Why Is Everyone So Unhappy at Work?

The only way it closes is through authoritarianism/totalitarianism, which, as we know from history, is not sustainable (low-trust societies are inherently unstable).

I agree mostly with this observation, but would add to it - people are willing to work when they own their work. There are definitely a lot of jobs and likely entire industries that would disappear tomorrow if we stopped optimizing for money and focused on optimizing for humanity, but a lot of necessary work - farming, construction, distribution of goods, etc. - would still need to happen, and I honestly believe there are a number of folks who would be happy in those jobs if they owned their work.

In a job, you sell a huge chunk of your waking life for a discount to faceless owners and investors who care less about employee and customer happiness than they do about their own bottom lines. In a truly cooperative setting - one where the work and proceeds are as equally shared as possible among all participants - everyone would have greater control over their work and would have full ownership over it. Such companies would necessarily run smaller and leaner with a tighter customer focus, which I think would improve the experience for everyone.

I truly believe switching from corporate hierarchies to radical cooperatives would solve a LOT of societal issues.

"I hear that you're feeling that you're trapped in a 'BS job', and do you hear that I'm feeling that my boss is ADHD with NPD who is gaslighting me by appealing to how 'we're not just a business, we're a family'? Would I be better served by meditation, sauna, Wim Hof or a cold plunge for this?"

"He suggested dissatisfaction is probably at about the same level that it always has been, but people on average are more accustomed to and capable of articulating their feelings than before."

Come on, emotional intelligence wasn't born yesterday; articulating feelings wasn't born yesterday. Literal Mesopotamian tablets of laborers expressing their frustrations to their employers, debtors, etc exist. Nevermind, people literally died for our 5-day, 40-hour work week; they absolutely articulated that problem both to themselves, their co-workers, and their employers.

In theory you don’t get paid to do something you don’t like, you get paid for producing something of value.

So in theory you can still be paid, and not do something you hate

I think this is one piece of the puzzle absolutely. I also think companies try to compensate for this blurring of boundaries by offering so many wellness benefits - and perhaps it's asking employees to frequently turn inward and evaluate emotions too often (or in the wrong setting).

I find that when I'm focused on myself, I feel worse. When I'm focused on others, I feel better. I find that when I'm self-evaluating, I feel worse. When I'm assessing my next goal, I feel better.

As a people manager, I certainly do spend time building relationships, but in a 1:1, I never mine for "how are you doing?" information. I almost always focus on 1) making it clear what the goal is; 2) offering help in supporting achieving that goal (so they gain new skills).