That would be called vacation time vs sick time in my org, but there are definitely differences in when/how they’re used.
Sick time is like, “I don’t feel good today, I’m just not working today.”
Vacation time is like, “I’m feeling pretty good today, I’d like to take a feel-good day. But I better schedule schedule it a couple weeks out, check with my manager, make sure there are no deadlines coming up, make sure someone else can cover for me,” and so on.
Right, and the point is that there should be no stigma against just taking the day off like one would a sick day.
Combined PTO (along with a salary job not needing coverage) does have its downsides, but it’s nice just being able to use PTO whenever without needing any sort of proof. I can just wake up in the morning and decide I’m not working that day. No fuss, no doctors notes, no nothing. As long as I’m not blowing off important meetings or deadlines, no one cares
