I agree, many of us have allowed this to happen to ourselves because we don’t say no. But I think we need to look at WHY we feel like we can’t say no. For some it might be fear of losing their job, for others maybe just a duty to do it to the best of their ability which includes long hours.

When I had a salary job, the other girl I ran the office (in my same role) was able to say no and not answer her phone on the weekends. Because she ignored anything that came up, every employee called me with their problems in the field instead. I didn’t feel like I could say no because I knew if they were calling they needed help. Sometimes I probably shouldn’t have bailed them out, but I hated to see them suffer.

I’m sure better systems in place would have solved this, but in some cases that’s easier said than done.