While people driving cars solo is surely a pitiable waste of time and resources, and my current commute is about 20ft from bedroom to living room, I would say that a happy medium has been my public transit-based commutes.
As long as there's at least one leg with a long-haul distance (30+ minutes), I am usually able to enter a calm and meditative state, lower my blood pressure, and set aside the cares of home and work alike. This is not always the case, because there may be stressors from other passengers, but most of the time, my situational awareness does not require rapt attention, and I can soften my gaze, stare out the window, or poke my nose into my phone.
It is often difficult to describe to recruiters how public transit makes my commute different, not just more time. The distance calculations work differently: based on number of transfer points and frequency of service, etc.
