[justin_oaks]

I agree that this should be an individual responsibility, but sadly it just won't work. If you're the only individual in your company who protects their private time, then you'll feel pressure to fall in line. Even if the boss doesn't give you any grief, your coworkers will: "I respond to emails after hours, so why doesn't he?"

The bosses will likely favor those who work more than they should. And often working longer is seen more favorably than working better. This is mainly because it's more visible.

I tend to think that salaried positions and unpaid overtime shouldn't exist. But I'm open to arguments in favor of them. I just have a hard time seeing how they help align incentives of the employer and the employee.

[Fargren]

Because we are talking about an EU/US comparison, I'll nit pick this: salaried doesn't have to mean what it means in the US. I, like salaried workers in many (all?) European countries have a contract that says how many hours I have to work per week.