I think it is due to the change in the nature of employment while human beings have remained the same. In the modern world, to live a semblance of a normal life

I think it is due to the change in the nature of employment while human beings have remained the same. In the modern world, to live a semblance of a normal lifestyle, you have to commit to a job or labour that requires putting in thought and effort. 100 years ago, the white collar jobs only went to those who chose education and hard work and worked towards it because it was an objectively better lifestlye than what most people were doing. People were motivated to change their circumstances because the difference between a bad job and good job on the lifestyle was massive. So people were motivated were to keep those jobs and do good at them. Nowadays, a lot of people will sleepwalk through life and end up in a situation that they can't handle on a daily basis. There is a feeling of people not really wanting to be here - wherever they are in life. The mind is distracted and focused on petty things like personal conflicts and day to day inconveniences. It is not really their fault. It is just how the time is. The people who for centuries would have gotten along fine with manual labour are suddenly forced into jobs that require continuous mental thought all during the day. Most people can't handle it or they don't want to and you can't really blame them.