Given that middle class real wages haven't increased much in about half a century while housing and education have, it's hard to conclude that hard work is going to deliver much in the way of reward (I've noticed that people who say that hard work is in itself a reward don't seem to be into cleaning their own toilets). I've personally seen it affect nearly everyone in my life from my Boomer parents who used to have an unbreakable work ethic now turned to cynicism after enough time working for private equity owned companies to colleagues who are beginning to grasp just how steep the wealth pyramid they seek to scale is.

It's a system designed to generate misery for all but those at the very top, and even they seem pretty unhappy with the situation. I think only the psychopaths are really content (if that's what they're capable of feeling; I'm unsure of their internal lives having known a few).