I think your job doesn't sound very nice - needing at least 1 hr to decompress, having to stay late because something "came up". Dunno if cycling to/from work w

I think your job doesn't sound very nice - needing at least 1 hr to decompress, having to stay late because something "came up". Dunno if cycling to/from work would help with de-stressing quicker? (of course, cycling may or may not be feasible where you live). Certainly being stuck in a traffic jam after a hard day at work is no fun either. I'd rather spend longer on public transport if that means read a book, message some friends, even chat to a friend in person that does the same run. WFH even if only 2 days a week, is a game-changer, if you could achieve that. Working 4-days weeks is another big game-changer. I do that and its totally worth the salary hit. Seems a great shame if people feel unable to have kids and/or a social life just due to the demands of work. People also aren't going to be productive employees either if they're unhappy because of that. I think people need to push back against their employers, and the irony is, by doing so they're actually helping their employer because burnt-out people are not useful. But to have the nerve to push back, or switch jobs, one may need some money saved up. Which is very do-able for reasonably frugal people on tech salaries. I hope you manage to get to a better situation somehow :)