Therefore, we have learned the second reason why mankind works. It’s for man’s benefit: to keep him out of trouble. People don’t appreciate that. People think the trouble is work. Look what happens to a man who inherits a huge sum or wins the lottery. There was a story recently about an Italian man who testified that as soon as he won the lottery his happiness ceased. He said farewell to happiness. It’s because he stopped going to work every day. Work is happiness — unless we are able to exchange it for something like Torah. The Torah is the real purpose of our existence. Hashem took Adam out of Gan Eden where he had too much time to think about trouble. Therefore, Hashem said, “B’zei’as apecha tochal lechem, by the sweat of your brow you will eat bread (Bereishis 3:19).” In other words, get busy working for a livelihood. Since you’re not able to make use of total leisure, you have to sweat for your livelihood. That is what is good for you right now. Therefore, it was out of mercy and pity that Hashem made people so occupied with the matters of this world. That is what it says in Pirkei Avos (2:2): “Yafeh talmud Torah im derech eretz, it’s good if you study Torah and make a living, sheyegias shneihem mashkachas avon, because laboring for these two things” — your material needs and spiritual things — “will make you forget sin.” Sin means only trouble in the next world; it means in a hornets’ nest in this world. Therefore, as you take your lunch box and head off to the factory tomorrow morning, thank Hashem for this great gift. To review, now we learned two reasons why Hashem gave us the need to earn a livelihood. One is to gain perfection and the second is to keep a person busy and out of trouble.

Miller, Rabbi Avigdor. Rav Avigdor Miller on Emunah and Bitachon . The Judaica Press, Inc.. Kindle Edition.