Wake up. Sit up. Rub sleep from glassy eyes. Struggle into uniform. Stagger out to kitchen. Quietly. Careful not to wake the children. Brew coffee. Grab stale bagel on the way out the door. Drive to work through the dark and lingering fog. Clock in. Customer yells. Boss yells. Clock out drive home through the dark and lingering fog. Go inside. Quietly. Careful not to wake the children. Lay down. Maybe you’ll find the dream in your sleep.

For too many of us, this is life. People are spending more time at work than ever, and the work day does not end when we go home. As many as 91 percent of Americans confess to working off the clock. If you’re anything like me, someone whose thirties are looming dreadfully just over the horizon, you might be asking yourself why the hell you are sacrificing some much of your time and energy in a menial job you know is not your desired career.

Isn’t forty hours per week enough? What, really, is the reward for going above and beyond every single day for people and for companies that clearly do not give a shit about you? Sure, that overtime pay looks nice on your paycheck, but what are you spending it on? If you don’t have children, there is a good chance you take a chance to go out in your spare time. Maybe you go to a bar, club, restaurant or party. Maybe you just stay home and get hammered. Would you feel the need to unwind in such a way if you hadn’t spent sixty-plus hours crushed under the weight of deadlines or the ever-vigilant eye of Middle Manager X in the last week? I would wager not.

Not to mention the fact that not everyone is getting overtime. Salaried jobs sound nice and stable and very grown-up, but doing the math at the end of every week will reveal that you are probably making less than you did at most hourly positions you have held. Is that little pat on the back worth sacrificing your entire life in the pursuit of capital?

There is nothing wrong with working hard or having a strong work ethic. Our economy relies on it. It is bred into us, culturally, as Americans. But there must be a disconnect. We are renting out our lives, one hour at a time, sacrificing moments with family and friends that we will never get back. Home and work need to be separate, or else the old adage, “Who you are is not defined by what you do” will be proven increasing degrees of false. We are in abusive relationships with our jobs, and it is beyond time that we draw the line.