Unbelievable

The markets are electronic. The markets never close. The markets never sleep.

In the future, neither will those whose jobs depend upon the markets.

Just got word from higher-ups that, thanks to global electronic trading, I will have to come into the office on Memorial Day and/or the Fourth of July. I am not pleased.

I like my job. It's a good job with good people. I like and respect my immediate bosses. I know what it means to have a bad job. I know the difference.

But I'm not happy today.

Corporations expand and contract like a marathon runner's chest. Jobs are outsourced. Billion-dollar mergers occur with dizzying speed. In this new age, job security is an illusion. In this new age, we are working longer hours for less. Lunch is a sandwich wolfed down in three minutes while I look at numbers on a computer screen.

In this spirit, and in my present mood, I have to tip my hat to the European way of life. Maybe there is lost productivity with month-long vacations and the 35-hour work week, but is prodcutivity everything? We can increase productivity tremendously if we adopt the 70-hour work week. Where should the line be drawn?

The line should be drawn at Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.