Interesting observation. I wonder how much of the difference is between high physical activity, where often the work requires multiple people manipulating the same physical object (I hold the door, you attach the hinge),
vs
low physical activity, where often the work requires multiple people manipulating highly abstract concepts with purely imaginary connections (I write the API, you write the caller).
The physical/non-physical distinction might be a bit of a red herring, as this seems more a differentiation between repetitive and non-repetitive work.
I.e. assembly line worker vs carpenter
I'd hazard most people tend to dislike repetitive work, if they have the choice.
Our minds generally don't work well on repetitive tasks requiring high concentration with low interactivity. Yet, we're so irrational we can't see the obvious.
Take a "self driving car". Except... you can't really crawl into the back seat and eat lunch. No. Are you kidding me? You have to pay attention! You have to be ready to grab the wheel! A walrus could be napping on the freeway! Just because it's self driving doesn't mean you don't have to pay attention! Good god, what's wrong with you?
What's wrong with us, collectively, is we don't immediately recognize the absurdity of what they're saying. There's really something very very wrong with that person.
It's the middle ground that is mind-destroying. Extremely repetitive work lets you turn your brain off or redirect it to more worthwhile thoughts. Non-repetitive work keeps your brain engaged with the task at hand. The middle ground requires too much engagement to focus on other things but also leaves too many gaps to remain focused on the nominal task.
As someone who has dug ditches in Georgia clay, agreed.
Although I guess even the most repetitive physical task still has infinite physical fidelity, if you look for it. E.g. digging a hole in the same place 50 times vs writing the same code 50 times.
vs
low physical activity, where often the work requires multiple people manipulating highly abstract concepts with purely imaginary connections (I write the API, you write the caller).