[bumby]

>creative/expressive/stimulating

I think there's a distinction in that I was referring to "knowledge work" which isn't explicitly creative/expressive/stimulating. Many would classify much of research or law as "boring" even though they are knowledge work.

>what exactly is suspect about finding meaning or joy in work?

I did not mean it as wrong to find joy in your work. On the contrary, I think that's a worthwhile goal. But the distinction I make is that any work can be found to be fulfilling. It's the distinction between "finding your passion" and "cultivating your passion." I've worked with people who found meaning in their job cleaning offices and others who treated the design of rockets as soul-crushing. I think it has more to do with the person than the job. So I push back a bit on the false dichotomy created by classifying "knowledge" jobs as inherently worth saving from automation while manual work should be fodder for it. I also think the focus on a job for fulfillment is a bit of a red-herring. I think what people really need are to be valued members of society and, for many, a job is a means to that end (and maybe not even a good one).