Nice post. I think that society has inherited a fiction of "work" that probably comes from organized labor and unions rather than a mutual contract between employer and employee. The whole 9-5 thing makes no sense to me, and I prefer to acquire assets that generate income and live off that rather than to sell my hours for money. I have a finite number of hours on this planet and there is far more interesting experiences I want to have that don't involve "work". I do enjoy the satisfaction of completing a task and feeling that it helps define me, but the reality is that when someone comes up to you and says, "What do you do?" (meaning what is your job title or career of choice) that seldom really tells the story of who we really are. All of these crazy social norms that have come upon us are driven by the banking system for the most part and the constant need to keep you in debt. If you can break free of this early, then you can return to a life without the 9-5 treadmill. Do a search for Mr. Money Moustache on Google or check out www.choosefi.com for more information on how to escape this. Peace.