Hours worked suggest lower satisfaction with workload than is reported

Having just touched on workloads and work-life balance (See my post of May 6, 2010: balancing two survey results.), let’s ponder a related finding. Again drawing on the massive survey of satisfaction by InsideCounsel, March 2010 at 51, consider that slightly less than half the respondents reported that on average they work 40-50 hours per week. In the next bracket higher, 36.7 percent reported that they average 51-60 hours per week.

How do you reconcile that on satisfaction with workload, one quarter were “somewhat dissatisfied” (19%) or “very dissatisfied” (5%), but many more than that (37%) say they toil more than 51 hours on average every week? That requires actual work – I assume not just being in the office – from 8AM until 6PM every day and a few hours at night, during the commute, or on weekends. This data on workload satisfaction and hours worked doesn’t mesh. Perhaps hours expand to fill the available survey?