This is a great point that too few people think about. I like to take travel time and mandatory lunch breaks into account when I'm figuring out my 'adjusted' wage, and I use that number when thinking about getting a different job or taking time off. Your time isn't ACTUALLY worth $20/hr (or whatever), its more like 16, or less if you factor in taxes.

This is why I will only take remote jobs. I got sick of spending two hours a day in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

You could try living in a city where you can commute via train. 1 hour on a train is significantly different than 1 hour driving a car.

Still 1 hour of your life gone. Might be better by train but why do it at all if not needed?

I'm at the stage now where if a company required me in the office, the surcharge I'd be asking on top of my wage (30% would do it) would be so hilarious that it would be insulting, but in my mind, that's kinda the point.

I don't think it's unrealistic to think you can get a 30% pay bump by taking another job, or that asking for 30% over what you might think is "fair market rate" for your skills is a bad idea

I think the company should just count the travel hours as work hours if office presence is mandatory.

Do you go to the office because you need to or want to? Seems there is some difference there.

I don’t assume anyone is a javascript programmer by choice really but anyway. Of course it matters; if you want to be in the office, why count your travel hours? Your choice. If you need to be in the office, that’s another case.

You are missing the point: it is endemic to the culture. It has nothing to do with personal choice. It's like blaming a sexual assault victim for what they wear: that's not the issue, it is toxic masculinity that is the problem, e.g., the culture, not the individual incident.