I know that people worked a lot back in the 20th century and before that but it seems that people promoting the idea of working 12-18 hours a day without sleeping or taking time to rest or enjoy themselves is something unique to our times.
For example, my maternal grandfather (who passed in 2021) lived a life which he worked hard to support my mother. He worked at a canning factory named Libby's during the 50s and 60s and he had his own neighborhood restaurant back in the 70s. But, he still enjoyed himself. He still went out on Friday nights to the tavern and played cards with his friends. And when he was on his deathbed, he had no regrets about his life. And many people lived the life he did back then and it was not seen as taboo.
Now today, if we were to live like my grandpa lived which is “work, but don't forget to play also”, we would be called lazy and undisciplined. We would be looked down upon as nothing more but “Average Joes and Average Janes”.
Also we know about the Puritans and their work ethic. But even they took the time to enjoy life. We're talking about religious zealots here! Even they knew how to slow down sometimes.
What happened? Why did we take the advice of older generations and threw it out the window?