7 Steps to Maximize 'Unlimited' PTO Without Losing Your Job

pcmag.com:

"Unlimited" paid time off (PTO) is never truly unlimited. Being allowed to take off as much time off as you need from your job sounds ideal from a worker's point of view—especially in the US, where there is no legal right to paid time off at all (see the Fair Labor Standards Act) and norms for it are downright stingy. But as I said, time off is never truly unlimited—if you take too many paid days off, you'll lose your job eventually.

But if you don't take enough time off, then you don't get adequate breaks from working, which you need to stay happy, healthy, and productive. On top of that, PTO is part of your compensation, so not taking all the time off you deserve is tantamount to leaving money on the table.

With an unlimited PTO policy, how much is enough and how much is too much? The short answer, in my opinion, is between 20 and 40 days. Below I share how I got to that range and how you can figure out the number that's right for you.

I first wrote about this approach in my book The Everything Guide to Remote Work (unlimited PTO especially popular in remote organizations), so get the book if you want more tips for making the most of remote work.

Even with unlimited PTO, some organizations still have you record the time that you take, usually in an HR system. You should be able to log into that system and look up how many days you've taken off so far this year.

If your organization tracks time off but doesn't differentiate between vacation time, sick time, jury duty, and other paid time off, you need to do some work to separate these kinds of days. Occasionally, employers leave PTO requests to the wind and don't record them at all. If that's the case, you need to review your calendar and notes to come up with a