[zorked]

People in workspaces with crazy work hours pad the remaining hours with meetings, email, going from here to there and back here.

Humans only work so many hours a day. Outlier humans who can work more won't waste their talent/superpower at an employer where their extra time isn't compensated.

[stkdump]

I have to say (as a person currently on a 25-30 hour work week), that I often times find meetings to be the most exhausting part of my job, especially when I am very engaged in them. Coding is like meditation compared to that (thought I couldn't dream of doing it more than 50 hours per week for more than a week or two).

[bigred100]

Agree. The best way to work tons of hours is to spend tons of time on low-effort things that can be presented as difficult or important in meetings.

[maxheadroom]

>Outlier humans who can work more won't waste their talent/superpower at an employer where their extra time isn't compensated.

Yes and no. Some might compromise the hourly rates for salary, if it comes with fringe benefits - say, having an FAANG on your resume, for example.