I love work, I love having a task or goal to work towards that keeps my hands and my mind busy. I think that it's vital for people to be active and motivated in life otherwise life can be long and depressing.
Sure, I would rather not die doing some meaningless work full of drudgery but if the work serves a purpose, is it meaningless? We a individuals are the ones who apply meaning to our world and as I see it, if my actions provide opportunity to my family, there is purpose and utility in action.
Providing for your family is far from meaningless and in fairness is one of the most important things that you can do in this life. It will be tough if you need to take up a second job but hopefully it will not be for the long term.
I work for now in a long and unrewarding job with the intention of not having to do that in the future. So it occurs to me that it is not meaningless as well if it helps me to achieve my goals of owning my own business or working in a more rewarding fashion.
Depression is on the rise for various reasons and a lack of life purpose is one of them. Less jobs, less human connection, avoidance, less having families, less religious community, less social community... the list is long. People don't seem to want to recognise the personal value of working for others.
This is how I see it. Some jobs are meaningful, some are a means to an end which serve a purpose in and of itself.