The "physical work workplace culture" fits me much better: more fun, less stringent, less talking behind someones back because maybe he/she made a non-PC remark, no one will go cry to HR for a remark you made that was not even about them personally...

It's not a struggle is a relief!

I don’t miss many things from my last blue collar job, but it was so much more relaxed. My coworkers all felt much more “real”. Too bad the pay wasn’t there, or I’d still be doing it.

There is camaraderie to it; the sense that you're all facing the same struggle together. Nobody is manipulating others by inventing strawman problems to solve because the work is real enough and you all get punished together when it isn't done.

Once toil became intellectual (theocratic) is where life becomes insufferable and simply unfun. It amounts to human domestication.

>less talking behind someones back because maybe he/she made a non-PC remark

it's still a workplace. There will always be people talking behind others' backs

Hence the word "less".

As someone who started their career in an office environment, then went to grunt work, and now back in an office and a remote WFH job. I don't think it would be a struggle. Would it be different? Of course... physical labor is the complete opposite of office work. Would it be harder than sitting in a chair pressing buttons?... sure. But it wouldn't be a struggle. It would be more of a struggle working with people that don't understand what context is or what nuances are.

It's not the work or the culture, it's the people. The type that would call you a vagina for wanting water on a hot day to avoid dehydration. Or the boss that will tell you "you think too much" when you come to them with an idea that increases productivity. But ya, the work or culture would be a piece of cake to navigate. For me, often time it's the idiots you have to work with that usually make a place a shit place to work.

Im curious what manual labor you did?