There is a very mid-20th-century idea that work, as in going to a certain place, doing something mildly productive for 8 hours, and getting money at the end of the month, is a good thing, and although this is practically dead, the idea is still alive in many people's heads. I took a leave for three months last summer, to wind down after the stress of the pandemic, and friends and family were part surprised, part frightened ("Doesn't he want to work anymore?") and part anxious that I wouldn't find a new job. Working regularly again since a couple of months, and I'm looking forward to saving enough money to have another long holiday.

> doing something mildly productive for 8 hours

Oh man I’d love to spend my days productively, unfortunately I have to work.

>Working regularly again since a couple of months, and I'm looking forward to saving enough money to have another long holiday.

Unfortunately in many places on earth you will have real problem continuing after such a holiday. Not from the same position you were in for sure.

Not to mention things change when you have a family of your own, old parents etc.

Definitely, this is a luxury the tech space provides at this point in time. No idea how long it will stay this way.

We should normalize such pauses lasting several months

It used to be normalized. It was called a sabbatical. The first company I ever worked for had mandated sabbaticals every 5 years. It was six weeks and you couldn't just add it to your vacation days, you had to take the six weeks all at once. Everybody felt fully refreshed after taking the six weeks off. Plus, their standard work week was 35 hours per week, 7 hours per day. Being a start up we did have periods during the year where we worked considerably longer, but those would be for 2-3 week periods a couple of times per year. This was back in the 1980's. Like I said, this definitely used to be part of our work culture.

Absolutely, the best thing I ever did. In Germany, the social democrats had a plan to pay people a large chunk of their salary for a year so that they can take a sabbatical after working a number of years (8 or 10, I'm not sure). Of course it was shelved quickly after they got elected and things went south with the Ukraine invasion and the economic downturn.

My company allows you to save your working hours and spend them in your sabbatical.

It's primarily a good thing in regards of taxes as you pay less in that time.

Do you mean something different? Haven't heard a free sabbatical from spd

Had to google it again myself, they called it Grundeinkommensjahr (https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/beitrag/lars-klingbeil-gr...) and the pay was much less than I remembered; it's 1000 bucks per month plus social security. You get one month per year of work.

Interesting idea.

Never came across of it, tx.

Excuse me for asking, but how do you expect then to pay the rent, that is already sky high, or service your car and pay for gas, or even buy basic necessities?

Genuinely curios.

The short answer is, I have absolutely no idea. And that excites me.

The way I see it is I can slave away at a job I hate to barely afford the things I need to live and be miserable, or I can do away with all of that and still face the same level of uncertainty and miserableness. Might as well make it a bit easier on myself in the process.

I respect that. After all, whatever we do in life the end result will be the same. So not doing what you want is truly a waste, even if it seems irresponsible to society.

I'm a polar opposite from you. I enjoy working and actual feel depressed and anxious when not doing anything. I just have an excess of energy that needs to be spent.

I prefer spending that energy traveling, talking to people and meeting new people, hobbies, and the like. These activities cost money so I'm fine with spending most of my days on a job that will earn me money to at least occasionally do what I love most.

But even without the possibility of doing anything that I truly love I would still have no issue spending 12 hours a day, every day, working. The alternative--not doing anything--horrifies me.

What do you mean by "doing nothing"? Even staying quite and still, there are a lot of inner space to explore through meditation.

Hustle and bustle is not the only way to do things. Actually frenetic laborious activities might just as well let some people feel like they are wasting their attention.

As the article point, the issue is largely led by a mindset.

I don’t mean one mindset is "better" than the other, but there are more than one way to experience life out there, and not all of them converge to maximize the GDP as an unquestionable holly quest.

I did that for a while. Word of caution: there's a point where you run out of savings and you hit bottom hard. Not wanting to work is one thing, but not wanting to work when you're without savings is much harder. Existential dread plus financial dread just plain sucks.

But it sounds like you have a lot in savings so maybe it won't be an issue?

> I did that for a while. Word of caution: there's a point where you run out of savings and you hit bottom hard. Not wanting to work is one thing, but not wanting to work when you're without savings is much harder. Existential dread plus financial dread just plain sucks.

OTOH, this is the only thing that consistently breaks me from stagnation.

Yeah, I'm not saying don't do it. Just, it's good know what you're getting yourself into before you start. There is a tipping point.

Just a train of thought because that's what I'm doing:

Why not trying to buy your own land and build a small community around it?

Might be much more fulfilling with very little money required.

I live in Germany and everything just costs money but if you are in the USA, there are plenty of very cheap areas were you can easily life self sustainable?

What excites you, the thought of having to panhandle to be able to eat?

I kind of feel like you have much more certainty if you don’t work.

You can be certain you won’t be able to afford anything, and eventually be in deep shit.

In Germany you can get a small apartment paid for by the government if you're unemployed. I'm guessing OP was comparing working to rent a nice apartment vs. living on government support somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I mean Utah also has cheap homes (but no jobs) whereas California has great jobs (but no cheap homes).

You get sanctions if you don't try interviews.

And you only get it after all your riches are gone.

After that your Rente/retirement money will become a real struggle.

I don't envy anyone going this road but I also don't mind it.

The German government doesn't relocate you to Timbuktu if you are on benefits, you get to keep living in your city and maybe even your neighborhood.

Well 4 years ago the same poster was at university and struggling to complete the course. Do they've probably never actually had a job or are talking nonsense.

Update: Passed the course, held multiple positions / gotten promotions across a few industries that I wanted to experience. Been there, done that.

Thanks for the checkin and reminder of how far I have come, though! :)

> but I'm basically one of those people who fit in the category of unemployed and not looking / don't want to work.

Yea, your story makes no sense

You aren't really out of material things. Do you produce your own gas and food and energy? If not, somebody else is paying for your material things - me and the girl from the grocery shop who sells you lettuce and the guy from the gas pump, we are paying your freedom with a little part of our earnings called "taxes". It's your decision which is affecting me and that girl and that other guy, a decision which siphons a little money from the hospital maintenance to your freedom. Do I mind? Not that much, but it bears saying: you are not free, just living off us.

Basically my attitude too, although I do have a job. I don’t understand how people are so motivated by getting more stuff. I just like buying food and drink. I’m not sure for what reason we’re supposed to be working beyond that. I feel like I’m being gaslit into wanting more simply to convince me to work harder. There definitely isn’t some intrinsic push inside me to work harder

> If I don't care about this 'stuff' then why would I care to work for someone whose only goal is to acquire more of this stuff for themselves

That's a legitimate question. The "trick" is to either work for someone not trying to acquire more stuff for themselves, like a non-profit or a collective. And of course working something that is pleasurable to yourself, not random busywork with no real purpose.

Realising how that sounds, I'm not trying to convince or argue with you, just sharing a different perspective. Every person is different - some like material wealth ( i personally enjoy various stuff money can buy, although certainly not Ferrari-level stuff), some like wealth for the sake of it ( most billionaires still at it).

I’m currently sat under a lorry monitoring various video feeds of the jubilee (having set them up yesterday), it’s great fun, and something money can’t buy.

I'm still working as long as I can (I'm 35) so I have enough money to not work and spend a few years on building my own house/farm/greenhouse.

On the other hand I know the story from a few people getting rich fast (crypto and fang) who just sit at home and play the same game for years now.

Good for them (if that doesn't make them depressed) but normally not having any money makes life quite different.

I also think it's unfair for me to have this plan and being able to achieve it while on the other side of our planet people still work like 6 days a week for consumerism.

How do you pay for rent, food, gas for your Yaris? Is society supposed to just support you the rest of your life?

Benefits I suppose? Benefits can take various forms. One person I know has been on subsidized housing for almost a decade after a low-paying stint, even though they now earn very well.

If you have done the work for a tech company keeping your outgoings low you can live indefinitely off a few years savings

What about healthcare? Going to the Dentist if you have a problem?