> Perhaps working toward a more meaningful career could be part of the equation as well
A lot of jobs aren't meaningful. Imagine writing ad software. Or filming commercials for loan sharks. Not everyone has the luxury of good, meaningful work.
Yeah, also regardless of how meaningful you find a job, you almost definitely don't get an option to not work Fridays, or take multi-month vacations, or to stop working for several years then come back. You must let it take over your life to the extent that they want it to.
And even if the start of your career feels meaningful or fun, you'll possibly (probably?) "grow" into a position where that's no longer true. I enjoyed writing software, but after 15-20 years, they expected me to spend most of my time managing others (which I was bad at) or working with customers (which I hated). That greatly reduced my happiness, and so I retired early (mid forties) to get out of it.
Maybe I could've told them, "Don't raise my salary and increase your expectations", but that never really seemed like an option.
A lot of jobs aren't meaningful. Imagine writing ad software. Or filming commercials for loan sharks. Not everyone has the luxury of good, meaningful work.