It's something I notice all the time, people get so wrapped up in their jobs that they can't separate themselves from work. I see this a lot with the teachers I know. They spend every extra minute they have at school. Our contract hours end at 2:30, but many of them stay until 6 or 7, only to spend an hour or two with their kids before bedtime. Honestly, they should just go home and spend more time with their families instead of staying at work when they don't have to be there.
I plan to retire as soon as I can, honestly. I love my job, despite its stresses, but there’s so much more I want to experience. I share your friends' passion for woodworking, but I rarely get to enjoy it because I'm always so busy.
I don’t want to spend my entire life focused only on my profession. I want to dive into my hobbies, see more of the world, and spend more time with my kids and, eventually, their families.
Loving your job makes you better at it, but the purpose of your job is to have the ability to furnish your life with the things/experiences that make you feel like you're leading a fulfilled and happy life. If a person has a list of those things, enough of them, and a best life ethos then work becomes less important and more of a means to an end rather than life itself. Seems you're on the right track.
As for people prioritising their job over their children and family? Well, I don't want to judge but words like, idiots, and bad parents, come to mind.
I don’t want to judge, but it seems like there’s no shortage of foolish people and poor parenting out there.
No judgement here either, just agreement.