I think it’s only common for male knowledge workers. American culture brainwashes men into believing that they are less manly if they don’t do physical work, and men who internalize that message feel emasculated by their desk jobs. They don’t realize that their dissatisfaction is not an intrinsic facet of the human condition but an artifact of very specific cultural prejudices.

Women often complain about their office jobs too, but you rarely see them fantasizing about being able to swing a hammer for a living because they weren’t subject to the same cultural programming.