It can be either, even in the same field, such as tech working on intersting tech projects, being treated with respect, working reasonable hours for good pay -> a virtue working in an abusive sweatshop for incredibly rude people on reckless schedules working massive unpaid overtime -> a curse i've been in both night and day difference and the interesting thing is, you really dont get more work done in the abusive places - if you're doing everything you can, the time you spend being harrassed is time you dont spend working
you think that is enjoyment and great bliss but after a while you feel really bored, which is why many retirees are extremely cranky, intefering and meddlesome as they have nothing to do. Also, research shows if you retire early,your chances of dying earlier than the norm increases. why? because the human mind constantly seeks stimulation, whether in snorting coke or having dreams like retiring in hawaii, the trick to to cut off the root of craving and then you can find true happiness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Working for THE MAN ...... = Hell Self-employed type A (good money, not stimulating =boring = no challenge) ...... = Purgatory Self-employed type B (something that one loves to do and gets paid well to do it) ...... = Heaven I vote for #3
You've just nailed it. Sounds like you speak from personal experience... but if not, that just makes you all the more wise. My own drug addiction began a few months after Schonfeld closed up shop in Chicago, and I found myself alone in the cold world. Is there some kind kind of correlation here? Of course there is. Having a great company company to work with can keep one's demons hidden under the surface for as long as it lasts.
I worked for great owners of a Medical Device manufacturer for 15 years then it got bought by some horrible people that destroyed all the product quality and the employee happiness in a short year or two... I went from worker Nirvana to looting the place and eventually I had to get myself laid off just to get the hell out with the remnants of my sanity and integrity... besides I wanted to do more trading research... so work went from a virtue to a curse, it depends on the work...
Fifty years ago, it was a virtue. Today it's a curse. When you take into consideration the number of hours an average salaried professional works, he/she doesn't earn much more than an hourly employee at McDonald's.
work seems like slavery, until you lose a job in a bad economy, then you work hard trying to become a slave again.