I guess this depends on the country. I have experience of European countries. As a general rule (lots of exceptions, probably) it seems that the workday in the countries in the north is centered around the 8-17 cycle, with lunch at 12. Countries in the south are more like 9-18 with lunch at 13 or later and dinner at 20 or even 22-23 (hi Spain!) It makes sense for them to have light in the evening at the cost of some dark early mornings in winter. Not so much for countries getting up early.