Overtime and Family

A New York Times article on people who are sick of too many hours at work tells the story of Diane Knorr, a former dot—com executive: “The first time I got a call way after hours from a senior manager, I remember being really flattered and thinking, wow! I'm really getting up there now.” But gradually, her work and family life became a blur with hours that were hard to scale back. “If I leave at 5:00 and everyone else leaves at 6:30, I might look like the one who is not pulling his weight,” she said. In college, Mrs. Knorr set a goal of making a six-figure salary by the time she was 49. She reached it at 35 and, “Nothing happened; no balloons dropped,” she said. “That's when I really became aware of that hollow feeling.” Knorr eventually quit her job and started a non-profit organization.—New York Times, September 5, 2004, John Schwartz