Imagine rarely eating with your kids or wife.
For me getting home before dinner would be a massive plus to getting a free meal.
(/s)
The dinner is also often relatively early, so you still have quite a lot of time after the commute (granted, if your commute is 1+ hour then it's far from a dream routine).
What I like is having the option, for example I had a late sports club that was close to work, so it was more interesting to grab a quick bite and stay there to go to the club and return home after.