I wouldn't do 65 hours a week for any(*) salary. Way back when I was a naive, fresh from university grad, I tried it. The only things I succeeded in doing was turning out substandard work, and making myself physically and mentally exhausted.

My physical and mental health are more important than work. End of story.

edit: (*) Okay... you want to pay me a few hundred thousand dollars for a month of 80 hour weeks, I'd probably consider it, but it's not something I'd do for any sustained length of time.

I wonder if that is a difference in professions? People at work have my home number, but the only time it is called is when my boss is checking up on me (making sure I'm not dying) after being sick or when I'm supporting an international trip, and I don't think it has ever been called outside of those two reasons. The expectation here is that you do your work while at work or on the clock at home if you are going virtual that day.

I think it's a difference in professions and also individual companies. I think in some places the upper levels of management have the attitude "I have to work unpaid overtime/at home/on holiday and so should you", despite not realising that they are either partners/directors or on a heck of a lot more money.

I do the very occasional 1/2hr of work from home or while away, but I am the only technical person here so if I don't do it then it won't get done.

At a company a friend used to work from they would close the offices at 5.30pm and the managers would sweep through the building turfing people out. Probably a bit extreme because when you are working on something tricky it's nice to wait until a natural break point.

Oh yes - the pay in this line of work is rather nice. And if I did decide to go for next promotion and actually become a partner I could add another zero to the end straight away - however then I would have no personal life at all, whereas I quite like to spend time with my family, play with cars and karts, and do other things. Seriously - 65 hours is fine, I only get tetchy when it goes up over 80ish...but then I would probably do 50% of what I do now even if I didn't get paid. It's such good fun.

We have the policy that you are to answer your city paid for cell 24/7. I blithely ignore this though. They've gotten used to me not answering and have stopped trying until the next Monday. If it's REALLY important, several top management know my home number, or at least know people that DO know my home number, so if the building catches on fire on a Saturday, I'll find out quick enough. I'm lucky enough to be expert enough on our systems that nobody else can do what I do, especially as quickly, so it's one of those cases where I do as I please, and they don't hassle me about it too much.