glowingfish

>>I am self-employed and work from home, and get to (more or less) select my own schedule. Which makes working easier for me, in general.<<

Same here. My work is meaningful, mostly enjoyable (all jobs have parts that suck), and I can set a schedule that suits me.

>> But I think that even if money wasn't a problem, after a week or two of no set times to be places, most people would start feeling bored.<<

This is true for most people. It is why healthy retired people usually replace their dayjob with some other activity -- church, volunteering, a hobby, family life, etc. They love having more time for things they care about, but they aren't just sitting around watching TV all day. People who don't make that switch are much more prone to developing problems. Humans and idleness don't mix well.

A key point, however, lies in the nature of work. People who feel their work is meaningless, or worse harmful, will be unhappy about that. If the schedule doesn't suit them, the pay is unfair, their boss is toxic, etc. then they will be unhappy. Most people want safe, meaningful work that earns enough to live on -- and that's increasingly rare, which is a big problem. Situations where one person chooses what others do with their time are prone to abuses.

>>So...I would say, that complaints to the contrary, work is how people center most of their lives, and that most people wouldn't know what to do without work/a job.<<

That's true. But working for someone else at their direction isn't how humans evolved. It's only become the norm in the last century or two, and it is ... not working very well. Conversely, people who work for themselves tend to be pretty happy, even if that work is difficult, messy, and not necessarily lucrative. Agency matters a lot. And I think it's agency, rather than leisure, that drives complaints about work.