We may be "anthropomorphizing" hunter-gatherers when trying to place anything they do into our category of "work," hence the wide variability of opinions as to how much work they really do. They are either engaged in activity conducive to survival (including things like playing, socializing, dancing, and exploring) or they aren't. Foraging while exchanging information with friends is certainly beneficial for hunter-gatherers. I agree that, through my own lens, this activity appears fairly idle, but that's because my cultural ideal of work is fast, energetic and high output. But if you're foraging, it's more efficient to move slowly so that your brain has time to recognize all the edibles you pass by. And listening and talking doesn't seem to interfere too much with visual processing (or else there would be a lot more car accidents), so why not kill two birds with one stone?
Our aversion to making changes to lifestyle and habits is based on the initial, not long-term, difficulty. I went vegan about a decade ago after learning about factory farming, but it quickly stopped feeling like a sacrifice at all. My food bill is much lower, and even the most basic vegan cooking becomes delicious with the right amount of monosodium glutamate, which, contrary to debunked myths, isn't bad for you at all. It's just a sodium atom and a glutamate molecule, both of which are essential nutrients.