Well, interesting night - I got home pretty late tonight from work - about 7:15 or so. Got in late this morning so had to work late anyways. Then I spent time with the kids for a few hours, watched them so Amber could get out of the house, put them to bed, and spent some quality time with Amber when she returned.
As long as days like today are for me, I realized today how very sad the lives of a lot of people I work with are.
One guy - for instance - who I like personally - is a workaholic to say the least. He flies out on Monday morning, and back on Friday. He works late every night. He works on the weekend when he's home. He's got a wife, a toddler, and another on the way - he's older than me, but still.
What's really sad? There are at least two more I can think of just like him at my company. Fathers who leave their families all week at home to chase the corporate dream that maybe someday they'll get promoted or make more money. Maybe if they really show their boss how much they work, and close the next deal, or deliver this project, they'll get more money if their boss sees them killing themselves more than the other guy.
There is quite literally a team of 8 men on this project from my company. Week after week, month after month. Men in their upper twenties to their mid fifties. All married. All with varying sizes of families back home. One guy lives locally - the other are on a plane twice a week.
Meanwhile, they miss their chance to influence their wives and children every morning. Every evening. And they miss on their chance to impact their community. No life whatsoever. Their lives are sleep, eat, work, eat, work, eat, work, repeat - Monday through Friday. On the weekend it is sleep, eat, work/family, eat, work/family, eat, work, repeat.
Now, I'm the hardest working person you'll find and have been accused many times of working too much by those close to me, and I encourage everyone to go above and beyond in all they do - but where do you draw the line? Yes, if there was an incredible opportunity it may make sense to make this sort of commitment to the Corporate Man for a period of time, but month after month, year after year, while your children continue to grow up around you and your wife barely sees you?
We're not saving our civilization from destruction by an enemy - we're implementing computer systems. Huh?!?!?!?!
What price are we willing to pay?
In a job market that - even in this economy - still has about a 1% unemployment rate - especially for American citizens that don't need a green card - WHY?!
I'm very glad I saw the light not too long ago and started drawing the line (albeit it is still 50+ hrs/wk). Makes me upset the more I think about it how long I listened to what corporate America was pushing. "Just work more, you'll make more money and you'll be happy - the next promotion will be worth it!"
It looks more and more like indentured servitude the more I observe this type of behavior. You just get a more important-sounding title the more you enslave yourself.
Give me liberty, or give me death!
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