[msteffen]

As someone who knows a lot of big law attorneys, I think the author's example of lawyers is mis-informed, perhaps in an interesting way.

The reason first-year attorneys are unhappy is because their jobs are difficult, insecure, and yet necessary to paying off their often large law school student debts. There's also an expectation of immediate availability and, depending on the firm, there can be a culture of viciously attacking juniors for any oversights (nominally to train lawyers not to make them, though it's open season for generally sadistic people).

First years typically start with about a quarter million in law school debt into a job where taking more that 30 minutes to respond to an email is unacceptable. That's why they're stressed.