Discussion Is getting a job worth it?

[Ardesevent]

You're told that getting a job is necessary when you grow up. That it'll made you rich and happy. But almost everyone who has a job hates working it, but on the other end of the spectrum everyone who doesn't have a job is absolutely miserable.
There are ways you can get by without jobs, but most of those are considered scummy nowadays. My aunt herself claimed she had a disability, hired a lawyer to prove it in court, and now lives off of paychecks from the government. She probably doesn't deserve it, but she's happy. She also makes more money then almost everyone else in the family.
I recently only just started looking up how to get jobs. I graduated from high school about a year ago, so it's pretty overdue . But it seems like it's extremely difficult for anyone to get a job nowadays. All the sites I found say stuff like use your network, get a diploma, prove to the manager you're loyal to the company by following them without question, etc. Not to mention a few disturbing things I saw like the interviewer asking you if you would jump out the window for the company. But it was on wikihow, so maybe that one's just fake.
Is getting a job worth it, and do you stand a chance of getting a job if you're mentally ill? I can't tell if it's just because I still have a Neet's worldview, but I don't really know what to do here.

 

[Ghost2211]

I would if I could. Financial independence would be amazing. I don't even care if the work is pointless.

 

[nigelhernandez]

Well a job may suck, but it sure beats being homeless on a cardboard box.

The third alternative is suicide.

 

[Delia]

even if you're mentally ill getting a job can be really useful and depends on your disability. It can be tiring, or redundant, but you can also change jobs when you get sick of one and it has the good effect of making you feel less worthless (at least it did to me). It takes time to find one, but eventually someone always need a pair of hands to do what they need. Living in a big city gives many opportunities if you are in one and aren't going to university and such you might as well try as it allows you to meet new people that could be genuinely interesting, and that may change your life for the better if you do well enough truly. Unfortunately due to the fact that i'm in university and can barely alternate between the exhausting job i had, and my courses i had to give my job up. But it really upped my spirits for the four to five months when i worked where i did. It depends on the sector you're working on though. Mine made me happy at least. People love to give work a bad image but it really depends from one person to another. Plus you get money and nobody has enough of it.
I think it's a necessary hurt for a good.

 

[not4us]

My aunt herself claimed she had a disability, hired a lawyer to prove it in court, and now lives off of paychecks from the government. She probably doesn't deserve it, but she's happy. She also makes more money then almost everyone else in the family.

 

[Stepheng7287]

I don't particularly like going to work but it eases the suicidal thoughts a little for 10 hours every day. I used to look forward to home time during the day but now I dread going to work and dread coming home from work too. I just don't look forward to anything anymore.

So to answer your question, It's definitely worth it if you hate sitting at home all day and it's a nice distraction from the depression.

 

[Worthless_nobody]

If I didn't have all my mental and physical problems I would try to work. It's sucks not being financially independent and having to rely on others. I think you should go for getting a job. Try it out and see how you feel. Hopefully you can get a job and not have to be NEET anymore and that will bring some hope and satisfaction into your life.

 

[Good4Nothing]

Depends on the job. Some are worth it, some are not.
While I was looking for a job in my field I worked at Pizza Hut. Not worth it. It's not enough pay to make a living, and if you're like me you'll end up doing 3 times as much work as you should picking up the slack from the lay-abouts who don't want to be there.
Now I have a job in my field (graphic design) and it is worth it. Good work, good people, and it's enough money to make a living.
Try to find something you like and do that.
I like making art, so I've pursued a career making art.

 

[Meditation guide]

Is getting a job worth it

Yes. It's so worth it. It's money coming in. It's having a schedule to follow. It's keeping yourself groomed. It's being around other people. It's proving to yourself you have value and can do something. It's feeling like you are a member of society.
All these things can go a long way to improving your self image, making your life better, and also helping your mental health.

I've seen quadriplegics with full time jobs. I've seen mentally challenged people with jobs. Stephen Hawking, as disabled as he was, had a job. I have known people with severe mental illnesses too who could not hold a job. But if it's possible it is recommended.

 

[Stepheng7287]

If I didn't have all my mental and physical problems I would try to work. It's sucks not being financially independent and having to rely on others. I think you should go for getting a job. Try it out and see how you feel. Hopefully you can get a job and not have to be NEET anymore and that will bring some hope and satisfaction into your life.

Top 5 AiC songs!

 

[StringPuppet]

I'd probably just spend all my money on OnlyFans

 

[Lostandlooking]

I might be delusional for saying this. Work has always been very difficult for me. I did lots of jobs growing up, did a bunch of different things in my adult life. And overall work makes me feel awful. Being around other people and keeping up appearances is super tiring. Dealing with constant changes, loud or dirty environments, nasty co-workers. And just stress from the amount of work. Pressure to do more all the time. Be more efficient. It never ends. I had several burnouts/crisises because of work. And I'm now trying to apply for benefits. This is just sucking up every last bit of energy I have at the moment. I cannot deal with any sort of stress really. But there's just no way around it. And I keep hearing the same message from a lot of people where they don't understand why I couldn't just get another job or why this is upsetting me at all in the first place. I have experienced so much misery at different workplaces and felt so deeply misunderstood at so many times. I'm just in agony all the time now. Wish I could just ctb already.

 

[greebo6]

It depends. Sometimes . Sometimes not .It depends on the individual and their circumstances .Everyone is different .

 

[Symbiote]

Gotta pay the bills somehow, unless you're a trust fund baby and you get to coast through life on parent's money.

 

[It'sNotLookingGood]

You're told that getting a job is necessary when you grow up. That it'll made you rich and happy. But almost everyone who has a job hates working it, but on the other end of the spectrum everyone who doesn't have a job is absolutely miserable.
There are ways you can get by without jobs, but most of those are considered scummy nowadays. My aunt herself claimed she had a disability, hired a lawyer to prove it in court, and now lives off of paychecks from the government. She probably doesn't deserve it, but she's happy. She also makes more money then almost everyone else in the family.
I recently only just started looking up how to get jobs. I graduated from high school about a year ago, so it's pretty overdue . But it seems like it's extremely difficult for anyone to get a job nowadays. All the sites I found say stuff like use your network, get a diploma, prove to the manager you're loyal to the company by following them without question, etc. Not to mention a few disturbing things I saw like the interviewer asking you if you would jump out the window for the company. But it was on wikihow, so maybe that one's just fake.
Is getting a job worth it, and do you stand a chance of getting a job if you're mentally ill? I can't tell if it's just because I still have a Neet's worldview, but I don't really know what to do here.

Personally, I was at possibly my most suicidally-volatile while I was working.
Depressed and working a job, was worse than depressed and no job.
I could just about manage it though, needing to pull a few mental health sickies, and with it being very difficult, challenging and exhausting often.

But I find it nicer to be depressed, and at least able to make attempts to alleviate it - try putting on a movie, listening to music, exercising, etc - than to be depressed, and have to work/grind through the depression.

On the other hand, perhaps a job could provide structure to your life, and help build discipline - so it might be good for you. Also, it could add some meaning to your life, if you were doing a job you really liked/valued.

Perhaps more realistically... you could attempt to busy yourself with the grind to try and avoid depression. While, as I mentioned before, this doesn't really work for me, it could maybe be viable for you.

So in answer to your question, I think it really depends. You could try one.

 

[rt1989526]

Do I have a choice? No.

 

[NeverGrowUp]

Personally, no... but I seem to harbor differing views from a lot of people in that I don't think a job would even give me a sense of purpose. I don't believe 40 hour workweeks should be a thing, and when you're dealing with such immense mental/physical pain they certainly shouldn't be. Let the government do its job to provide basic needs due to disability, and if you need a sense of purpose you can always volunteer to keep yourself busy. I think depression with a lot of NEETs comes from perhaps lack of engagement with those outside the home, and a job often gives people this. It is by no means the only way to interact socially with others though! Volunteering seems perfect in this case... you do it as little or as much as you want, you're helping people, its typically very low stress, and you can always try new things!

Imo America just has an attitude towards those who don't work, due to the history of the "Protestant work ethic" but I refuse to care. Advanced countries provide far more in benefits and it's just seen as the normal thing to do if you have debilitating conditions. Never ctb simply because you can't work, but only if you're determined to die based on other factors. Labor doesn't define you as a person. There are plenty of trust fund kids who do nothing and don't care about not having a "sense of purpose."

 

[elfgyoza]

Imo America just has an attitude towards those who don't work, due to the history of the "Protestant work ethic" but I refuse to care. Advanced countries provide far more in benefits and it's just seen as the normal thing to do if you have debilitating conditions. Never ctb simply because you can't work, but only if you're determined to die based on other factors. Labor doesn't define you as a person. There are plenty of trust fund kids who do nothing and don't care about not having a "sense of purpose."

I don't think it's necessarily an American issue, even though we have more benefits in Europe a lot of people still hold on to the idea that their life and personality revolves around their job. Based on my super poor knowledge, it's a problem with capitalism (pls correct me if I'm wrong lol). We've tricked ourselves into thinking we need to obsessively work to prove ourselves to others, and to define our worth in society. All we're actually doing is giving more money to the rich, who then go on to complain about how hard they worked to get where they are, even though people like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos had parents giving them a lot of money. They exploit their workers and yet the employees are supposed to be grateful to even have a job and to be earning money?

In the UK we recently had our own government vote against feeding the poor kids outside of school term times. These kids are those whose families rely on food banks, they don't have enough money because the benefits system is shit. Adults have actually died here due to starvation or suicide after getting their benefits cut. And we somehow have other working class people believing that the poor don't deserve basic rights because parents don't have well paying jobs. People call them lazy and apparently they spend all their money on booze and fancy TV's and phones...

Idk where I was going with this rant lol sorry. I guess my point is that I'm angry humans created a system in which you have to overwork yourself, just to be able to afford to survive. I don't want to be part of it, I don't want a job but society won't let me have a peaceful death either, so what am I supposed to do

 

[Spitfire]

I have been thinking again lately to try and become employed. Being employed has definitely helped me very much in the past, and has personally been well worth it for me.

I may be deluded to even think I can pull it off to get the job I actually want to do, but I may try anyway just to see, not sure yet?

I want to work on, around, and with dead people. Currently, the next thing I am looking at is assisting with doing autopsies.

I think employment can be worth it if it is something you are interested in doing...

 

[Gnip]

By laboring for decades and paying into the system despite my challenges, I eventually qualified for disability.

Having earned my way to retirement, I can say that work was demeaning, degrading, humiliating, and nothing more than an extension of the hell which school previously was for me.

I don't miss the reality of work one bit. I miss what school and work could and should have been if it wasn't for all the assholes.

Today I hide from the world, and will CTB the instant hiding from the world is no longer an option.

 

[Antigonish]

Yes