Spo-reflections on PTO

What I do to make a living hasn’t really changed; what has changed is the working environment in which I do it. I was previously employed in a privately-owned and operated pokey practice, operated by a couple of aged hippies who took a laissez-faire approach to my industry. They retired and sold the place to a conglomerate that was in time bought out by a very large corporation, whom I christened The Overlords to protect them and prevent me from being fired for sedation.

I still think like a private practitioner and not as a corporate minion and this causes concern on occasion. I recently received an email from a vague but menacing department (possibly HR) informing me about PTO, which is Personal Time Off. I am not sure what this is actually although Someone (who has worked in banking) keeps trying to teach me. Apparently just by doing my job I accumulate hours like crypto-coins that I can use for – what? Sick leave? Vacation time? I think those are separate entities. The email conveys my PTO must be used by year’s end or it disappears. The email included a link to investigate this matter.

If I read this right, I have 182 hours of PTO. Patience above!

Doctors would sooner eat rats at Tewkesbury than take time off, as the world stops spinning when they do. Unless you have a very obligating colleague to cover you, patient matters don’t take time off with you but pile up and when you return to work there is a stockpile high as Fafner’s hoard. It doesn’t feel worth the time off. Taking eight hours off (which is a day’s work) is one thing, but 182 hours translates to nearly 22 workdays. I think I get paid for taking PTO (I am not sure) but can you imagine that much time off? I can’t.

The notion of losing something I didn’t know I had in the first place doesn’t feel a loss. Perhaps in December I will take a few days off here and there and in 2026 I will be more mindful to skip work from time to time so as not to accumulate such.

The email suggests I can donate unused PTO into some sort of bank for less fortunate minions to use. Works for me.

It strikes me as silly, but being a minion to The Overlords has a lot of things I don’t understand or am familiar with. I suppose I will learn in time.

Perhaps I can take some PTO to go online and learn the jargon.