Workplace Observations

Often, you hear people lament the lack of any tangible output as a reason for their cynical view of corporate/office life, but I think such an explanation for their malaise is really just a convenient explanation, not an accurate one. I have found that even when given a task with measurable, tangible, and appreciated output, it doesn't significantly alter my perception of my work. Why would this be? For me at least, unless I'm working on something important to myself in a personal way, it doesn't really matter what I'm doing, and the more painless it is, the better. I cannot convince myself that anything I will ever do at my current job is actually important in the grand scheme of things, no matter who at the job has told me it is, or how much they have deluded themselves into thinking such a thing is true.