Politics Why are people afraid of unemployment?

Unemployment The Number 1 Problem For Americans, Gallup Poll Says

Yet there is a large number of people who are sick of their jobs...
Why Do So Many Americans Hate Their Jobs? - MainStreet
Americans hate their jobs, even with perks

Is it really job satisfaction that is the problem, not unemployment? And you also have a problem of job stability and retirement stability now compared to my parents generation. There were still pensions, benefits, and medical/dental co-insurance for life. Now, we don't know when the next big stock market correction is coming and will wipe out our 401k's again. And you have to monitor your money a lot more and long term planning for 'big' purchases can be much more difficult.

There has been a lot of talk about unemployment around my office recently since our funding might be cut later this year. Half of the people I work with had been unemployed in the past 2 years and were hired to work with us, so they remember what it is like. I haven't had a break in 10 years, yet I remember what it was like to be unemployed. But, that was when I was poor and would have considered myself a failure. Now I have tens of thousands of dollars saved, yet I still worry for some reason. Everyone else is freaking out, but they have expenses that I don't have.

I don't hate my job, but there are some negative aspects to it. Outside of starting my own business or 14 other ideas I have, I don't think I could find another job like this one. And that is both a good thing and a scary thing. I kind of doubt I would find a job for an existing company in this field, even though many people do, and I don't know anyone who has been unemployed a long time personally. And seeing how my work-life balance and lifestyle turned out, I'm not sure it is a good thing to work 40-50 hours a week at a set time schedule. I have also never lived in a house that didn't have a steady consistent income. I'm not sure how I would handle having good months and bad months in terms of making money. If I was living is a sustainable home here, with no HOA fees, no natural gas connection fees, a big garden, and half of the property taxes, it might go a long way towards feeling secure, even though my expenses are much less than many families. The only real way to win the game is to have passive income streams that are stable.

I wanted to make a list as to what people keep their jobs for and why they would have problems being unemployed, if you have any others please add to it:
-Routine, fear of unknown
-Stability in paychecks and life
-You had the best job you could ever hope for
-Problem getting back into field if you don't have a job
-Worry about age discrimination
-You live for work and it is your identity
-Lack of savings to survive one month
-Healthcare (might be less of a concern now)
-Would consider yourself a failure if you didn't work
-Too many expenses and savings wouldn't last long
-Would have to take a pay cut
-Would have to take a lifestyle cut
-Retirement planning would be impacted if you couldn't contribute the same amount.
-Would have to find entry level job in new field
-Afraid of taking government assistance
-Competition between siblings
-Fear of losing partner or considered a jobless unmotivated poor person by dates
-Kids are expensive and can be impacted by it
-Nothing to do with your time
-Job searching is horrible
-Afraid of losing your house, or having to move from the city you live in. Just moving or selling stuff is bad enough
-Lack of socialization with work colleagues

Can these things be overcome? I have heard of others who have dropped out and are surviving just fine. They don't all have homes, but they travel around the world, do long distance bike travel, or live on sailboats and hang out where it is nice.

 

I've been reemployed for 8 months now after 8 months of unemployment, being employed is better.

"Money can't buy happiness; but it can make most problems go away". I'll fully admit to throwing money at annoyances to make them go away. I prefer to have the money to do so. I've always lived below my means, getting by on my pension is certainly possible; but I'm kind of fond of motorcycles, skiing, and Molly.

Unemployment is boring as hell. I'll need to ease into retirement slowly, 4 days a week looks attractive, zero does not.

 

When you're younger, you have less to lose if you face long term un employment. When you're older, you tend to have more financial obligations, and not being to cover them pretty much sucks.

The best advice (unsolicitated) that I have is: Avoid credit/debt as much as possible. This will allow you the freedom to explore more options when employed and lessen the load during periods of unemployment.

 

I love being able to go to the grocery store and spend $30 or $40 dollars a week on whatever food I like. And I bought a house that is 2.5x times my salary and a nice camera and laptop. Other than that, my life wouldn't be much different if I was unemployed. Well, I would have 10 more hours a day to figure out what to do, but I am still young and can do things. The problem is that society thinks you should be out looking for a job, selling your possessions, or spending zero dollars if you are out of work. That would be boring, and it is pretty common I'm afraid. I don't understand why they aren't organized and protesting more, but I also think that there should be more discussion about how to have a happy unemployment period or early/semi-retirement. Not every has or can have one of those jobs that you would do even if you didn't get paid,yet you would have to reduce your lifestyle by quite a bit if you didn't make any money doing it.

Here are some "unemployed" people, who don't seem to be worried about burn rates of their savings or having $2 million in a IRA/401k when you retire at 70 when social security kicks in a little more. They might make some money in various schemes, but it isn't much. And they definitely aren't sitting on the couch watching daytime TV with nothing to do.


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