It's not a pipedream. We run a dev team that is both productive and enthused about the work we do. Every single engineer is out the door by 6, unless there is something that needs completing urgently. We are constantly shipping new versions of our product, are very profitable and have a minute churn rate of developers.

My gut feeling is that developers who cultivate a lifestyle that will inevitably lead to them burning out are either drinking the koolaid of some kind of cliched' notion of how developers should perform, or are simply being exploited by their employers.

Everyone has a right to see their family and keep fit, and in this sellers market, developers CAN work at a sustainable pace that doesnt put their future careers at stake.