Importantly, socialist and communist societies are different, and there is no successful nation that is purely one or the other. Successful nations with high standards of living and overall higher than average levels of life satisfaction have socialised elements, such as healthcare.
When hearing French people using the word chiant (comes from chier=to shit) it shows to me the sequel of decades of education destruction in the country, as they are hundred better or more diverse words to express the emotion behind "chiant".
Something like pénible for example doesn't feel quite equal, more something I'd use to describe someone. Bassinant would not quite feel as heavy as well. Barber/barbe may be.
Overall chiant/faire chier is just much more common and conveys the meaning quite well and accurately when it comes to work.
Work in France is importantly a vector for socialization. This seemed to be a foreign consideration to a lot of Americans from what I've witnessed. It's so easy to get fired in the US that considering coworkers are more than acquaintances -- trying to make friends -- is a "bad investment."
Most French people would also rather say that work is "chiant" (boring) rather than bad.