But I would distinguish working on a hard problem from hard work.

If you play a tricky and difficult level in a computer game, you are usually enjoying yourself even if the level is hard to solve. A lot of leisurely activity can be challenging. Whether playing socker, tennis, sailing, crafting stuff or playing computer games.

I remember creating a computer virus in assembly code. It was up to that point the hardest problem I had worked on in programming. I had to figure out how to work with self modifying and self replicating code. Despite the difficulty, I had a lot of fun doing it. I would not call it hard work. I did it for fun. Nobody paid me to do it.

Thus I don't think one can call an office job hard work, just because what you do requires a lot of skill. If you would have done say 80% of your job even if they didn't pay you, because you like what you are doing, then is it really hard work? You are in a manner of speaking only working 20% of the time.

Again I am not trying to minimize the work people do. It is partly for those of us who do nice office jobs to also realize our privilege in relation to people who toil in poorly paid physically demanding jobs.

Have you watched the Netflix series "Maid"? I think it is a good take on a lot of what I am writing about. It is a person doing a kind of job that gets very little praise. The life of the main character is anything but easy.

I agree there is no magic genie that puts you in a good job. But neither is it necessarily hard work in the sense I have written about. It is not necessarily a major sacrifice. I ended up in a good job in large part because I enjoyed doing the kind of stuff that pays well.

I advanced in my career in times when I had a great time at work. Sure I did a lot of work, but I enjoyed most of it. I had a great time.

I have also have long periods of career stagnation where just maintaining my position has been really hard. That is what burnout/depression can do with you.

How hard you work and what you accomplish is simply not alway in correlation. You can put through a real struggle every day and still go in a downward spiral. Just like you can wake up every day beaming ready for action and advance upwards.

We are not always in full control of our interests, motivation, talents and state of mind. Sometimes all you can do is try to make the best of whatever situation you are in. Ride the roller coaster. Yet doing your best given your circumstances may not look great to an outsider.