This sounds a lot like the Protestant work ethic where toil, no matter how futile, has moral value in and of itself. I envy people who see the world that way to be honest, but breaking your back for an entity who'd lay you off in an instant is alienating and that alienation can be a form of pain.

Personally for me it's almost entirely the 'stick' that keeps me participating at the rate I do rather than the 'carrot', I work primarily because I need to eat and pay my bills as well as the things I actually want to do; this is true of anyone who isn't a rentier. A purpose for sure but hardly an existentially satisfying one. Maybe it's a post-2008 aftermath thing but to me and many others the liberal market economy isn't exactly seen as a wonderous engine of opportunity, rather it's an eternally hungry predator that chases us 24/7 and you must run at least a little faster than the next poor sod to avoid being eaten by it.

If I had rentier money I'd drop traditional 9-5 employment immediately, it wouldn't even be something I had to consider for a few days. I'd dedicate my time to composing music, to writing, to my own projects, I'd certainly volunteer a lot for various causes too.