Just saying

"But hey you sit on your ass and type away all day while the rest of us live in the real world."

In the "Real World" ®, many people that lost that sort of sensitive / personal data would be instantly sacked without compensation.

".. your solution would be to get up at 5 am, pick up the documents from the office, drive 200 miles, do the meeting, and then drive back ..."

Mny people do actually do just that. For 6 months, I drove to places in London (av. 260 miles) and back 5 days a week, leaving home at 5 am and getting home 9 - 10 pm after a full days work.

For 10 years, I was a school governor. In that time, I had to sit on a large number of committees at which social services were required to attend. In that time, about 40% of meetings were wasted because the social worker never turned up, or when they did so, they had the wrong information.

I would also highlight that they were always paid even when they didn't turn up; my colleagues and I didn't even claim expenses. Whilst I do have some sympathy for the work that they do, my view of most social workers is not a positive one. And I would suggest that many others feel the same way from similar experiences.