Employee uses obscure employee handbook loophole to take PTO when their boss forbids them from taking it before it expires: 'PTO requests not explicitly denied [...] within 48 business hours are [...] approved.”'

Life is rife with contradictions. The very idea of work-life balance is one of these. 

The two ideals, as we commonly think of them, stand in exact opposition to one another; one must always come at the cost of the other. So when we think of "balance," what we're basically saying is that we must accept that our life must be set aside for our work.

And in the modern workplace, there is very little opportunity or incentive for actual balance when pushing toward burnout is rewarded, answering phone calls at all hours is an expectation, and taking time off can only be done as long as you understand you're going to be passed up for that promotion at the end of the year.

Even the very idea of "work-life balance" almost exists to serve the culture of overworking itself by placing the very idea in our minds that work is of equal importance to "life." But working is a part of life, not an equal to it. The very idea of a healthy balance means that work means work is nestled neatly right where it belongs as a part of your life, not threatening to overtake it.

Besides, we shouldn't need to be reminded that our lives outside of work are important. Our families and our personal relationships are more important than one extra email could ever be. They should be more important than work, not equal to or less than it.

Contradictions are also rampant throughout workplaces; it's not all that uncommon to have two policies that just can't possibly be followed at the same time. That's a bit how it was when this employee was told that they needed to take their PTO before the end of the month or they would lose it, but they simultaneously were told by their boss that they couldn't take leave until after the end of the month. Funny how that happens. Any time you have what seems to be a good PTO policy at work, you never seem to be able to take it. 

The employee cracked into the employee handbook, and found a loophole which would ensure they managed to take their leave regardless of the bewildering situation they found themself in.