It is interesting to note the different perceptions of how people perceive what they do for a living. Finance professor Bernard Lietaer makes the distinction by noting the original meanings of the words ‘job’ and ‘work.’ He writes:
The word ‘Job’ is recent; it dates from the Industrial Revolution. It was initially defined as a ‘pile of things to be done’; or even more precisely ‘something done for hire with a view of monetary profit.’
‘Work’, in contrast, is a very old word. Its first appearance in English dates from the Aelfric Homilies (11th century): ‘That work was begun under God’s will.’ It still has that connotation when referring to a ‘work of Love’, a ‘work of Art’, a ‘work of Mercy’. (quoted from The Future of Money: A New Way to Create Wealth, Work, and a Wiser World, Century, London, 2001, p. 126)