I didn't see anyone mention this.

For me, if I throw my commuting budget at my bikes, it's good. If I couldn't afford spare wheelsets, tools, extra tubes/tires for my bike when it was a luxury, when it becomes a necessity, it's easily affordable. Throwing car level money at your bikes always works. So, assuming you have a safe place to park it at work, you should be able to commute on a better bike Road/CX or even a Tri.