece about a “trendy co-worker baby shower gift”: donating some of your limited paid leave to your pregnant colleague, so she can have a little longer with her newborn before returning to work. One woman said she was grateful to have a whole 12 weeks with her baby before returning to her job, thanks to leave donated by her colleagues. Another TV station told the tale of medical staff who donated their paid time off during the pandemic to a colleague who had leukaemia.

These aren’t one-offs. Roughly a quarter of US employers have a “paid time off donation programme”, according to a poll by the American Society of Employers. One university, for example, gives its workers “the opportunity to donate accrued vacation?.?.?.?to fellow employees who have experienced a catastrophic illness or injury and who have exhausted all accrued time”.