Rhylanor

If there aren't guidelines thats where the problem lies. Management should be all over this. One size fits all. "Unlimited" is a nonsense term but shouldn't be taken literally and abuse needs to be called out.

The term "unlimited" is clearly as misnomer. 4-6 Weeks seems to be the zone of acceptability.

1. If you are not taking enough PTO your manager should intervene and make you take some time off.

2. If you are taking too much time off your manager should intervene and refuse the time off.

3. The unwritten rule is that unless you booked it six months before, upcoming critical deliveries are not a good time to take time. Again however, this should have been mitigated by the fact it WAS booked six months ago by management.

That said. no-one is PTO clock watching unless its abused. It should be a self-regulating idea. You are getting work done, you and your efforts are successful then sure take the time.