Extreme jobs are everywhere. Customers expect systems to function perfectly all the time. Business leaders expect problems to be resolved instantly. These realities, along with intense competition for top jobs, have combined to create a workday with no real beginning or end.
Consultants Carolyn Buck Luce and Sylvia Ann Hewlett put extreme jobs on the map last year when they unveiled a study of some of today's toughest and most consuming careers. The research consisted of two surveys: one of high earners across various professions in the United States, the other of high-earning managers in multinational corporations.
Respondents qualified as extreme if they worked at least 60 hours per week, took home big salaries and held jobs that met at least five of the following 10 criteria:
1. Unpredictable flow of work
2. Fast-paced work under tight deadlines
3. A scope of responsibility that amounts to more than one job.
4. Work-related events outside regular work hours.
5. Availability to clients 24/7
6. Responsibility for profit and loss
7. Responsibility for mentoring and recruiting.
8. Large amount of travel
9. Large number of direct reports
10. Physical presence at workplace at least 10 hours a day
According to the study, the four characteristics thought to create the most intensity and pressure among survey respondents were unpredictability (cited by 91 percent), a fast pace with tight deadlines (86 percent), work-related events outside of business hours (66 percent) and 24/7 client demands (61 percent).
Source: CIO magazine, September 1, 2007, www.CIO.com