not so unbelievable.

people are pitching a fit that a staffer at oprah's company racked up $65,000 in overtime in four months? why is this news? i don't think it's that crazy at all. when i was a legal temp right after i graduated, there were people who would willingly work 100 hour weeks just to cash in on that time-and-a-half overtime gravy train. this oprah staffer clocked in 800 hours of overtime in four months. assuming a regular 40 hour work week, that's 50 hours of overtime a week. there is a certain type of person who will put in the hours if they are available. i have friends doing temp doc review at large law firms who work 12 to 14 hour days, including weekends, and collect handsome amounts of overtime pay.

this chica at oprah worked 90 hour weeks. that's not "astounding, nearly impossible-to-accumulate overtime." remember, there are people who work 90 hour weeks WITHOUT overtime pay, such as, oh... most people in the bottom rungs of the investment banking industry, associates at large law firms, and resident physicians (who make a paltry $40k a year). wait, that's pretty much EVERYONE I KNOW.

so, more power to this oprah assistant. you go girl!