An electrical engineer working for Cisco endures a 7-hour daily commute from his residence to Cisco’s headquarters and back.

With his family still sleeping, [Dave] Givens heads out the door at around 4:30 a.m. from a horse ranch at the edge of the astonishing Yosemite National Park. On a good day, he can make the 186-mile trip to Cisco’s sprawling offices in less than three hours.

Givens then usually arrives home at around 8 or 8:30 p.m. This drive home through thicker traffic can take up to five hours some days.

Givens is right to wonder whether his lifestyle’s still appropriate. I mean, how many hours does he actually put in at the office? Travel time’s probably almost equivalent to that. I’m wondering how he keeps productive with all that time and energy spent on the road.

Stories like these make me thankful I work from home (or anywhere with WiFi)!