Great story. It seems such a luxury to have a decent well-paying job with real stability, 9-to-5 work hours, and enough interesting projects to sink your teeth in.
Is this something you only find in corporate or academic labs?
US Government contractors have a requirement for average hours worked, by salaried workers, to be no more than ~40 hours / week (might be < 50). And they get audited for this (and other requirements) annually. Twenty years working for one such entity has made me grateful for it. Interesting enough work, low stress; lots of bureaucratic type stuff to deal with.
It barely exists in corporate or academic labs anymore tbh. Or at least, what you're describing has been what I've been looking for in my 10-year corporate career, and I've never found it nor met anyone who has
Is this something you only find in corporate or academic labs?