I have strong doubts that that is actually the definition of work.

A lot of work happens (or happened) because everyone is in agreement that it kinda should be done.

Like for example, you do need food so someone will probably have to do the things that lead to there being food.

These things of course aren't always fun. Who wants to collect cow manure after all. But they pay into something where everyone agrees that it should be happening and it should do so as the result of a collective effort.

The stuff I was talking about either has no such meta layer or has so many layers of meta, that it is incomprehensible for normal human minds, which, evidently, makes people miserable.