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You can work hard without creating shareholder value. Work hard for yourself and people you care about.
Hard work has an intrinsic value in that it promotes confidence, self esteem, wellbeing, and in the case of physical work: exercise, health, and a good night’s sleep. Of course, very little of these benefits can be had working in an office for some giant corporation where your job seems to be totally meaningless. It’s far more rewarding to be working for yourself (self-employed) and providing tangible value (growing food or producing crafts or artwork, or valuable service) for real people that you meet in person.
Our brains can’t be fooled. When something we’re doing seems useless, we feel useless, and getting paid doesn’t alleviate that. Even if we’re getting paid more than we think it’s worth, it still feels bad. But doing something that seems useful makes us feel really useful and valuable, even if we’re not getting paid for it at all (as with volunteering).
I go with do a meaningless job that requires minimal effort and is low stress while trying to maximise free time and the energy I have available to enjoy my free time. I don't need lots of money, working from home I can often go for a bike ride before or after work, or in lunch breaks. In summer I have often gone to the beach for a swim before work and sat on the stones cooking breakfast with a camping stove.
My job has no real meaning, the pay is shit, but WFH + low stress is easily worth it
That’s a great idea. For anyone following this, definitely try to live in an inexpensive area so you don’t have to spend a lot on rent. Then you can save money for recreation and hobbies!