Can unemployment become "funemployment"?

Hi Marci,

This was a really interesting read. I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to see an upside to unemployment, as long you remain productive. I wanted to add something that I found when I was unemployed after graduating for a few months. Of course I was upset, and jealous as my friends plucked up jobs, but there was also a sense of possibility and excitement about all the different types of jobs out there, and the fact that I had the freedom to try any of them.

I've often heard stories about people who were laid off, but found it a blessing because they didn't enjoy what they were doing. Unemployment, while not ideal, is also a way to wipe your slate clean and scope out the other possibilities that are out there!

Best regards,
Cara

i lost my job in may i worked for a fast food company i liked my job but the people that i worked for some how thought it would get better with out me i was working my myself even on my days off but cause the people i worked for thought it was my fault till why they was not getting their bonuses they decided to let me go no that ws not true i had worked my myself for this company for 4 yrs i worked hard i was there when they needed me i worked off the clock i was there but all of a sudden the
way they was runnig this store was mot working . i am scorned and hurt cause they lied on me i planned on taking them to court adn telling everything i know so unemployement can be fun ,but the reailtiy is that i have bills they dont pay them selfs u have to have income to support your needs

"Funemployment" - I've never heard of it, but it's an appropriate concept for many workers. The workplace is becoming increasingly busier and stressful for many employees, and some are to the point of "volunteering for layoffs".

I remember in just one year out of college, my company announced a plant shutdown and plans to move to Mexico. I became fed up as this was the second company closure I experienced in one year. I came home that evening after the shutdown announcement, got online, and bought a ticket to New York. Ironically, I made some good friends there while visiting and, within a month, I came back to live in the Northeast (all of the way from Mississippi).

However, I never would have been able to enjoy my layoff period if I had not saved. I am a big believer in living below my means. I keep a monthly budget, and I track every dollar that I spend. A great (and free) budget template that I use to record my expenses can be found at www.elliekay.com (financial advisor). Just look under the "Tool Center" and click on the Excel file named Pear Budget. It's an awesome, easy to use tool.

Good luck everyone.

D. Robinson
www.careercougar.com

I was unemployed for about 3 1/2 months, the weekly payments just paid the bills. I actually ended up paying off all my credit card debt (because I couldn't shop). I had a great time! After awhile though, you do feel unneeded, unwanted, kind of like you lost your self worth. But, I am wokring again now... Have been for alomost 5 months, hate the job. But, it gave me medical insurance and was the only thing offered to me at the time... I am still lookin and applying for elsewhere.

Here I am feeling sorry for people that have lost their jobs and I still have mine....Naw, really, You know you work hard and if you have the money, go have fun and take time for yourself. But dont complain when you dont have money to pay the bills....

If you are unemployed, it is your JOB to find a job. Eight hours a day, perhaps seven days a week. To do anything less cheats your family, your creditors, and yourself.

We've had too much low quality work time in this country, while we chase the golden dream of "fun." It's a waste. Once you have a well-paying job, are respected by your peers, don't need to worry about debt, and find time to enjoy your loved ones, then the fun begins.

Otherwise, you are bluffing yourself and wasting all of our time.

I live in seasonal South Florida. As a personal trainer the summer months can be really slow, so I took a job as a personal assistant to supplement my income.

As it turns out the personal assistant job paid better but as you can imagine it was a tough job. Eventually, I was subject to verbal abuse and mood swings from an alcoholic with a prescription pill dependency. I took a deep breath and quit.

I have been unattached and free to sort out my life for the last three weeks. It is amazing how many things I put off while working and doing things to suit someone else's needs.

At first, I was a little worried about my future but have a $15,000 cushion and the "busy" season is fast approaching. I have even applied to a new university and will be starting work on my second degree in August.

If you're not happy and you can swing it now is a great time to make a change. I am so happy I did...I have new found inspiration.

Are you kiddign being out of work sucks. I am not a person to stay home the only good thing is I can spend time with my kids and put more time in the gym.

My husband is European and was on my case about taking time off when I was burning out on my management job last summer. Then I got downsized right before the holidays. I am one of the lucky ones to get a good comp package and I saved enough money to take the time to re-group. And I have to admit that my husband was right - I was seriously neurotic about work, putting in 12 hr days and devoting my life to a company that didn't I didn't own.
Do I miss my steady salary? Sure, but I don't miss the headaches and acid reflux! I think I now can do something more useful with my time, like helping others through volunteer work or teach.

A good friend of mine was laid off and started receiving unemployment... she and another unemployed friend decided to take a month (or two) long road trip across America. I'd probably do the same. It's a good way to get your head cleared and possibly take the opportunity to find a job in a state that has a better employmen rate!

I'm Marci's cousin who's currently house-sitting in Washington.

I was recently laid off from a dream job-in fact I was addicted to it-working 12-14 hour days and making myself available on weekends and holidays. I loved the work, and the job had become my identity.

As I watched multiple rounds of layoffs happen around me, I was terrified. Like many others, I made a lot of sacrifices to get where I was in my career, and when I actually did get laid off, the idea of having to take some steps backwards was scary and didn't feel fair.

After seeing my mother pass away last year, the decision to focus on the positive of a job loss rather than dwell on the negative was an easy one. I admit, I am one of the fortunate few who can afford to be unemployed for a little while, as I was able to create a nest egg from the last decade of work. I took up sailing, which has proven to be a very good use of time in terms of networking ( I highly recommend anyone out of work to engage in a recreational sport that can help you broaden your social network.)

Unemployment has also been a great opportunity to both explore and reconnect with myself, family, and friends. While there has been some occasional panic in not knowing what's next, when I look at the photos of all of the wonderful adventures of the past few months, I wouldn't have traded them for anything.

I was unemployed for a bout 6 months. It was awful, because I really didn't have enough reserve money to keep it together in a big city. Then I moved to a smaller city to take a part-time job that happens to be exactly the job I've always wanted. The fact that I was unemployed for so long helped me broaden my horizons beyond my hometown and really improve my life.

Now I am working part-time, which is kind of a drag because money is tight, but I make enough to get by and I LOVE my work. I hope that it will become full-time if I stick with it long enough. In the meantime, I am able to enjoy long weekends back home because I don't work on Fridays, and I am able to hit the gym daily and still be home to cook dinner for my fiance.

So I totally see the value of embracing "funemployment"!

Yes! My husband was called back from his job and was down for a few days because I just had my second bby and he wanted to spend time with us. But it's okay. Good that he actually have his job back. I'm so glad for him. He needs to get up and outta bed! :)

Hi. I feel like your soul sister. You truly understand how it feels to be old, and you might be interested in a book by Vita Sackville-West, All Passion Spent. She wrote it when she was 36.

Well, I'll be 78 in a couple of weeks, that's two years away from 80, so I guess I know how it feels to be old. I started working when I was 14. It was just after World War II, and there were more jobs than people to work, so they bent the child labor laws. If you were in school and doing ok you could work outside school hours. I worked in a bakery, and loved it. I have loved about 98% of the jobs I've had since, and never dreamed I'd quit working before I dropped dead. My last job was translating, and I figured you could translate better AFTER doing it for a half-century than you could BEFORE. But something sort of political-personal happened and I was forced out of my job. I was going to fight that injustice to the death, but first I had a trip to Guatemala to see my son, and to the US to see a lot of other friends & family, and when I got back home there was a lot to do, and about six months later I heard myself call the tax people and tell them I was no longer working. That was four years ago. After working for 60 years, convinced all that time that my existence depended on my work (and I'm not a bit sorry it did), I exist, and I don't work. And I love it.

You are quite right to plan to keep working all your life, as I did. I certainly don't regret living for my work and loving it. But don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself unemployed and just as happy and busy as a person can be. It happens to a lot of people who didn't think it would.

Hey, this isn't the article I was responding to. You wrote one about your 94-year-old grandmother. My response certainly doesn't apply to people in the prime of life who lose their jobs in a depression. It only works if you have retirement and not too much in the way of expenses.

I suppose that no matter how dark things are, there really is always a bright side--even if sometimes smaller than we would wish. And even if the darkness engulfs us, we need to contact that bit of brightness that still is left, and let it nourish us. I've had to learn that the hard way.

Love the positive take this article has on the unemployment rate

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