this seems to be largely a matter of personal mindset. i'm a programmer. i've worked in a number of companies, from deeply dysfunctional to wonderful. but invariably, the only thing i ever disliked about my jobs was dealing with company bullshit and unpleasant people. i've never felt any negativity attached to my actual work - i always feel like i'm building something and making forward progress, whether that something is genuinely new code or simply bugfixes.