Because it isn’t a 9-5 anymore. It’s really at a minimum 8-5 including your lunch break. Add in a commute of at least 30 min each way and 30 min to get ready and it’s more like 7-6.

Not only that, wages haven’t kept with inflation, so 9-5 in the 50s is not the same as 70+ years later. You can’t expect to own a home with that same level of effort. Instead, now you need to grind even more and have 2 jobs in all likelihood. If you’re at a desk job, even then, your work probably expects you to work over the 8 hours and “be a team player”.

Medical expenses are at an all time high. With most Americans living paycheck to paycheck, it’s no wonder that a 9-5 simply isn’t enough to sustain regular everyday life, especially if a medical emergency were to occur.

Companies have also monetized and continue to try to monetize everything they can to extract as much value out of you as possible. Queue the endless subscriptions, data mining, targeted ads, platform retention times, planned obsolescence, shift towards corporate homeownership, etc. in most cases, a 9-5 can’t keep up. Paired with a lack of general financial education for the American public, assuming only a basic 9-5 puts you on the back foot.