Those in the Imperial Core will never understand that what they consider unbearable hardship and boredom is actually a life of luxury that the vast majority of people on Earth cannot even imagine.
The international division of labor is 1000x more important and impactful than the domestic one.
Ha! Day laborers! Why do you think the Roman elites were so big on open immigration of slaves! Citizens, you have to pay them! They'll even revolt and form mobs and lynch you if you try to screw them over! Much better to import more and more slaves and give them bread & circuses so they stay calm while you're doing it.