Discussion Are you a productive member of society?

[freedompass]

And what does it even mean? Sure you may get a few extra props for working to support yourself. Even better if you manage to actually help people as a result. Does this compensate for the alienation, tedium and pointlessness of waking up every day to slave at a bs job.

Is being seen as productive/contributing and thus avoiding social shaming a factor in why you work? Or is it (as I suspect) just a matter of survival. Does the therapeutic value of work play any part for you? Not many people get to be passionate about what they do, anyone here in that category?

Sorry if I came across as condescending, I really didn't mean to. I'm genuinely interested in how others think about the 'productive' thing.

I have a mental health disability that has enabled me to live comfortably on benefits (a neet's dream life). I even have beautiful social housing. In no way am I productive, should I care? I'm a 'useless eater' lol.

Years ago I might've felt guilty and certainly did my share of voluntary work. Now though my attitude is this. I'd prefer to just be gone but there's no assisted suicide and 'society' frowns on us for even thinking that way. So you want me alive? Pay me.

I'd be interested to hear what anyone thinks about what constitutes productivity and whether that is a factor in why you work. If, like me, you don't, how do you feel about that and would you work if you could?

 

[[HNO]]

im leeching off my parents and spend taxpayer moneys for disability on mindless hedonistic consuming
i'd rather choose to have option to be euthanized on the input both of it provides
and i don't planning to contribute for society at all in the first place why society deserved any contributions if it's total shit?

 

[darksapo]

no

 

[hamvil]

I supposed I am perceived as a productive member of the community. I am a university professor which in general is considered well in society. Well maybe nowadays a bit less but it is still something usually people congratulate over.

Inside the workplace the situation is quite different. My boss hates me and abuses me continuously. I was already depressed but because of the latest abuses I had to take a month of sick leave because I could not function anymore, panic attack in the corridor, extreme anxiety, feeling I could not face the classes.

Truth to be told, it is almost 3 months I do practically nothing. I send a couple of email per day just to avoid further troubles, but besides that I do nothing. In the past I used to feel guilty for taking even one day of sick leave and during that day I would probably work from home. It was common for me to go to bed with the laptop and wake in the middle of the night to keep working.

Now? I do not care anymore. I will do as little as possible. One I lost my dream job and I frankly do not care anymore of the current one. I do not care about making career, I do not care about the students, and I do not career about reputation in the university.

 

[Rocinante]

NEET

 

[jodes2]

I don't work. I wish I could. I'm in social housing and benefits too. I don't do anything productive for society, except maybe help out on here, I don't know if that counts for much. I don't do volunteer work or anything. I used to enjoy programming and might theoretically have been able to get a part time job with an understanding employer. It must be nice enjoying your job

 

[freedompass]

I don't work. I wish I could. I'm in social housing and benefits too. I don't do anything productive for society, except maybe help out on here, I don't know if that counts for much. I don't do volunteer work or anything. I used to enjoy programming and might theoretically have been able to get a part time job with an understanding employer. It must be nice enjoying your job

Yeah, I imagine you are probably a lot younger than me. When endless decades stretch ahead of you working an enjoyable job could definitely seem appealing and maybe fill the void. I'm glad at least you aren't facing homelessness and hope that your social housing is decent. And things can change. I know my mental health has improved in recent years.

I supposed I am perceived as a productive member of the community. I am a university professor which in general is considered well in society. Well maybe nowadays a bit less but it is still something usually people congratulate over.

Inside the workplace the situation is quite different. My boss hates me and abuses me continuously. I was already depressed but because of the latest abuses I had to take a month of sick leave because I could not function anymore, panic attack in the corridor, extreme anxiety, feeling I could not face the classes.

Truth to be told, it is almost 3 months I do practically nothing. I send a couple of email per day just to avoid further troubles, but besides that I do nothing. In the past I used to feel guilty for taking even one day of sick leave and during that day I would probably work from home. It was common for me to go to bed with the laptop and wake in the middle of the night to keep working.

Now? I do not care anymore. I will do as little as possible. One I lost my dream job and I frankly do not care anymore of the current one. I do not care about making career, I do not care about the students, and I do not career about reputation in the university.

From what you've said you were witch hunted for one possibly offensive tweet. Losing everything you'd worked for over something so trivial could definitely do a number on your brain. On another thread you shared about the physical abuse from your mother in childhood and that she ctb while you were still young. That wasn't an auspicious start in life yet you still achieved a lot in your academic career which is admirable. It is hard to live with regret and grief after losing something you valued. I'm so sorry for your pain and hope you find some peace of mind today.

 

[hamvil]

I am really curious why are you NE

From what you've said you were witch hunted for one possibly offensive tweet. Losing everything you'd worked for over something so trivial could definitely do a number on your brain. On another thread you shared about the physical abuse from your mother in childhood and that she ctb while you were still young. That wasn't an auspicious start in life yet you still achieved a lot in your academic career which is admirable. It is hard to live with regret and grief after losing something you valued. I'm so sorry for your pain and hope you find some peace of mind today.

It was a bad tweet. I mean I do really think what I wrote but I should not have tweeted it. Nowadays social can get you fired very quickly especially when politics are in the middle. I pissed off the major political party in my country and one minister demanded me to be fired.

No, I did not had a nice childhood.

It is very hard to live with regret. When I lost my job I also lost a person I loved. Maybe it was good because apparently, she was there only because of my job (I was her boss).

I know I will never be more than I was before and that I will not know love anymore. I am just tired of all, truly.

 

[Dead Ghost]

But where do you live that you can live with a social benefit and they give you an apartment while you are at it? I tell you that where I live this is not possible, because the social benefit they give me does not reach the minimum to be able to access a social housing.

And if I am productive, well, no, I wish I were!

//

¿ Però on viviu que podeu viure amb una prestació social i de pas us donen un pis?. Ja us dic que on jo visc això no es pas posible, perquè la prestació social que em donen no arriba al mínim per poder accedir a un habitatge d'ús social.

I respecte a si soc productiu, doncs no, tant de bó!

 

[LossOfMe]

Although I'm a college student in a desired course, which would LOOK like I'm on the way to be productive, I can't find the strength to finish what I started. Heading to the 10th year in uni (yay! ) I definitely am a leech of my parent's money and time.

 

[theboy]

No. I just steal the oxygen

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

Nope. I have horrible fatigue, dizziness and brain fog, along with anxiety and virtually no work history. My symptoms have worsened over the past few years. So I can maybe just about shower and go to the store in any given day. Which won't cut it for being able to work if I translate it, energy-wise. I won't qualify for benefits because my condition won't show up on any test. So when my money runs out, that's it for me. And I refuse to be homeless.

 

[GenesAndEnvironment]

I provide sexual services to myself, I am self-employed.

 

[hellispink]

I couldn't care two cents about being productive or not to society. Society is trash. Even if one behaves and follow all rules, injustices and stepping on others seem to be the main rule for them.

 

[freedompass]

But where do you live that you can live with a social benefit and they give you an apartment while you are at it? I tell you that where I live this is not possible, because the social benefit they give me does not reach the minimum to be able to access a social housing.

And if I am productive, well, no, I wish I were!

//

¿ Però on viviu que podeu viure amb una prestació social i de pas us donen un pis?. Ja us dic que on jo visc això no es pas posible, perquè la prestació social que em donen no arriba al mínim per poder accedir a un habitatge d'ús social.

I respecte a si soc productiu, doncs no, tant de bó!

UK and yes, I totally know I'm lucky

 

[Alnilam]

If society truly cared about its people, it'd make it easier for anyone to be a productive member of society. But it's very selective, which is ironic because society tries so hard to keep itself alive, it's social hierarchies and monopolies. If we aren't serving our corporate overlords or reproducing and raising families--which society has made it increasingly more difficult for most of us to do, we're seen as a waste of space. I don't care about being a productive member of a society that could care less about me or my well-being. In a perfect world, our productivity should be measured by our quality of living, it should go hand in hand, but because it doesn't, society is now nearing its collapse and all our efforts will be in vain.

 

[Julgran]

If society truly cared about its people, it'd make it easier for anyone to be a productive member of society. But it's very selective, which is ironic because society tries so hard to keep itself alive, it's social hierarchies and monopolies. If we aren't serving our corporate overlords or reproducing and raising families--which society has made it increasingly more difficult for most of us to do, we're seen as a waste of space. I don't care about being a productive member of a society that could care less about me or my well-being. In a perfect world, our productivity should be measured by our quality of living, it should go hand in hand, but because it doesn't, society is now nearing its collapse and all our efforts will be in vain.

Don't you think that caring for everyone was never society's imperative..? I mean, this planet is probably over-populated as it is, so how could society manage the offspring of the people who keep reproducing, without there being a lack of societal and/or personal purpose for those new people who are born..? In other words, society wouldn't function if everyone had a high-paying job, since there needs to be people who do the actual work around town - and the labor of those lesser-paid people goes unnoticed, because their labor is "just supposed to work" seamlessly and "always be there".

I believe that many problems in today's society would be solved by a whole lot of people dying in a massive accident or war, since such an event may allocate the resources that are left to the few people who are left, so the living standards of almost everyone who's left behind may increase.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Not really anymore. More so just wasting the world's oxygen, water, and food supply.

 

[Nanako]

I'm a worthless parasite, it's part of the reason why I'm ctb'ing

 

[GrumpyFrog]

Being a productive member of society geberally means that you do something to help anyone other than yourself. It is not necessary to be employed for it, and many people working BS jobs actually don't really contribute all that much to society.
I work two jobs. Avoiding social shaming is a factor in how much I work, but it is also a matter of my (currently very endangered, CTB aside) survival. I used to be passionate about one of my jobs, until the top management basically ruined any possibility for us to actually be "productive for society" because they decided that running a company that is pretty much nothing but a big scam is more profitable. There is nothing therapeutic about being a part of that. Actually, scratch that, there is nothing therapeutic about supporting some rich asshole that semi-owns you at all. Traditional employment is nothing but renting yourself to someone else in order to be able to survive.
We can't tell you whether you should care about having a job or not. It's up to you and your personal goals and values. Everybody else is fighting their own battles. It is probably not their fault you are where you are in life, and it is probably not your fault they are where they are.
If I was in UK and ended up on disability, I definitely wouldn't beat myself up about not having a job, because if you are well enough to work no one would just randomly put you on disability, that's an option for people that are not doing all that well. Being unable to work is not something to be happy about, but also not something to feel guilty about.

 

[CTB Dream]

Productive used bad way make other people inferior feel. Species wabt tool more, disabled not able do thing inside very vegetables

 

[lofticries]

Neet but that might change tmr. Fuck society. You will get shit on regardless, only the amount is different . Still I need money to live so my only goal in life is to get enough money to live an adequate life. And hopefully after I'll have the resources and nerve to ctb.

 

[Hollowman]

You mean wage slaving drone? Yes I am.

 

[avoid_slow_death]

I....guess? I mean, I work, eat, pay rent, help around the house a bit....so....yes?

 

[lex]

Nope. Living off the government like a leech

 

[want2dienow]

nope spend all day trying to kill myself while being tormented by nightmares

 

[Aurora_chaser]

I manage to stay employed and squeeze in about 40 volunteer hours a year in local politics and nonprofits, which makes me think I have been productive. I hope I have been, at least. No one wants to feel like their life was a waste.

Not that employment is essential for productivity and societal benefit. Employment is just a biproduct of capitalism, and there are many ways people without employment could be benefiting society. Perhaps we'd all be more productive without it.

 

[freedompass]

I manage to stay employed and squeeze in about 40 volunteer hours a year in local politics and nonprofits, which makes me think I have been productive. I hope I have been, at least. No one wants to feel like their life was a waste.

Not that employment is essential for productivity and societal benefit. Employment is just a biproduct of capitalism, and there are many ways people without employment could be benefiting society. Perhaps we'd all be more productive without it.

I agree, and well done for volunteering. Funnily enough since making a post yesterday on a neighbourhood site about a beautiful tree just opposite my house that the council want to cut down, I now seem to be a budding tree activist no pun intended. Working with others for a good cause does feel productive and often I can do it all from home which is what I prefer.

 

[Fall.and.Shatter]

Still a student. 15yrs so NO.

My friend told me though, that life was about trying to make your impact on this world bigger.

Guess I will make a 'big' impact when I die.

 

[clown_17]

Nope. I'm disabled. I wish with all my heart I could contribute, but I simply can't. I've tried time and time again but I'm unable to.