Vacation? What's that?

Have I already written about my feelings regarding vacation/sick days verses PTO? *scrolling back through all my posts* Nope! I haven't complained about it on the blog yet. :)

PTO: "Some employers prefer to give their employees a paid time off plan. This is a more flexible arrangement that gives the employee a set amount of days off to be used at the employee's discretion. These days can be used for sick time, personal days, vacations, or for whatever reason the employee may need time off."

Vacation/Sick Days: "Companies offer paid time off in the form of vacation days, holidays, personal leave, and sick leave. Some employers' plans offer a specific amount of days for each form."

The average for PTO for an employee with 2 years of service is 17 days a year. (Oh what I would give to have 17 days a year off from work...) But my company doesn't do PTO. We do separate vacation/sick days. For under 5 years of service, you get 10 vacation days and 10 sick days. You are not allowed to use your sick days for anything other than being sick. You can't even use a sick day to go to the doctor or the dentist!

So what does that all mean? That means, that for people like me who are rarley sick (knock on wood) and who usually try to go to work unless they are deathly ill, that means that we get screwed. I'm not the kind of person who can call in sick for just anything. I get really nervous and worry whenever I do have to call in sick. And playing the old "calling in sick when I'm not" game REALLY makes me nervous. So in summary, I get 10 days off a year. Period. Only 10. And 10 really isn't very many. I am expected to be at my desk 244 days a year. (261 total work days in a year minus my measly 10 days off & minus the 7 holidays we get off). All I have to say is, NO FAIR! And for those 10 sick days that I am allowed to take but don't? They are wasted. They don't roll over. I never get to use them.

Dear Company,
Why can't we do PTO? Don't you see that PTO is more fair than separate vacation/sick days? Don't you see that in essence, you are punishing people for being well and for taking care of themselves and not getting sick? And you are punishing honest people who don't call in sick when they aren't? I would appreciate some answers. 
Love,
Holly