I understand this western perspective and feel sad for people stuck in this type of mentality.

From an eastern perspective work seems to be more about what value do you bring to the community.  That job is you, you should enjoy it, be passionate about it and help other people.

Personally I have adopted work as being a vehicle that gets you closer to your longer goal.  I learned skill sets that have allowed me to travel Asia, raise a family in English, brew my own beer and now starting into administration.  Tough times but also rewarding times.