For me, it's like I can't not pray. Praying is work, only in that it is an action. Only when prayer is results oriented does it become work work.
Do you communicate with your loved ones, only because or when you expect there to be some kind of effect on you or them?
When you see an example of the beauty of His creation, how can you not express your awe about His greatness to Him? How can you not thank Him for showing it to you? When He has given you comfort, stilled your fears, how can you not express that to Him? When He has provided for you, how can you remain silent, taking Him for granted? When I screw up, I can't not express my remorse to Him, cuz it eats away at me.
You know, the Orthodox mindset is different. When we "pray" we ask for mercy. When the priest sings "Let us pray" the people respond "Lord have mercy" or "Grant it O Lord." In Orthodoxy, prayers involve giving thanks and asking for mercy. In either case we expect results.
We hope our prayers are pure enough for God to hear them and we expect that despite our sinful ways God will be merciful with our repentant hearts. It's work, alright, it's actually beggings either bowed down or kneeling.