Spot on Jessica. When I worked in software I worked for a company that would create projects but deliberately under-staff them. When it came to meeting project deadlines we were expected to work extra hours to meet that deadline. Except that as soon as that deadline passed we were forced into trying to meet the next deadline and the next one and so on. The pressure was ramped up until 'crunch time' was basically a permanent state.

What started out as a comradely effort to rescue a project slowly evolved into a constant expectation of effort and time. Needless to say, everyone got burnt out by the end of the project and were looking for some respite after the software shipped. No chance. The next project was lined up and as we had managed to deliver the previous one on time it assumed we could do it again. Anyone not prepared to work like that was invited to leave.

Every company now has the same credo; work harder, work faster, be more productive. All that counts is profit margins.