This view reached full bloom as the Protestant ethic turned work and play into opposites and in some of its more extreme manifestations equated play with sin. Thus the idea become embedded in Western culture, that if an activity is to be called work, it must be something painful, unpleasant, that we do not want to do. This view would certainly not have been understood by medieval craftsmen nor by craftsmen and artists since then. And now we are moving toward the view that work is not a curse but a blessing. It may even become a privilege.
Useful occupations are an antidote to stagnation.
Complex and challenging work is less boring than pleasure. Achievement, contribution, and productivity are the cornerstones for self respect. Among the goods-producing industries, only construction shows any sizeable increase. An advanced service economy depends on trained and well-educated persons. The key to effective service is quality not quantity.