Need to get through

"I just need to get through this." I've heard that statement come out of my husband's mouth every single day (no exaggeration) since he took his job at Amazon over a year ago.

There some good things about the Amazon culture. My husband feels valued by his team and he always feels like his work is important. He likes the transparency of feedback and that it's okay to offer up constructive criticism. He likes that everyone around him cares about their work, and he consistently finds himself in rooms of people with exceptionally bright minds. And of course, the paycheck doesn't hurt.

The problem is there's no balance. 14+ hour days, working from the moment you get up until the moment you fall asleep, answering emails well after midnight often waking you up from sleep, working every single weekend - those are the norm. There's no "vacation." There's just working from a location that's not your normal office. Sick days? A woman on a team my husband works with was just diagnosed with cancer, and all any of them care about is that she can't complete a project she started and when/if she can work.

Every night, our 2 year old is pawing at his father's leg because he wants to spend time with him, and every night, my husband's stress boils over and is taken out verbally on his son and his wife - he has work to do! There simply aren't enough hours in the day for both Amazon and a personal life. Is the pay worth it? At what point do we value our lives more than the number on our W2?