had it pretty good for the first 8 years or so. Then I became the employee that basically ran everything and was given all the problems to figure out. I have a hard time saying "No, I don't have time to help with that," and am very driven to have a successful outcome. My hours jumped dramatically. Throw in a new boss who was pushing overtime and hesitant to hire help, and by year 13 I was averaging 50+ hours a week, quite often working 60-70. I know there are a lot of people out there that do that and even more, but it was very stressful with a young family.

I finally hit my breaking point and realized I would rather work to live than live to work. They threw everything at me to convince me to stay, but ultimately I am now at a company with a great work/life balance still making a healthy income. The feeling of getting that stress off my back was amazing.

I am not saying changing companies is the correct answer in every situation or even most situations, especially with the uneasiness of the economy right now. I am saying that managers should go to great lengths to allow for better work/life balance, especially for their top performers who are typically the ones putting in the extra hours.