Originally Posted by Unregistered

It is precisely because everyone has the mental frame and attitude of a scholar that the competition to stand out from one's peers is so cut-throat. Everyone works extremely hard. The first one to show weakness will lag behind their peers.

In an ideal situation, everyone who is tired and overworked (actually, just everyone) says something about the workload, and this leads to systemic change. Unfortunately you can't avoid market spoilers who are willing to make crushing sacrifices for career advancement, and if the rest of the pack want to keep up, they have to show that they can keep up.