Unless any former inmates speak up I'm going to continue believing that white collar work is about 10,000 times better than prison.
I worked in a prison for a while, and I'd have to agree: Working in a white collar job IS conservatively about 10,000 times better than prison.
A typical prisoner sleeps in a triple bunk in one big room with around 100 other prisoners -- the lack of privacy would kill me.
He has something not unlike a high school locker in which to store all his goods.
His personal belongings (and even his body cavities) can be searched at any time for any reason.
Yes, he has cable TV -- one TV in that big room. Hope he likes what the others are watching.
He cannot control the temperature in the room.
When he showers, it's with no curtain /in plain view of everyone else.
He has to turn in his toothbrush and razor at the end of his shower -- can't be trusted with them.
He is forced to get up /go to sleep according to lights out times.
He is forced to eat when the prison says it's time, and he has no say-so in what he gets.
Once a day he can buy cigarettes, snacks, etc. from the prison store -- if he has money from family or a prison job.
During the day, he is locked out of his bunk room /away from all his personal belongings.
He might have a job -- where I worked, the road crew was the biggest job, and it paid .40; that was a while ago.
If he didn't have a job that day, he'd just wander around the yard. Cold? Hot? Too bad. The most popular activity is lifting weights.
He is allowed to have books, etc. in the yard, but that was just not a popular activity.
He can see family once a week in a supervised setting -- if they can /will come to him.
He is allowed to write/receive letters, but other people read them.
If he gets sick, he can see the prison doctor (or dentist), but he has no privacy in that appointment and no choice of doctor.
And the biggest problem of all: When he leaves the prison, his record follows him; thus, his chance of reintegrating himself into society is vastly reduced.
No, I see no similarities between a good-but-dull job and prison.