On Saturday, one of the lead managers at my retail job was discussing the performance of one of the managers he supervises. He was very upset because the manager came in at 7 a.m. and left at 4 p.m. (per his schedule) on a Saturday, despite the fact that Saturday is the biggest sales day.

Later that day, my manager and I were having a discussion, and he said, “I thought it was a great idea when they moved me to a salaried position. But this week I’m going to make about $7.00/hour. Welcome to management and the sixty hour work week!” He was smiling when he said it, but you could see that he died a little inside every time he thought about it.

I saw these exact same scenarios play out in restaurant work, too.

So here’s the punchline: Seeing these interactions kills any ambition I might have to advance into those positions.

Sure, a salary is nice in the sense that it’s guaranteed money. But if it comes at the expense of being told that putting in a 9 hour day isn’t enough or working for a wage that gets smaller each hour of the week, it’s not even remotely worth it.

As an hourly employee, I knew I wouldn’t be in for more than 40 hours in a given week, lest some unfortunate manager get a tongue lashing for allowing me five minutes of overtime. What’s more, I knew that if I left at the time I was scheduled to leave, no one was going to get bent out of shape.

I have no idea why companies continue to think that moving into management requires a level of “commitment” that involves sacrificing any attempt at a day-to-day life outside of work, accepting a continually decreasing wage, and basically being willing to think of the health of the business as the single most important aspect of your entire life.

What I can see is why there are so many unhappy young managers out there.