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Comment by BklynJay | Hacker News Reader

I'll never forget the conversation I overheard where someone who was utterly and completely miserable (at arguably the quintessential Wall Street investment bank) described how miserable he was, but also that they pay him so much money, at age 34, that he'd "lost the ability to complain."

The hours, lifestyle, verbal abuse, sociopaths and general disregard for virtually everything except making more money, will eventually wear you out. As an influential managing director at an investment bank once told me in a moment of honesty, "This business brings out the worst in everyone."

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I can't see how even the pay could justify living such a miserable life. I feel like the life of a miserably rich banker scales perfectly down to a simple conversation I had with a taylor in Hong Kong last month.

He mentioned to me that it had been a long day for him, so I asked him what long was. He told me he'd been working for 17 hour, and that he's used to working only 15. Aghast, I said wow! That's a lot of work, but at least it's Friday. He told me it didn't matter, because he worked 7 days a week. He also mentioned that the last day off he'd taken had been over a month prior, and that it was because he was sick.

I remember thinking, what's the point of living? This man works all day every day so that he can live, but he's only living to work. And honestly, that's exactly what I see in the bankers. Yeah, you make an enormous amount of money, but your job makes you so miserable that you don't even enjoy having it, so what's the point?

I think this is kind of a symptom of market economy thinking where people remove all "inefficiencies" to lower costs and improve profit. It seems to be common thinking that two major things which are viewed as "inefficiencies" are work/life balance and working environment. Not getting 110%, or at least the appearance that you're getting 110%, out of your employees is considered inefficient which breeds poor work environment. Humans aren't numbers and when you see them almost entirely as numbers people become inhumane. It's also not always clear when trying to judge the impact a person has or if someone is giving 50% versus 110%.

Some people work so they can earn money to live the life they love. Others find living in work as much as out. Neither is better, they're just different personalities and cultures.

I've felt compelled to put down a book and get a drink with friends as often as to postpone travel to fit around a client. Just because someone leads a different life from the one you choose to or would choose to if uninhibited doesn't mean they're miserable. Watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi where Jiro, a world-renowned sushi chef, takes pride in doing the same thing every day for the rest of his life (his words) helped me reflect on that.

I actually just recently saw that movie. To be honest, I couldn't help but wonder the entire time whether he really was the happiest person he could be while making sushi, or if he just couldn't bring himself to let it go. The scene where he visits his friends for example, is in my opinion, the happiest he appears throughout the entire film.

Obviously his lifestyle is one that I won't ever understand. I suppose some people's minds just work differently. But then again, studies show that the happiest people are those that have warm networks of friends and family that they speak to regularly, and I can't imagine that making money for your family (at least past a certain point) is better than simply spending more time with them.

I couldn't agree more. :)

The point? He could be putting his children through school and paying for his family's health care.

The ability to operate solely in the top tier of the Maslow pyramid is a multiple sigma anomaly, not a fact of life. For many people "enjoying life" is knowing you've done all you possibly can to make sure your children will live a better life than you.

Well, at least by the time you're burned out and start a new career, you could have a very large chunk of change saved away.

I would agree, except having witnessed all of this firsthand, the burnout part tends to affect your outlook on life. The money becomes rather meaningless, if you can believe it.

>>The money becomes rather meaningless, if you can believe it.

Of course it does. The marginal utility of money specifically states that each additional dollar earned has less of an effect on the person's happiness and feeling of accomplishment. This is why "more money" stops being a motivator after a certain point.

Yep. But even though you say "of course it does," the majority of people don't realize that until its too late. There's nothing obvious about the situation from the outside looking in, unless you possess uncommon introspective abilities or have read up on what you're describing there.

Oh, sure, but IMO it's better to be disillusioned by money and have it, than dream of it an not have it. If only because, even if you're disillusioned, you are always fed etc.

This is not always true. If you're a quant or a trader, you can live in Jersey and send your kids to good public schools and no one gives a shit if you're good at what you do. If you're doing the soft-side bullshit, you have to live in Manhattan and send your kids to fancy prep schools and keep up with the Joneses (management) who have more money than you do, and you often get through the wringer with almost no savings.

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