Those were all types of labor that directly affected their community and environment. More weapons and armor= better defense of the village, more horseshoes= more trade for the community.
Sitting in a random building far from home, typing numbers into a computer using electricity from a faraway power plant, to earn money to purchase food grown in another country, while sending your children off to be educated and protected by strangers; is as disconnected as humanly possible. We're completely dependent on links in the chain that we have no connection to.