work isn't just for salary
Thing I realize is that employment isn't just for a salary for the majority; there is a huge component of social worth linked to a person's identity. Say, for example, you were receiving universal high income—say, an amount sufficient to keep you comfortable and afford slight luxuries—but you were not employed.
This would confuse the mind with respect to one's purpose. We link our salaries to our purpose so much that it shapes who we are. The inflow of income linked to a job, or the purpose of the job, seems to define who we are as a populous.
It also sharpens our capabilities and gives us a sense of achievement, or a sense that we are getting good at something, which drives ourselves.
It's very difficult to be in a vibrant city and receive high income with no conditions of output attached. Even outputs such as taking care of a family are sufficient to activate the productive engines of the mind and body.
But these feelings don't emerge once we say we are retired. Even if a person retires at, say, 30, they will feel a kind of lethargy or listlessness unless they have worked very hard up until their twenties. As an example are the founders of Google, who have returned to work in this AI age, as the purpose is much stronger than the comfort that money offers.
Hence, it's very important to understand that money is not the main part of the living equation, but purpose is. When pursuing a purpose, then however much money comes in, that balances the life equation.