Why are we no longer proud of work

More and more people are giving up work on the grounds of their mental-health problems, allowing them to live off state benefits. That raises the question:  is there something about the nature of work today that makes it seem so unrewarding?

In the ancient world there was no welfare system. The educated, wealthy elite apart (2 per cent), most had to survive off a plot of land or their manual skills (more than 340 occupations are recorded), hoping thereby to produce a surplus to meet other needs. What is striking is the pride in the work of their hands, especially by Roman freed slaves (freedmen), revealed on their grave monuments.

The inscription ‘This is the monument of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker, contractor, public servant’ is found on his 33ft monument, illustrating grain being ground, dough mixed, loaves stacked before weighing, and nine large mixing vessels. Trebius Justus, a builder, decorated his monument with masons mixing mortar, carrying material up ladders and laying bricks.