Fueling the increasing demand for profits on Wall Street causes an astounding number of societal wrecks, Reuters reports.

The pressure to accelerate profits on Wall Street is taking its toll on the men and women who make the wheels go around, and sometimes the speed is just too much to handle. The intense pace kept by financial executives “is ruining careers, tearing apart families, and keeping drug dealers busy, mental health experts say” (Reuters, June 18).

In spite of, and also because of, a series of strong profits and record-setting market highs, human lives are falling apart. Those lubricating the inner workings of the financial machine are beginning to overheat under the increasing stress, with some Wall Street professionals working 100-hour weeks. The executives may be under even more pressure to produce results. To cope, some are turning to substance abuse. Others abuse legal prescription drugs or obtain them illegally to focus through the strenuous hours. Still others turn to cocaine and other hard drugs to try and ease their mind after work. One drug dealer cited in the report said that all of his clients were businessmen. A clinical psychologist, Alden Cass, cited other problems among Wall Street businessmen and women: “adultery, substance abuse, [and] problems with the law.” This is when the Street is up.

One doesn’t have to strain the imagination to understand what such a ridiculous work schedule and its accompanying effects would do domestically. A husband or wife who is home around 70 hours a week, including sleep time, certainly doesn’t have much time or energy to devote to the family.

Even from a financial perspective, a continued stretch in the fast lane is not good news. Companies have suffered major setbacks when an overworked executive has made a wrong decision. The financial system is showing signs of cracking under its own pressure.

The momentum of Wall Street is such that it can’t slow down. Workers are not expected to simply maintain the financial status of the company, but to boost profits to astronomical numbers as well. Compelled by their own desire for more money, many are trading out their homelife and their conscience. The white-knuckled pursuit of the next dollar has its consequences. This crisis within the personal lives of otherwise successful businessmen demonstrates the grip of greed on the floors of our stock market. For more on this subject read “In the Grip of Greed.”