Yes, indeed, but I still think they're "working hard"? Perhaps it's just a linguistics game though, what counts as "working" and what counts as "hard"?

I find it tough to describe something not really even living in some ways as "working".

Really? Huh. I do that all the time. My oven, my phone, even my travel pass would get that word (though I'd mean it in a different sense)…

Yes, but as you say, not in the meaning we discussed here.