Alex, a promising young trader with a US investment bank, was told that he would be promoted if he could complete a gruelling five-month training programme in just three months. Deciding that the personal price was too high, he turned the offer down twice before deciding to quit to coach a university soccer team.

Carrie, a risk management specialist in her 20s with experience of both nine-to-five and long-hours work, is similarly anxious not to be swallowed up by her job and hopes that the economic downturn will lead to a review of corporate rewards. "I would prefer to be in a situation where it was more about the work-life balance and less about the billion-dollar bonuses," she says.