After reading The Fault in their Stars we've taken to referring to these things as "cancer perks". No one asks for any more explanation after you say "cancer." It is one of the few advantages.

The thing about work is that most people do, in fact, have jobs that suck. For them, a job is a means (paycheck) to and end (eating and housing). Meaningful work is meaningful, which means that doing it means something.

Dang it - hit enter too soon (I really wish that BL would FIX that problem). Anyway, sadly, capitalism is really pretty terrible at creating meaningful work. There aren't very many people who get to go home after a full days work and tell themselves that they work that they did today changed a life, or made the world a better place, or created beauty or insight. And that is really too bad, isn't it?