Hey. HEY. Take your vacation days. Paid vacation is not a privilege—it's part of your compensation package. Letting them expire is like handing a paycheck back to the company and saying, "Oh, no, please, I couldn't possibly..." Sounds dumb, right?

"But if I use my vacation, I won't get all my work done!" Load-balancing is your manager's problem. Don't spend your money to cover for someone else's incompetence (or predatory staffing practices).

"But I want the company to succeed!" That's great, but remember that you work for *you*. If the company profits, will you get more money than those vacation days were worth? Are you *sure*? Because paid vacation is *guaranteed* money you're owed right now.