Boss tells employee that they need to cut the amount of PTO they take even though, according to his contract, he is allowed however much he wants: ‘I’ve taken 8.5 PTO days- one of the lowest on my team.’

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María Cetra • Writer
Aug 12, 2026 9:45 AM EDT

Why would they say they offer unlimited PTO if they are going to make a fuss over 8 days?

Why would someone offer as a job perk the fact that the employee would have the pleasure of enjoying as much PTO as they want as long as they have left everything in order before leaving, only to then call out the employee who uses it? This is either some horrible organization on the company's part, or some problem between coworkers. I could think of only three possible explanations for what happened in the story below.

Firstly, an employee complained that this employee was taking too much time off and leaving projects incomplete, which, according to the same employee, is not true, as he has been taking care of everything before leaving every time. Secondly, it could be something from upper management because they are using this perk an extreme amount, forbidding other employees from taking time off as they are always leaving. Which, according to this employee, is also not possible, as he has only taken 8.5 days off. Lastly, it could be performance-wise. Basically, the employee is not excelling at his job, so there is no value in keeping him if he's not bringing great value and is also taking this much time off.

Truth is, the last option is the only one the employee didn't explain. So I would believe that is probably the reason why he's getting called out. He just took a couple of days, and he may be making sure that he has completed everything before leaving. But maybe, and just maybe, he's not great, or at least not great enough, to be taking PTO time off every chance he has. Sometimes we get great benefits in a job, but that doesn't mean that we can always enjoy them. If we are not core employees, we are probably going to get called out about things that others aren't. That's how corporate works. In this case, I would advise this employee to make sure that he proves his value at his job before requesting any other time off. 

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  • 01
    My company has unlimited PTO and I was told today that our director flagged my recent PTO requests because I was "taking too much PTO". I was then told that I should not take off any more until my planned family Christmas vacation so she wouldn't get upset. Then I was told that whenever I am OOO now, I need to reach out to my entire team in advance and asked them if they need anything from me so that I don't drop the ball
    via Minute-Passage-7156
  • 02
    Two people riding bikes on the coast. Representation.
    via Upadek Matmy

    Two people riding bikes on the coast. 

    Representation. 

  • 03
    on anything. I don't think that's a crazy request, but I feel like this is coming out of nowhere, because I've always gotten my work done before I went out on PTO. The weird thing is that our director made my boss tell me all of this, even though my boss didn't think I was taking an excessive amount of time off or wasn't getting my work done. Am I getting pushed out? I feel like she put a target on my back for
    via Minute-Passage-7156
  • 04
    no reason. Tonight I tallied up how many days each person on our team took PTO during 2026 so far and I am one of the lowest. Edit: d In sorry. I've taken 8.5 pto days- one of the lowest on my team. I work in marketing/event planning. Team doesn't rely on me that much, we overlap on some things but it's pretty separated between marketing and events.
    via Minute-Passage-7156
  • 05
    A book, a cup of tea, and a notebook in a bed.
    via NegiPho

    A book, a cup of tea, and a notebook in a bed. 

  • 06
    hotlibramess This is why unlimited PTO is such a scam.
    via hotlibramess
  • 07
    Delilah BT I was a senior manager at a tech company that had unlimited PTO. Our VP used to run reports on PTO usage and display them at our leadership meetings. All the managers and directors reviewing the amount of time the team has taken, one by one. It was the most effed up thing and to this day count that VP as one of the most toxic I've ever worked for.
    via DelilahBT
  • 08
    Ok_Anteater_7446 I suspect two things with the information you've given: either you're taking off a big chunk of time at Christmas or one of your coworkers complained to the director about you, possibly about going on PTO and leaving things undone. There's also a super secret third thing - your direct manager could be the one mad about it and using the boss as a cover
    via Ok_Anteater_7446
  • 09
    Unlimited PTO is only good if your boss likes you - if they don't, they'll be quick to remind you it's at manager's discretion. It might be worth reading the room and getting an idea of whether you've p ed someone off (even if unintentionally)
    via Ok_Anteater_7446
  • 10
    im_confused-again- I feel like this is more performance related. It sounds to me like there were some tasks that weren't being completed and maybe falling on your teammates without them being aware? I could be wrong, but I do not think this is truly PTO related, but rather a productivity issue. Best of luck in your meeting! I would not approach this by tallying up everyone's PTO. Your best bet is to listen what they have to say, and take
    via im_confused-again-
  • 11
    accountability if you were wrong and ask what is expected going forward. Gotta love corporate!
    via im_confused-again-
  • 12
    turingtested My guess is that something else is going on. For example, the director (through a weird coincidence) has looked for you the last few times you were on PTO but never when you were in the office; or was pred about something that doesn't actually have to do with you. Do you have the kind of relationship with your manager where you can have a private, candid conversation
    via turingtested
  • 13
    about it? Whatever you do, don't bring up other people's PTO. Be frank, state that you're concerned the director has a poor impression of you and ask what you can do to improve it.
    via turingtested
  • 14
    Accomplished-Mess307 Listen to the people saying it's a sh company, and that there's an issue that you're not aware of that might be entirely unrelated to the pto. Start looking for a new employer. Here's my experience to commiserate: I've been with a company for over 5 years, also have an unlimited pto agreement. Due to an immediate family health emergency, d_th, and funeral, I took 6 days off and several partial days, hours I took added up to
    via Accomplished-Mess307
  • 15
    only 9 days off. The entire time I was in contact informing them of the situation and responding to emergencies and even attending important meetings. They STILL had an issue with the amount of time I took. Including incorrectly stating I'd never taken taken that much time off before, mind you I'd definitely taken that much time off for vacation before. I know I'm at a sh company, you're less than a year in, do yourself a favor and find an exit!
    via Accomplished-Mess307
  • 16
    Zealousideal_Meet482 it sounds like someone in the chain of command needed something from you while you were gone and got bu hurt about it when they couldn't get an immediate answer. I think you just need to have a clear direct conversation with your manager about how to handle PTO going forward. A company I worked in the past had a similar incident where the VP got upset when he couldn't find a
    via Zealousideal_Meet482
  • 17
    coworker at his desk and get an immediate response from him because he was WFH that day. The VP was the kind of guy who always wanted an answer immediately and would message your coworker sitting next to you to tell you to respond to his message if you hadn't replied within 2 min. So when he couldn't get his answer as quickly as he wanted, he sent out a department wide email about "coordinating WFH days" and making sure that we have "coverage" so that the ball doesn't get dropped.
    via Zealousideal_Meet482
  • 18
    The dude wasn't even on PTO. He was just WFH and did respond a little while later.
    via Zealousideal_Meet482

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employee manager toxic workplace PTO
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