I'm afraid we won't be able to get to the same coffee shop for geographical reasons - but let's pretend this is virtual cafe.

The translation I have is a bit different, but I think I found the passage you're talking about. In my text, it goes:
"We must recollect that the individual in whom the several qualities of his nature [reason, passion and desire] do their own work [i.e. are correctly balanced] will be just, and will do his own work."

I think the problem is not so much the translation of the word "work" as that of the word "just". I have no idea what the Greek term was, but could it have been something closer to "perfect" or "balanced" or "correct", rather than "righteous"? About a page or two later, Socrates asks several times whether a "just" man would be likely to commit sacrilege, theft, adultery, perjury, etc. It sounds like Socrates is trying to ascertain that his "just" man would also happen to be righteous - so the two terms can't be quite the same.

To try to answer your general question, I agree that "doing one's own work", one's duty, doesn't sound terribly inspiring - until you try, really try, to do it. Personally, I don't really do half of the "work" I ought to be doing as a perfect student, daughter, sister, neighbour, citizen, earthling, etc. After all, in drinking his hemlock and refusing to flee, Socrates was only doing his "work" as a philosopher and citizen of Athens!

I'm still not finished with the book, but I've read to the part where he finally defines, 'morality', and I have to say that at first I was dissappointed and worried that the translater had attached the wrong word to the definition. 'doing ones own job', ? What the hell was that? Then I looked the word up in the dictionary and thought about it, and well, I guess if you take compassion out of the mix, (and maybe it technically shouldn't be there anyway), then I guess that might be what you are left with. Or am I missing somthing?I guess I've always thought of a moral person as someone who is willing to go out of their comfort zone to help someone else. Maybe I need a new term for that behavior. What should I call it? Anyway, besides that, there are many interesting points that would be fun to discuss. Maybe we should get together at a coffee shop sometime and get a discussion going if there's anyone else interested, let me know.