You need to define work. Is the amount of time I spend learning a new framework/language also work? By that definition none of us are very smart.

If you mean to say work as defined by the specified project you need to determine if there is something else they are seeking that provides worth. Do they want to be seen as necessary? Do they need to learn the whole system/program to have a sense of job security. Some people love the whole idea of saying they have spent more time than anyone else working on the program/app at hand. It's BS I know but for the non technical manager those are the sweetest words.

It's not easy to make utilitarian calculations based solely off monetary units divided by time. Exchange value is never easy to determine. For you it may be easy to find another job that pays same or more for same monetary value divided by time. For others, it may not be so easy.