...The radical response to this problem is to question the necessity of making people do wretched work in the first place. Many people are forced to choose between working at such jobs and not working at all—a choice framed not by "life" but by our economic system. These people are expected to be grateful that any employment is available, regardless of the psychic and physical toll of doing such work.
What it comes down to is this: we who benefit from someone else's mind numbing labor, we who defrost our frozen dinners, or we who order our Amazon packages with one-day shipping without ever considering what life is like for those invisible others who spend eight grueling, repetitive hours a day preparing them, are quick to say such work must be done.
From one perspective, this reflects another facet of the sharp division between the haves and the have-nots: the latter are left with the work that lacks interest.
From another perspective, it could be said that what we collectively gain as consumers we lose as producers: our shelves are full of goods, while our lives are empty of meaningful work.
The central point, though, is that in any responsible discussion of intrinsic motivation, and especially of the role played by the content of tasks, we must remind ourselves of the social context. If work is to be improved, it must first be made bearable for those who endure injuries of body, mind, and spirit for our convenience.