The average workweek of Internet professionals is more than 50 hours, at least 10 hours more full-time employees in most industries. What's surprising about these statistics isn't the hours people work. It's that instead of making Internet laborers a bunch of surly, bitter burnouts, work overload seems to have made them, well, happy. The more hours and weekends people work, the more satisfied people are with their jobs, according to the study. Robert Buderi, whose recent book Engines of Tomorrow explores scientific research work at large technology firms, says people's attraction to a frenetic work pace is a result of today's still-booming economy.
People never work more than they're paid for in the long haul.
They stop when they sense it's not worth it, but right now it's clear that at a lot of places it's worth it for people. While 42 percent of workers in The Standard's survey report they are very satisfied with their salary, only 29 percent feel the same about their stock options. Internet workers realize they're more likely to get an intellectual reward out of working than a post-IPO windfall. Money can't buy that feeling of satisfaction. Management guru John Kao, CEO of San Francisco consulting firm the Idea Factory, suggests workers also are enjoying the social aspects of working in the new economy, which helps explain some of the long days.