Those were hazardous jobs. I imagine the adventure would get old after a year. Nothing is stopping you from getting away from the world and farming/hunting in the mountains, but it would not be economically viable (or fun after a point, I imagine).

The real cost isn't in the work itself imo, but in the contract those people had with society, which now needs to be renegotiated, and the workers are at a substantial disadvantage this time.