[l__l]

I genuinely think this is a UK/US thing (limiting to those countries because that's the limited experience I have); in the UK this is absolutely true. There is a definite cultural thing going on where people play down how much effort they put in to things. It's definitely 'uncool', throughout school, higher education and in the workplace, to be super keen.

Contrast to the US: American colleagues I've had have all agreed that it's kind of the reverse on that side of the pond. I've heard people brag about the hours they've put in to work; that would be a complete embarrassment over here, especially if the work turns out not to be top-tier.