Ahh yes the question of meaning and purpose.

I've worked at a small company, large company and lastly for myself. The small company experience allowed me to see how a business operated. To see the interactions of each department. After this I started working for a very large company. The sea of office cubicles even had street names so that we could locate a fellow employee. People knew their job but often didn't know how they contributed to the overall flow within the company. One of the nice parts back then was that the moment 5pm came - work stopped. I know that is much less so these days. It did allow more time to attend to family matters.

I've spent the rest of my working career as a self employed person. Having many clients let me pick and choose who I work for and what that work entails. Occasionally I have quoted a ridiculous price to avoid a project only to get it anyway - so I was at least well compensated for the work I liked less.

Back to meaning and purpose. Purpose to me is what I do. While meaning is closely tied to the satisfaction that comes from what I do.

With the wisdom of passing time I make choices that maximize my satisfaction and do less.