Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I don’t understand why people say, “I’m not asking to take PTO. I’m just telling you when I’ll be out.” I feel like it’s common courtesy to “ask” by putting a request in. Not all companies are trying to be toxic and deny your vacation. The asking system exists to ensure an entire department is not off at the same time and to also ensure adequate notice is given if you’re out for an extended period of time. Your request will more than likely be approved.

This is unpopular, because as professional adults we should be putting our PTO when it’s not impacting or blocking major milestones (with some degree of flexibility). So no, we don’t ask, we’re saying we’ll be out because PTO is an earned benefit. Now when scheduled PTO conflicts with a major deliverable/event, then it’s a conversation, but for every other situation we are not asking permission

When I "asked", I was denied. When my colleague told, they weren't. I'm not "asking" anymore. I'll follow the system for notifying, but i'm an adult capable of scheduling my client commitments around my time off. It's my time - i'm not asking for permission.

PTO is part of your contractual rights as an employee. It is yours to use when you want to. So no, I'm not asking, I'm telling you when I'll be out. If I'm getting "denied" then I'll just quit and get paid out my PTO either way.

I’ll never understand why people don’t take their PTO. PTO is part of your compensation package. So by not taking it, you’re essentially saying, “I’d rather work than have this $X amount they are giving me to not be here.” People who play the, “I’m just too busy to take PTO” card are bizarre to me. No one’s job is that important. You’re either really not that busy or you have a very inflated view of your self importance.

I say, take your PTO whatever you want. It’s not your job to find coverage while you’re out. That falls on the company.

It’s quite literally an employment right conveyed by contract. Do you also “ask” if you can get paid every other week?

At the end of the day ask/demand/dictate/whatever. You’re an at-will employee and if your PTO habits conflict with team goals or needs, you’ll be fired and replaced.

PTO is a tell.... you "tell" when you are taking off, and you also "tell" how you are ensuring that work gets done, deadlines don't slip, and nothing falls between the cracks while you are out.

It's a sweet notion but unfortunately it doesn't work at most companies. Not here in America anyways. Work culture has become so toxic here in America that even a lot of the "better" workplaces will be employees to not take time off become they have become so reliant on just a couple of workers to carry everyone else's work. It's a telltale sign if you see others taking vacations left and right with no issues but you get "Requested" to stay and work or get denied time off that you requested that you're probably doing the work of multiple people and some of the management is scared shirtless that if you take time off they will either have to do the work you did while you're gone or wait until you get back which in some cases they know it puts them way too far behind on work.

The point some have made here already is 100% accurate. As much of a social contract of expectations as there is to "request" your time off there is not only social contracts but also legal ones (including labor laws) that protect your time to take PTO (PTO is paid time off) there are multiple forms of it including sick pay and typically vacation. Whenever there is agreed upon time off especially paid time off it is protected by law legally. Employers will rarely tell you this but legally you don't have to ask if you were told or if you signed a contract that says there is paid time off. Now even if they say there's only "unpaid" time off when you were hired there are laws protecting that as well. It would be best to talk to some local HR people in your state as well as the workforce development center and talk to both about these laws so you know the facts crystal clear because employers and managers these days are often unbelievably uneducated on these facts. Employers must adhere to all federal, state and local city laws related to employment and to be honest I've seen some of the worst violations that would get places shut down instantly and some others that would leave places open to lawsuits. It's not a game of courtesy. It's a matter of places breaking laws and it's a serious thing that places don't take seriously anymore because they figure they will just fire you if you cause them issues. Ironically there are laws strictly built to protect against that form of retaliation as well. This is one of those can of worms that's best to educate yourself on thoroughly. As far as courtesy goes, sure it's "nice" to be courteous when possible, but not when dealing with laws those are there for a reason. To to protect both the employees and employers.

I remember one time when I gave notice that I was taking time off because I was well within my rights to give notice and not need to "request" time off. The employer tried to play that game of "it's called a request for a reason" to which I was blown away that I not only had to show him the law on it but he then completely ignored the situation when I showed him the law, this breaking the law entirely on purpose. I didn't put in a resignation as I would recommend to most people not to in those situations. Quite that job without notice. I don't like leaving good workplaces in bad situations and I won't do that. Places that disrespect employees and break the law on purpose deserve to be in a bad situation, they shouldn't be in business if they are breaking employment laws on purpose to take advantage of employees. It's unethical, a breach of social and often written contracts and against the law. These aren't games, these are people's lives. If a place you work at doesn't respect the law on employment they won't respect you. Find work somewhere that they care. Too many workplaces here in America have toxic environments due to courtesy that people started treating as if it was the law or expected. It's bred awful working conditions for a lot of people. It's sad how much better workplace environments are in Europe...

Your PTO is yours to take as you need to, asking is absurd and creates the future expectation that you should “ask.” No. I’ll put in on the calendar and let you know in advance, the end.

Over the past 50 years, technology, computers and automation have quadrupled the output of each worker. Do we work 1/4 the hours? No. Not only do we have the same hours, we now have our spouses also working. So society is arguably producing 8 times the output vs. 50 years ago.

Did corporations use the added productivity to give more flexibility for time off? No. They kept the spoils for themselves.

At this point in time, with all of the productivity gains, if a corporation can’t cover your PTO, it’s a sign of their own bad planning, not yours.

Wow, that actually happens? Seems like poor manners or social skills, or both. Possibly people have been burned by too many employers who refuse even the most basic of PTO requests. Either way, is still polite to request without being demanding.

I used to think the same until I saw how messy it got when too many people were out at once. Asking doesn’t have to feel like begging. Have you talked to your team about that? They might not realize, like I did.

I've never asked for approval in my 15+ years of public accounting. I just put it on my calendar. If it's only a day or two, I don't even mention it unless it directly impacts a deadline. If it's longer, I inform those I work with, often way beforehand like when I book a trip, and again as it gets closer. That way, they have a heads up and know my plan for handling any work before, during, and after my PTO.

I figure we're all professionals and should be afforded some flexibility. As long as we're being considerate of any deadlines and planning accordingly, why bother with a formal approval process? I don't expect my staff & seniors to ask permission either. Of course, I also expect them to have common sense, like recognizing that March/April and September/October aren't great times for PTO if you're a tax person.

PTO Requests are just that, requests in virtually all companies I have worked in, and can at least in theory be denied for business need. Mind you, they almost never ARE denied, but they can be. As long as you are getting all the PTO allocated to you in a year, it can be perfectly reasonable to be asked to schedule another time. In addition, I think you should try to have a little courtesy and good sense and not request for the busiest times. Mutual courtesy goes a long way here.

Co-worker requested/asked and was approved. Boss approved everyone. It was Memorial Day weekend. He expected everyone to find their own coverage. This is not a retail position. It's actually his responsibility to arrange the schedule for coverage but he didn't want to

If it's a wedding or something, sorry, but I'm not in control of that. I'm not going to increase the risk of someone saying no by phrasing it as a request. You say 99% of requests are approved. But I'm betting the 1% that aren't are basically all people who phrased it as a request. I try to be reasonable by letting people know I'm flexible (if true) or can be available if an emergency comes up since at my firm we basically work 24/7 anyway. But we don't have formal pto so that might be why I'm ok being a bit more aggressive with trying to claim vacation

I feel like people aren’t asking anymore because companies are so short staff they aren’t prepared and PTO will be denied. I feel like, PTO given weeks in advance, the. Company shouldn’t deny. They have weeks in advance to make arrangements, if necessary. Now if there’s a major work event, I get it…but asking for PTO for a week, weeks in advance, should not be an issue.

I maintain a shared Google Calendar for my team's time off and I make the policy abundantly clear: look at the calendar, if the time you want is available, come see me and we'll put you on the calendar, no questions asked. If the time you want is already "taken" by another team member, let's talk logistics and I'll bend over backwards to make it happen.

That said, the concept of "I'll take whatever time I want, when I want" is entitled BS. If your only commitment is to yourself, and not to the success of the company you work for, don't work for a company. A rising tide raises all ships, and nobody wants an employee that's only there for a paycheck and benefits.

I had an interview once where I was told specifically that no one in the company could take vacation in March because it was their busiest month. I was fine with that. But such expectations need to be raised up front. Other than that, we just need to balance our summer vacation dates so too many people aren't off all at once. Some jobs also have summer vacation dates selected by seniority.

I think youre confused. When youre putting in PTO notices this is a notify your manager that they need to be aware of your absense. The use of request and approval are more or less misnomers unless someone else is already off or youre out of PTO hours and then your manager is approving your time off in addition to the other persons PTO and/or your unpaid time off. If you have PTO and or sick leave, you have no obligation to ask for those hours off and the request is simply a courtesy as well as nofitying your cmpany they need to pay you while youre off.