At this point the guy slunk away like a whipped dog and is apparently still assigned to the account from hell. I'm not surprised. Even though I work for myself, am no longer a hostage to office politics and do have some reserves in the bank, I often feel stuck as well. The whole social fabric of the country has changed. The two income family is more or less a necessity.
Job security is a joke.
And everyone I know comes home tired, pissed off and totally stressed out. T here is no escape. If you work for a big company, every day is a new opportunity to get fired. You live in fear of being downsized right out of the organization. Everyone I know who still has a job seems to be doing the work of three people, mostly because four of their friends have already gotten laid off.