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I work a pretty standard schedule of about 40 hours a week. I have a good bit of flexibility as I run my own lab, so I pretty much decide when I need to be here based on what needs to get done and when. Most days I'm in by 8-8:30 and out around 4:30-5 with lunch at my desk while working.
I guess what strikes me as odd or off-putting is the ridiculous number of hours that some people work. Whether they are required to by their job, or require it of themselves, it just seems excessive to me. I pretty much enjoy my job and the work that I do, but I would venture that a lot of people don't enjoy their jobs. If it wasn't for the need of income, most people wouldn't work as much as they do currently... or wouldn't work at all.
It seems to be a largely US based problem, but I'm sure that other countries suffer from it as well, that we work and work and work putting in more and more hours without seeing any benefit to ourselves. I have colleagues in Italy and Germany who do similar work to what I do and they typically take off for 2-3 months a year during the summer. That kind of break here in the states is absolutely unheard of in most professions. I consider myself fortunate in my current position to get 3 weeks paid vacation per year.
Does anyone else feel that people typically work more hours than they should have to just to make a living?
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You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.
- Albert Einstein
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