I’ve worked plenty of 12-16 hour days, plus weekends, without compensation, so I’m not afraid of long, hard work.
But there is something wrong when employees work 12-16 our days at $1 an hour, & the CEO earns billions of dollars. In some ways, this is taking advantage of desperately poor people who will work for pennies to feed their families because they have no other options.
There is another aspect to this. What kind of life does one have when all they do is work?
Years ago, I took a job with IBM in sales & support. The work load quickly became enormous. I became concerned that I could not do so many things properly, & that all would suffer as a result.
I went to talk to my boss, whom I greatly respected & admired as a boss & family man. He told me he began working during his morning shower & didn’t stop until his head hit the pillow at night. He suggested I put more time in the job.
I was single at the time, but looking, & I had been divorced a few years earlier. I told him the last time I worked like he did, all it got me was a divorce. In my zeal to advance my career, I had neglected my wife, with predictable results.
Well, I didn’t care much for working at IBM. Too much sales & not enough support. So I found another job & moved on.
A year or so later, I attended a seminar at IBM, & I asked about my former boss. I was told he was promoted to Atlanta, but was back in town attending to business related to the terrible divorce he was going through.
I guess the money was more important than the family. Sad.
“I guess the money was more important than the family.”
In an increasing number of cases, the money is necessary for the family (and not a luxurious lifestyle). If I was divorced the first thing I’d do is quit my job, and looking for something less stressful - I’m going to lose a chunk of pay either way, but no reason to sacrifice what would be left of my happiness for a job.