I feel like most office jobs are fairly accommodating about flexible time for chores these days. I work a 5-day week, but I don't think I've ever used vacation days to go to the DMV or the dentist either (~15 years as a white-collar worker in various parts of the US, multiple industries and levels).
What the hell do you do at the DMV? I honestly can't figure it out, but it seems like Americans are always going 'to the DMV', this side of the pond I think the equivalent (authority handling driver licencing, road tax, vehicle registration, etc.?) is the DVLA. I have and would never 'go to the DVLA', I have no idea where that would be, I assume it's just offices. It's all online and other than changing address when I moved I haven't even needed that.
Whereas in normal years, for all the jokes you'd like to make about British teeth, I go to the dentist every 6/9/12 months (according to ~how short of cash he is~ his recommendation) - but going by HN comments and films et al. 'the DMV' seems an even popular day out!(?)
There are differences depending on which state you live in.
In my state, I need to have my vehicle inspected (to pass air quality tests - DEQ) and re-registered (pay tax and get a sticker) every other year. I don't think people really make it clear what 'going to DMV' means, it probably includes an inspection like this - despite being a distinct location. Yes, every other year I must drive to two locations to complete this process.
Many American families have multiple vehicles. Usually both parents work, and when children are old enough they get a hand-me-down car. So, it's not unusual to have to manage 3+ vehicles. Depending on when registration is 'due' one could visit from 1x to 3x a year.
There are online resources, but to pass the air quality tests you must appear in person. The only way around this in my state is own vehicles which are exempt (pre-1974, and motorcycles), or be in a county which is exempt (most of the land area of the state, but not where most people live). I only know this because my project car is from 1972: I just pay taxes online and they mail me my registration and stickers.
Add into it that DMV visits are common-denominator and tend to be unpleasant (long wait times, confusing processes, having to start over if you mess up... then wait in the line AGAIN) and I think that's why you may see so much talk about it. FWIW, I think there are very few people who enjoy this. It's a past-time, but not one we choose.
When you switch state residency, or have to get a title/registration for your vehicle, or get a new photo (every 4 years or so). You have to go to a place that is open from 8:30 to 4:30, get a ticket number, wait a long time for your ticket to be called, go to a teller with various paper documents: lease agreement, cable bill, title, birth certificate, etc. Also the new thing people will need is Real ID, so yet another trip where the hours are even more constrained. And sometimes your documents will be rejected for various reasons, and you have to start over.
In California, the DMV is becoming increasingly automated, and efficient. I haven't had to wait in line except for the time it was completely ad-hoc, then I waited like 30m. Most things you can renew and request replacement online.
Obviously passing a driving test etc requires an in-person appointment.
It's often said along the same lines of "I need to go to the mechanic", where it's something that you need to do, but is miserable.
The DVLA does appear to fill the same role, but more efficiently. Many of the things it appears you can do online require you to go in in person (Well, pre-covid at least. I don't know about now.), even better, the DMV got caught selling data about people who had to use it.
For a comparison, last time I got a license change I waited in line 10. freaking. hours. On a Saturday.
Can painfully confirm that all the clerical bullshit that takes place in person at the DMV is still taking place solely in person at the DMV in a pandemic.
One of my COVID projects was getting a car that had been sitting in a garage for a few years back on the road and ready to compete in motorsport. This took several trips to the DMV and a local mechanic to resolve lapsed emissions and registration, and each time I had to wait in the drive-thru line for a long time while a single employee tried their best to handle multiple people at a time.
Had to get a driver license, then register the car. I went like 5 times to register the car, gave up 3 times because the lane was too long (once after waiting for a very long time) and twice after because we were missing some papers the first time. The DMV is really a horrible thing. They yell at you for no reason, treat you like shit, are just useless when you have questions, etc.
In addition to what everyone else has mentioned, it's worth knowing that American driving licenses expire every few years and you usually have to go in person to get a new photo taken at the DMV. Many Europeans I know have had their same licenses since they were young, including the thirty year old photo.
If you go at a bad time, the waits are like what Americans assume communist Russian bread lines were like. And you just sit there doing nothing. Then you're name is called, the government employee corrects you and tells you that you did it wrong, you fill it out again...and wait more. It's just the single handedly most boring chore the average American has to do in their life.
I have never worked for an employer that didn't let you casually pop out to handle these things, provided you don't miss a previously scheduled meeting.
At my current company, we are explicitly allowed to schedule work hours off for these.
I worked at a job where I was paid an annual salary and they made me make up hours when I had to take a relative to the hospital (I also lost that job for, I suspect, this reason in part...I have learned that sick parents and sick children obtain different levels of sympathy). It does happen.
It was as stereotypical as you can imagine: small business, wasted inordinate amount of time and resources doing pointless things, insane processes, run by a husband and wife who were largely intolerable (the highlight was hearing the wife tell me that she didn't let her daughter participate in sports at school either because she thought it would turn her into a homosexual or was a plot by homosexuals to groom her), one of my co-workers started the day two hours early and finished at the same time...I have no idea why, and (ofc) the people who ran the business disappeared frequently (for some reason, the husband went somewhere every Friday afternoon...it wasn't work-related, and he repeatedly brought up the fact that he was allowed to do this unprompted...no-one could work out where he went)...
If you work shift work not getting time off is typical. A lot of people can scarcely afford to take a day off without pay to go vote or stand in line at the DMV. Working people are pushed to the limit in this country.
It really boils down to trust. My manager trusts I will make up lost time after my doctor's appointment, as they generally know if I've been falling behind work or not. We also give daily standup status updates so its obvious if work isn't progressing after some time.
This also works in reverse. If I work on Sat/Sun for some system maintenance then my manager tells me to swap time off during the week. But in my experience, What usually happens is I work my full week anyway because something important arose and I push that "time off" to the next week until I forget I had it.
I feel like most office jobs are fairly accommodating about flexible time for chores these days. I work a 5-day week, but I don't think I've ever used vacation days to go to the DMV or the dentist either (~15 years as a white-collar worker in various parts of the US, multiple industries and levels).