"But I am trying to believe there is more to a human life than how efficiently it converts energy into labor."

There absolutely is. Labor can be fullfilling and give joy, but for most people it is just an easy tool on how to survive and hopefully have some comfort as well. Do not ever feel ashamed of your labor and even more, do not ever feel ashamed of not doing labor if you don't want to. You have one life in this universe. Make it a nice one.

They may not feel ashamed, but they'll still feel dead when they have no food and shelter.