The present population of workers the article is referring to with "work culture" are white collar workers. Comparing like to like, these wouldn't be people working in factories or mining. The equivalent jobs in previous eras would be those of priests, monks, and scribes; of surveyors, navigators, and architects; of military officers; and of nobles tinkering around in the sciences.
Compare the working conditions of those jobs to those of current white-collar work.
Compare the working conditions of those jobs to those of current white-collar work.