A senior manager announced last minute that a high-priority project needed to be delivered within three days. I was already working late hours that week, but the tone made it clear that skipping personal plans was expected. I spent the next 72 hours in the office, fueled by coffee and anxiety, reworking presentations and crunching numbers. By the end, I was burnt out and had missed important family events. Nobody mentioned how often this happens or how long the team deals with extreme hours like this. At the debrief, the manager praised us for our hard work but mentioned nothing about the toll it took. It felt like a badge of honor to be exhausted and overworked, as if that was the norm. Looking back, the so-called flexibility didn't hold up when deadlines loomed.