I'm sorry to be so disagreeable, I understand your point including commute times into "hours of work", but I don't think that's what was being referred to here. (I also think there's a pervasive tendency to overstate commute times - 1 hour is an extremely long commute, a quick Google search shows the US average is ~27 minutes, which is still long, but...):
> In most professional jobs its not great to be the guy in the door at 9 and out at 5 on the dot if you want a promotion.
In my time in tech roles on the East Coast, I haven't encountered this sentiment. Maybe if there was extreme inflexibility in one's schedule, I could see it frustrating some people, but for the most part I've only ever seen (1) people getting promoted for their work and the impression of their work or (2) active ladder climbing, which can be done within the confines of an 8 hour day. The most common reason I see people work above and beyond their hours is a primarily-self-generated sense of compulsion that's mostly disconnected from the expectations of their supervisors or peers.
> In most professional jobs its not great to be the guy in the door at 9 and out at 5 on the dot if you want a promotion.
In my time in tech roles on the East Coast, I haven't encountered this sentiment. Maybe if there was extreme inflexibility in one's schedule, I could see it frustrating some people, but for the most part I've only ever seen (1) people getting promoted for their work and the impression of their work or (2) active ladder climbing, which can be done within the confines of an 8 hour day. The most common reason I see people work above and beyond their hours is a primarily-self-generated sense of compulsion that's mostly disconnected from the expectations of their supervisors or peers.
Maybe I'm lucky.