When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Hunter S. Thompson

01 March 2007

70 hours a week: the new standard?

Before Barbara Agoglia left her job as a director in American Express’ small business unit, she was on the verge of burnout. Aside from logging upward of 50 hours per week, she had a 90-minute commute to and from northern Westchester and had to be reachable to clients nearly 24-7.

The breaking point came when her son started kindergarten and she didn’t have time to wait with him at the bus stop. “The hamster-on-the-wheel analogy is the best way to describe how I felt,” she says. For Agoglia, quitting felt like her only option.

It’s a feeling shared by many Americans who know that simply working hard isn’t enough anymore. To get ahead, a 70-hour work week is the new standard.

Crazy hours becoming the new standard - Forbes via MSNBC.com

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