Being unemployed: once a taboo but now an acceptable phase?
Being unemployed is not the norm in a society wherein when you graduate from college or university, the first thing in your agenda should be where and when to find work. Our parents would always tell us that being employed or having a job makes you independent and it signifies that you now have a say with how the government run things because you are now paying taxes. Unfortunately, not all people are lucky to land on their dream jobs. Some had to work their butt off to get to where they want to be or sometimes, they just cannot get there anymore. Before the recession, college friends would meet up with one another and brag about their jobs, their latest assignments and goes on and on until the wee hours of the morning. During the conversation, friends would drop names of classmates that still cannot find a job or has been switching jobs. Even though they give positive responses about that person looking for a job, you can still feel a hint of disdain from their voices and relief that they were not in their shoes. Fast forward to Year 2010, where the latest fad is being unemployed, redundancies are being given left and right by companies who knew that in order for them to survive, they need to let people go. unemployment benefits problems are usually the topic for roundtable discussion between friends. Where to seek unemployment benefits advice, where to go and look for a job, where to get coupons so that you get discounts in the supermarket, etc. Hopefully, with the economy slowly dusting off and picking itself up again, the percentage of people unemployed will slowly go down. We can only wait on how the world will turn over the next few years, let us hope for a positive and prosperous one.
