Americans have increasingly depended on work for connection and meaning as various non-work social institutions have withered. It is probably a bad thing that work is a core social network for a lot of us, and we should all attempt to diversify our networks.
It's tough to have lots of non-work social networks, especially when you work full time and have children/a family.
It's completely understandable that work has taken such a central place in many people's lives. It's probably not ideal, but it is completely understandable.
