Is anyone else’s group anti PTO? I get snarky remarks anytime I take a week or more (with advance notice) and so many of my coworkers flex on how many hours they let expire each year.

I swear in this group, most staff and seniors never take more than a day or time at a time and will be online and available when out.

The worst part is, some managers and senior managers will take me off projects with the reasoning they may need a fast turnaround while I’m out. Even when the deadline is months away and there is little to no expectation that the project will progress while I’m out or will need to. I know this has also happened with two other people who actually use PTO.

I feel punished for using my PTO, and I do not want to end up like most of my coworkers who are never out of office. Like I’d rather not have this job than end up like them. And then it’s so much harder to hit utilization.

I’ve also been told several times that I will be staffed on upcoming projects (due to start after my PTO) and then get taken off when they remember my PTO or I send a reminder, with the reasoning that they might need things to start sooner and need someone available. Spoiler: things have never started sooner.

And yes, I do get the needed work done before I am out and give advance notice of PTO.