I'm only able to take a couple a year, but 3 day weekends are amazing. It takes me two days to catch up on life from working like a dog, and it means I get one day to actually enjoy the life I allegedly work so hard for.
You could argue my greedy ass would say the same thing about 4day weekends if 3days was the norm. Perhaps, but I don't think so - I think there's something balanced about the 3:4 ratio. My mood and productivity are so much better on the rare occasions I get to experience this.
Instead of taking traditional vacation throughout the year, I started taking as many Wednesdays as I can for this exact reason. I picked Wednesday specifically because no one else is off to need my attention and I can actually focus on my own chores or my mental health.
That sounds good, but we are strongly discouraged from one or two day vacations. Supposed to take one week blocks. It's just short enough to not be relaxing and long enough to chew through a decent chunk of time off.
That sucks. I work for a company that does that too but I don’t get reprimanded for doing it this way. I hope you are able to figure out a what works best for you and that they’ll let you take it.