Love this story. Yes, it is a bit heavy handed, but prescient in some of the ways that society has evolved in response to more and more automation. The alternate future is a bit pollyanna but worth considering.
After all the 40 hour work week isn't a law of nature either.
I've always thought the headset with Manna giving directions was just a fancy way of working from a checklist/todolist with a bit of context awareness/smarts/and gamification perhaps.
We can probably implement a "personal-Manna" with today's tech.
Using a scanner in an Amazon Warehouse felt a bit like that, just with the need to memorize the warehouse layout so one would know which way to turn at the end of an aisle.
After all the 40 hour work week isn't a law of nature either.