It's more nuanced than that. Working at your job 80 hours a week = a waste. Always. HOWEVER, spending 40 hours a week engaged with something you enjoy and are

It's more nuanced than that. Working at your job 80 hours a week = a waste. Always. HOWEVER, spending 40 hours a week engaged with something you enjoy and are interested in is a perfectly fine way to spend your time. But what, I hear you ask, if I enjoy my job? Well, what about the job do you enjoy? See, if it's the work, chances are you can freelance, self-study, build stuff for yourself, in the same field, and get the same impact, AND you're free to do it how you want, free to learn whatever lessons you want, AND to capture any value it may add for yourself, rather than giving it to your employer. This person is spending their time learning. I.e., investing in themselves. I disagree with their statement that that's required for their job, but it -does- likely make them better at their job than they'd otherwise be, and so long as they enjoy it, I can't find fault with it. But it shouldn't be a burden.