I am a cautionary tale. Yesterday was my last day at a job I worked at for 4 years.
During that time I never took a vacation because my job was too essential and to be away for more than 2 days would throw things into chaos.
I took PTO days here and there, often adding a day to a holiday weekend, but I never took 2 consecutive days off or even 5 days in a row.
I let them make me believe I was so important a vacation was impossible. Finally, I had enough and found a better job.
The only upside is I’ll be cashed out for over a month’s salary from all the PTO I have saved!
Take your time off. Use it or lose it applies to more than just the PTO days.