Wow Lilly that is really old school.  I havent asked a manager for PTO for years.  

Yes, correct, we have a central location where we enter PTO wanted and it is either approved or disapproved all thru email.  My department has 5 people and 2 of us have over 5 weeks of PTO available.  Since we can only carry over 40 hours, we all pretty much use them.  PTO is seperate from the 86 hours of sick time we have and we still are rarely short staffed with the execption of Christmas time. 

You can only work so much before burning out.

Unfortunately, most companies run a bit lean in staffing because if you hire extra people to backfill during time off requests.. then they often find they are paying people to "do nothing"... 

If you are in a professional position.. usually those jobs are planned to take roughly 40/hours a week but some companies or sections within companies can be more inclined to have a culture of Overtime expectations.

For example, if you work in accounting/tax/finance/legal.. especially.. the culture is to work overtime to show your value to the employer.  Your bosses and coworkers will judge you if you do not appear to be carrying your own weight.

There also can be cyclical busy times when there is pretty much no chance of being able to take off.. For example.. I have to do some budget reporting.. so I "never" am able to take time off during the first 3-7 work days of the month.  People in the tax field.. have reporting deadlines and a rush of business from Feb through April.. and the expectation that they NOT take time off during those times is pretty set.

Regarding time off though.. sure.. if you have PTO/vacation, you should be able to have a reasonable expectation to take time off when you need it.. for personal business.. to take vacations.. visit family etc..  

But.. as mentioned previously.. sometimes your work load will mean taking time off in April as a CPA is not going to be approved or possible.    Or there already may be people who have had their requests approved previously and there won't be enough coverage to allow for another person to take off during that time..   The thing is that direct managers are the ones that should be most aware if there are large projects in process that might mean taking time off isn't workable during a particular time frame.  They are the ones that need to be approving it because they know the relative workload of the group.

I don't know if you are in an industry that doesn't match well with you.. or whether it is just this company "in particular" that seems to make taking time off more complicated than it needs to be..  

The bottom line is that employers pay us to perform a job.  It's up to us to decide whether the pay they are providing is worth the amount of work we are being asked to perform.  Personally, I'm older and have worked in finance and accounting.. so have worked within areas where taking time off is not necessarily a great thing.. if you appear to always need or want time off.. you are sometimes seen as uncommitted.. or not a team player since other people have to pick up your slack when you aren't there.  That being said.. I am no longer in that part of the company.. and I actually have a LOT of time off.. 5 weeks a year.. and struggle to take it all off.. because we have a small group and I don't want to burden my coworkers with my job.. sometimes that means that I work long hours to get my work ahead so that I can take time off.. many days I have been working from 7 in the morning to midnight.. because I am taking a few days off.. and I don't want my coworkers to have to do my job.  but for me.. I'm fine with that tradeoff... 

I am basically able to "inform" my direct manager that I am taking my vacation.. he knows I'm professional and will have my job responsibilities covered.. and that if I will miss somethign when I am out.. I have ensured that I got someone else to cover that for me.. (like processing an invoice that comes in while I"m out for example).    I also don't ever plan vacations during my "busy" time of the month or year... and when my husband and I were both hospitalized during that busy time (two separate visits).. I actually worked from a hospital bed one month close.. and from my husband's bedside the next month.  Did they ask me to do that? no.. it was just easier for me to do the work that only I really know how to do vs trying to remotely train someone.. and it was not hours and hours of work.. but it's like taking a work call on my day off or vacation.. the fact that I DO that means my manager can trust that when I ask for time off/inform him when I will be out.. that he has no concern that the work will go undone.

I'm not sure if your job/company is as professional as ours is.. I hope you are looking for other options... perhaps with an employer that might have a more reasonable eye to their employees having work life balance.

Because it is a balance.. I work very hard for my employer.. spend many of my own hours working for no extra pay.. but I also am afforded autonomy when I want to take off because they know I will get the job done.

This can all really suck. I once had a boss who seemed to have an axe to grind with me, as well as some others in the office. I'm not sure why too.. I was always pleasant with her. One time I emailed her a vacation request asking if the dates were available. She simply said no. I then sent another group of date options and she replied no. So I then asked her if she could send ME some dates that's were open and she said she's not allowed to do that. Then she just went on.. Declining my dates until finally she found some

Then I moved on to be promoted and my new boss was completely awesome and accommodating with dates (and friendliness)

At vacation approval time each year also they only allowed 2 people off per date and if it overlapped we had to work it out ourself with the other people... Determining "who needed it most"  basically and then the other person would be mad if they didn't get it

I would get annual vacation time.  And I would used to my most advanced,  starting vacation on Wednesday. Because air flight prices are better on Wednesday.  Return on Thursday to work.  Turning three day weekend into a 4 or 5 day trip.  It's was my time. I earned it , I used it 

I have never asked. I inform.  First verbally, then I put it on my time sheet to make sure that I am compliant to avoid time fraud.

Never have I had anyone ever say a word about me taking vacation. Part of what I do is put it on my calendar as far ahead as I can so that it is documented, then I tell my boss what days I will be gone, then I inform my #2 so that my coverage is in place, then I put the request in the PTO system, if there is one.

If they do not approve, that is on them.  Since it is nearly always after the fact when they finally do approve.  More often than not, they never approve, nor do they ever say a thing about it.