> I just think the average highly qualified and talented knowledge worker probably maxes out around 30-40, and the rest is fumes and cope really

I think a lot of it is just people being at the office for long hours, not really productive work happening

The issue is so many god damn meetings. There can be days in a row where I won't see 15 minutes of uninterrupted time during core work hours. Early, late... that ends up being quiet time to do the things I have in my queue. I'll agree that most of the meetings would be a real struggle to call it something productive.