Why is this bothering you so much?

The guy wants to enjoy his job. He might think it’s important to be surrounded by motivated people enjoying their jobs. Maybe he’s looking for identity in his work. Whatever he thinks…let him enjoy whatever his mindset is and let him be.

You have a different outlook and that’s fine. Its a pretty important life skill to be able to adapt to the person you’re interacting with. Everyone doesnt welcome varied opinions. You’ve made your position clear and he can’t accept that. If he asks you if you enjoy your job again then just smile and say “yeah it’s not bad”, if he presses then change the topic or find a reason to excuse yourself from the conversation. Also, everyone should be wary of going around work saying “this is just a paycheck, I don’t care”, so caution is advised anyway. You don’t have to lie, you can just keep some thoughts to yourself.

You think your thoughts. Let him think his thoughts. The different thoughts don’t have to bother each other.