This is not an America thing. Even in Spain which by all accounts of my friends is considered the most laid back place in the planet, top academic labs do the g

This is not an America thing. Even in Spain which by all accounts of my friends is considered the most laid back place in the planet, top academic labs do the grind you mention. This is not new either. Top Academia has been like this for a century. I’m not completely sure if this is a good or a bad thing. Perhaps it’s a necessity. Maybe it’s not. But it is universal.