Regretting the Golden Handcuffs Beware the Cost of Burnout August 31st, 2015 by by Matthew Lyon

There are a lot of links in the text above. Here are the best follow-ups:

The idea of a meritocracy presumes that everyone starts off and continues through with the same level of access to opportunity, time, and money, which is unfortunately not the case.

You’ve got to put something back into the flow of history that’s going to help your community, help other people … so that 20, 30, 40 years from now … people will say, this person didn’t just have a passion, he cared about making something that other people could benefit from.

Salary negotiations are an information game and presenting such valuable information for no return at all is a fools strategy.

But when the company was purchased in 2009, Contipelli left and had to comply with the terms of the noncompete agreement. As a result, she was locked out of her industry.

these companies are both destroying the personal lives of their employees and getting nothing in return

we log too many hours because of a mix of inner drivers, like ambition, machismo, greed, anxiety, guilt, enjoyment, pride, the pull of short-term rewards, a desire to prove we’re important, or an overdeveloped sense of duty

And something I’ve found since the original publishing of this piece:

And when the flame gets too close, the ramifications can be huge. Some silently seethe until they crumble, quitting their job or unable to do much for weeks or even months. Some walk away, scorching the earth behind them. A few have gone the 410 gone route.