Why I do it…
There’s only a couple of reasons why I work as hard as I do, hard as in the long hours.
It’s not because of my loyalty to the organization. A business is a business i.e. to make profits. It does not make sense for the business to look at employee welfare when the business is suffering. So the business wouldn’t care jackshit about me if times are bad and they need reduce costs.
It’s not because I want to climb higher and faster up the corporate ladder. From my observation, the higher one goes up the ladder, the more detached one becomes from being a decent human being, bordering on mean and ruthless. With the exception of a few amazing individuals, whom I’ve had the good fortune to work with. I’d rather remain as a lowly consultant for as long as I can or even quit, as long as I maintain my sense of compassion and emphathy towards my fellow humans.
So why do I do it?
I do it all in the name of teamwork. Because we are a team, we struggle as a team and celebrate as a team. Because our work is all related and sometimes dependent upon another’s completion, if one person doesn’t pull his/her weight, then the whole piece will eventually collapse. All it takes is just one person to not be in sync with the team and it will make it difficult for everyone else because now, not only do you have to deal with the pressures of the workload, you have to deal with people dynamics and find a way to resolve it.
I have been fortunate all of my working life to have had amazing team members who do not only their share of work but are willing to go further and help other teammates when things get too much.
Sure, we complain and gripe about it. Who wouldn’t, having to work till 2am in the morning every single day for 2 weeks in a row, including weekends? We complain about it together and then we go cuckoo together, like youtube-ing the Smurfs theme song and playing it, in hip hop version. My boss kept himself psyched during the late hours by playing the Star Wars theme song (he’s a Star Wars + movie buff). After the Smurf episode, we all started reminiscing about the cartoons of our childhood : Thundercats, He-Man, Voltron, Jem and the Holograms. And we started singing their theme songs! That’s what sleep deprivation does to you, I guess. Heh. This was my memorable experience in my most recent all-nighter stint.
Also, a more realistic view of this is, we are all not indispensable. If I don’t do it, someone else will be more than willing to take my place. Especially in times like these. So what does one do? Slog la…
I shall let my family and friends tell you about me. These comments may be rather old but I think the gist of them still hold 
