Skinnier tires work fine, if they are inflated properly, but skinny tires seem to need topping up for every ride.
If you are riding bladed spokes on your commute, you may be using the ride for conditioning far more than I would associate with commuting.
If I were commuting, I would go with less maintenance so I didn't have to pump up the tires what I was running late, and a flat was less likely even with less than rock hard tires.