It varies very widely based on the company you work for. At the company I'm at, I haven't heard of vacation requests being denied, but I've also only been here

It varies very widely based on the company you work for. At the company I'm at, I haven't heard of vacation requests being denied, but I've also only been here for 3 months. I did ask about the policy during the interview process, and they said the CEO has created a culture that encourages people to take the time off they need. They have two "quiet weeks", one between Christmas and New Year's, the other in August, where everyone is forced to take a whole week off, supposedly because they know that otherwise, some people would feel guilty about taking time off. In addition, the first Friday of every month is a "Fresh Air Friday", where they strongly encourage you to walk away from your computer after 1 PM, and regular meetings after 1 PM are not allowed. Ask me about the policy in a year and I'll tell you how well it's actually been working.