u/WeirdWriter88

One of the most annoying things about complaining about a job is when someone inevitably says, "Just get another job."

Oh, okay. Why didn't I think of that?

The problem isn't even finding a job opening. It's the absolute circus of the modern application process.

You see a physical sign that says “INQUIRE WITHIN.” So you think, great, I’ll go inside and talk to a human being.

Nope. You get pointed straight to a website.

• First, you have to create an account with a password you'll never use again.
• Then, you upload your résumé.
• Then the system says, "Great! Now manually enter your entire employment history." The exact employment history that is already right there on the résumé you just uploaded five seconds ago.
• Then comes a lengthy, soul-crushing questionnaire.
• Finally, you submit everything.

And congratulations! You still haven't reached a human being. Now you have to survive an AI resume-screening bot before an actual person even considers looking at your application.

Multiply that entire process by however many jobs you're actually applying for.

When people tell me to "just get another job," they make it sound like you can just walk in, shake hands, and start working like it's 1985.

It’s not. It’s searching listings, creating endless accounts, filling out redundant forms, dodging automated rejections, getting ghosted, and doing the whole damn thing all over again.

I used to work with someone (I'll call him Steve) who had a very unusual approach to employment.

Steve openly admitted that he hated working and had developed a strategy around it. He would work jobs, eventually leave or get fired, collect unemployment, and use that time to live his life before repeating the process.

The interesting part is that he wasn't financially reckless. While employed, he lived extremely frugally and saved money. Because of that, when he was unemployed, he could actually enjoy the time off instead of immediately struggling. He has reportedly maintained this approach for around 40 years.

He was not someone who just couldn't hold a job. He was deliberately choosing a different path because he valued free time more than career advancement.

I'm curious how people in the workplace view this.

Is this:

• someone who found a way to optimize their life around what they value?
• someone who is taking advantage of employers and unemployment systems?
• somewhere in between?

Would you consider someone like this clever, irresponsible, or something else?

I used to work with someone (let's call him Steve) who had a very unusual approach to employment.

Steve hated working and spent decades developing what he described as a carefully planned strategy. He would work a job long enough to qualify for unemployment, eventually get fired, collect unemployment benefits, and use the time off to live. Before anyone assumes he was reckless, he was actually very frugal while employed. He lived like he was broke, saved money, and built up enough of a cushion that when he was unemployed, he could enjoy himself without immediately running out of money.

He has been doing some version of this for around 40 years.

The thing that interests me is that this wasn't random laziness. He put a lot of thought, planning, and discipline into avoiding traditional employment. He essentially optimized his life around having as much free time as possible rather than maximizing income, career growth, or status.

My question is: is Steve morally wrong for doing this?

On one hand, someone could argue he found a way to live the life he wanted, made sacrifices to support it, and used systems that exist for people who are unemployed.

On the other hand, someone could argue that intentionally getting fired and repeatedly relying on unemployment benefits is taking advantage of a system meant for people who did not choose unemployment.

Is Steve a person who found an unconventional way to live, or is he avoiding his responsibilities?

1: I genuinely forget. When I get the invite it's in the form of a group text, which I hate because it drives me crazy getting all those texts, so I turn off the notifications. Also, I have no way of knowing until that week if I get approved off or not. By that time, I completely forget about the invite.

2: I have a hard time with the urgency due to lacking empathy because I have never thrown a party and I most likely never will. Since I don't know that stress it's hard for me to understand it

3: I tend to see myself as optional in the system. If a party has many people, it feels like my presence doesn’t meaningfully change anything. So responding late (or not at all) doesn’t feel like it has a real impact on the outcome.

I don't understand how I can have the discipline to walk 20+ miles on any given day or write for 5 hours after pushing shopping carts for 8 hours to fulfill my dream of making a living writing but have zero discipline when it comes to food.

So, in the start of the dream, Ambien was made illegal and I was going on 1 hour of sleep a night for 3 weeks in a row. So I went to an eye doctor for eye drops to dilate my pupils, go to a mental hospital and pretend to be crazy to get sedated. I started throwing stuff around and screaming "take me to the lizard king." 4 orderlies shoved a needle in me and injected me with a sedative. The next thing I know I transcend to a planet called Gorp and I am in a booth going shot for shot of whisky with Elmer Fudd. We were talking about Bugs Bunny being a jerk when the ghost of Blackbeard appeared and he says to me 'be careful of the hospital drugs bucko. The more you come here, the harder it is to go back." He then vanishes with his hearty laugh echoing