My commuter bike has a road triple with 9-spd 11/32 cassette; most of my commuting is done on the middle ring, with brief uses of the big ring. Generally in the middle of the cassette but I do shift the rear quite a bit, especially for stops and starts. Standing starts in a too-high gear suck on a recumbent.
Shifting is not stressful.
If I didn't also sometimes ride this bike on longer rides involving up- and down-hills, I would consider simplifying the gearing.