Recently a friend confided over dinner that her job was "killing" her. I was surprised. She is a director of a midsize nonprofit that is doing citizen diplomacy work in the Middle East, and she has often remarked on how gratifying it is to be involved in a program that brings historical enemies face to face to share their stories.

But 2011 was a tough year for fundraisers, and my friend has been doing double duty as her understaffed organization struggles to make up the shortfall. Like many nowadays, she takes her work home with her, which has taken a toll on her personal life, health and sleep. She is thinking of leaving the nonprofit but is afraid to do so before she finds another job.

Another friend, who is employed by a large insurance company, is routinely forced to work late and at home on weekends — often without pay — on the projects she didn't have time to finish at the office. With the threat of layoffs ever-present, she dares not complain about this modern-day slave labor.