Al - I'll try once more. Once again you fail to see my point.
You personally may chose a profession knowing it has a culture of long hours but there is no reason why you have to work excessive hours - its because of your bosses choice and the culture that has built up in your trade. You are not providing emergency cover or 24 hr cover. Either more staff or longer deadlines or more efficient working would remove the need for it.
Working beyond 50 hrs a week your productivity drops and mistakes rise - certainly if you work a series of 50+ hour weeks. Don't work more hours - work smarter use your time well and be well rested alert and ready to go.
Why are lorry drivers limited in hours? 'cos if they do excess hours they make mistakes. Just their mistakes kill people - yours just mean more work which is why the long hours culture is actually counterproductive.
Long hours are associated with high stress, high rates of divorce alcoholism and ill health mental and physical. Its simply not good for a person to do this. No matter the trade.
It is perfectly reasonable in some professions to work long and / or unsocial hours for limited periods. I do for example the worst being a 24 hr shift and a number of 60+ hour weeks. Chasing briefs, working to deadlines all than sort of thing ( although at some point going home and sleeping and returning once rested is better) However without compensatory rest then you are risking serious issues
A friend of mine - lawyer died recently partly of overwork. Worked himself into a grave in his 40s.
A couple of references for you
It is concluded that there is currently sufficient evidence to raise concerns about the risks to health and safety of long working hours. However, much more work is required to define the level and nature of those risks.
http://oem.bmj.com/content/54/6/367.abstract
Conclusions: Excessively long working hours are associated with an increased risk of health complaints. Reducing working hours may be the first step to improving physicians' health.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2703240/
Sudden death is the most extreme consequence of working excessive hours. Physical and psychological fatigue is common. There is an increased risk of heart disease, and victims suffer from sleep difficulties, sexual disorders, gastric disturbances, headaches, backaches, dizziness and weight loss. Accidents become more frequent. There is a range of psychological and behavioural problems: apathy, depression, disorganisation, feelings of incapability, irritability, intolerance, boredom and cynicism. Burnout, defined as exhaustion, underachievement and the inability to handle personal relationships, can result. In the later stages signs of mental illness can appear. All these effects have knock-on consequences for family and social life (Alfredson et al 1993; Karaki 1991).
http://www.lhc.org.uk/members/pubs/books/hl/hl02_02.htm
Work-related stress accounts for over a third of all new incidences of ill health.
http://smallbusiness.uk.reuters.com/2009/01/30/c4de9438dc7b4d9632f96936fed897c1/
