we have a pto bank - mine maxes out at 240 hours and I accrue about 17 hours per month - so I get "shaved" if I don't take about 2 days off a month so that's what I try to do
the bank gets cashed out upon termination fwiw
My company screwed around with our leave policy. I get 200 hours per year. Initially, they would cash out anything we had over 200 hours at the end of the year, and the check would usually come sometime in early January, so it was like a nice little bonus.
But then, a couple years ago, they changed it to where we could accrue 1.5x our annual rate, but we would lose everything beyond that. So, that meant I could hit 300 hours, but would get no more after that.
I had it timed to where I was going to hit close to 300 hours early this year, so I was planning on starting to take off a day here and there, and keep the total just under 300. And eventually, a real vacation of a week or two would knock it down some more.
But, this year they decided to go back to the old way! So, at the end of this year, they'll cash out anything beyond 200 hours. I stopped worrying about taking a day off here and there, so it's been building a bit. I'm currently sitting on about 326 hours.
My plan, for the time being, is to use the hours they cash out at the end of the year to help fund my Roth for 2016.
I've also been taking off early on Wednesdays, and I found it really helps my morale a lot. I'll usually leave the office around 12:30-1 pm or so. It really helps break up the week, even though it's only giving me a few hours of freedom. Monday still feels just as bad as it ever did, but suddenly, Tuesday seems a lot more bearable, almost like a Friday. And I actually look forward to Wednesday, as it doesn't feel like a real workday anymore. Thursday is usually the worst day of my week, as it's usually the busiest and if there's one day I end up working OT, it's usually a Thursday. But, coming back refreshed a bit, even it doesn't seem as bad as it did. It's funny how just taking a few hours here and there can psyche you out a bit.