> In the US for example there's still the vague idea that working hard is a virtue of sorts, but there's also an equivalent desire to produce something,

This is the root of a lot of busywork and bullshit jobs as well. People work hard producing something of little and often negative value.

Think of all the effort that goes into making competitive products, from life insurance and cellphone plans to airline tariffs difficult to compare. Compound that with advertising campaigns that don’t inform about the product or service they are selling. All that consumes colossal resources and deliver effectively negative value for society, for a market to be maximally efficient it needs informed consumers that can compare offerings.

> In the US for example there's still the vague idea that working hard is a virtue of sorts

And easily demonstrable when meeting someone in a social setting:

"Hi, what's your name?"

Then the very next question: "What do you do for a living?"