Outside of earning a salary for paying bills, putting a roof over your heads and having the ability to buy goods and services, what value does having a job bring outside of those fundamentals? Is it that important to have a place to go to in the morning, where you can share stories by the water cooler, or could it be a burning need to be a part of a larger social dynamic on a daily basis? Maybe having a job somehow validates the worth of your high school diploma, certification or college degree. Whatever your motivation maybe, what is the point of it all? What is the true purpose for having a job, and why I do I feel so desperate at times because I don’t have one.

There is a reason why time machines haven’t been invented yet. A time machine in the wrong hands would totally throw off the time continuum. I have a top ten list of places I would visit folded in my wallet just in case I get my hands on one. Number three on my list would be to find and muzzle the person or persons who decided on a five day work week, and then I would change it to a four day work week. Imagine having a three day weekend every weekend — that would be sweet, if I had a job. Wait a minute, by my not having a job, everyday is a weekend day for me.

One of the hurdles of being a member of the jobless nation, is that it takes a disciplined soul to keep your idle mind in check. It is a daily struggle filled with many highs and lows. Motivation to learn a new skill is burning up inside you one day, and then is totally cold the next. A week of walking or biking on trails, enjoying the simpler things in the life, is quickly replaced by a TV remote in one hand and a bag of Doritos in the other. It takes a lot of discipline to remain grounded and focused. Having a lot of free time on your hands is a lot of hard work which is why having a job is necessary.

Having a job saves us from ourselves. A job occupies that space in which our personal demons would eagerly fill with bad intentions, given the opportunity. Having a job keeps your social skills honest. I will be the first to admit, the longer I am out of the work environment, the more my social skills are declining at a rapid rate. I don’t feel the need to interact with the other animals, and to be quite honest, I am beginning not to miss it. I certainly don’t miss commuting to work, driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic wondering how in the hell did that moron in the gray SUV flip his vehicle over. There is one thing that I am missing while I spend my mornings eating Kashi cereal and watching reruns of Family Guy — I am missing a sense of purpose. I had one this time last year, however as of November 10, 2009 at 4:17 pm eastern standard time, I no longer have one. I am not sure exactly when I lost it. I do know, at this point it’s missing. Like a ship drifting in the sea, rudderless, I have no sense of purpose. In my rudderless world, my orange isn’t as orange anymore, and my Kashi cereal doesn’t thrill me the same anymore. Where is Tyler Durden when I need him? I could use some of his tough love to get me back on the path to finding my sense of purpose.

Does this mean I am doomed to spend the rest of my days on this planet being a non-productive, unmotivated, and uncaring individual? Do I need Jesus, Allah, Jehovah or Buddha in my life as many of my religious buds would suggest? I am truly walking in a hot desert having a deep conversation with Jim Morrison while trying to find that gravel of sand that will help keep me connected with the human race. I have had a front row seat watching my emotional state evolve since the day I joined the jobless nation. I have watched my anger turn to bitterness and my bitterness turn to darkness. Darkness as the void in space, with no atmosphere, no temperature, and no concern for it’s surroundings. I never realized that having a sense of purpose is so important and its effect on the human mind when you don’t have one. As much as I am starting to not miss the daily nuisances of going to work, the painful truth is that I need a job, which is the point of having a job.

If you are unemployed like me, I don’t have to tell you that being unemployed sucks. Each day unemployed is a day dealing with a wide variety of emotions. Feelings of good will are usually dashed after a few phone sessions with recruiters. Depressed feelings usually turn into fear, anxiety and hopelessness. Being unemployed is a sure sign, that smacks you in the face, that life isn’t fair. Not having a job to wake up to in the morning is a deep dark hole that is suffocating, if you allow it.

I will be the first to admit that I probably need therapy. I could use several bitching and whining sessions on a comfy couch to a stranger who claims that he/she can unlock the mysteries of my mind. However, since I am unemployed, with no health insurance, paying for therapy isn’t an option at the moment. I am not sure how our new digital leader health care reform bill helps the unemployed. It appears that although his intentions are noble, the government will find a way to screw us or screw it up if the bill is signed into law.

As you can imagine, bad management is a pet peeve of mind because it has unfortunately impacted my life negatively. I have seen enough bad management in my professional lifetime, that I could write a book on how to manage. All I would need to do is take what I have seen and put into words the opposite. I have encountered managers who were either bi-polar, insecure, untrustworthy, or just down right bad. I was fortunate to avoid most of the land mines in the toxic environment created by these individuals by being sociable, working hard and covering my assets. However, despite all of my dedication to being a good employee in the face of ineptitude, I found myself on the wrong side of management decisions. If it sounds like I have an axe to grind about some of my work experiences, you are correct. I was the type of employee that showed up for work everyday, rarely complained, kept my head down and tried to do my best under the most adverse situations. I was a company man, drone, worker bee who was to scared to rock the boat.

The key word is “was” because I am no longer afraid to rock the boat. All political correctness went out the door the day I was laid off from my last job. In retrospect, I now realize that having worked for several bad managers probably has done irreversible damage to my career. I am a by-product of career suicide, even though I had little or no control over the events that led to me being in this jobless situation. The decision of a faceless individual has caused my life to come to a stand-still, it sucks and I truly hope that person doesn’t sleep well at night. Despite my somewhat cynical and negative connotations, I do have a positive outlook on moving forward.

For the first time in my life I have a sense of freedom of not being one of the worker bees anymore. I am jobless, however I am no longer stressed out worrying that my boss has a bad perception about me because they can’t relate to my quirky ways. I no longer have to bite my tongue out of fear of losing my job because I disagree or have several questions about a project that is doomed to fail no matter how many hours I put in. Also, I am not the biggest loser in the office anymore and I am no longer a pawn in the popularity contest to sit on the right hand of my boss. Since it appears that God has chosen to look after bad managers, it’s only fair that I take control of my jobless situation and do what is necessary moving forward to create my own path.

It’s an opinion of mine for which I really don’t have any concrete evidence to prove it.  It has more to do with listening to my intuition than the tanking economy and bleak outlook that we hear on the news everyday. The primary formula behind how to be successful in this country has led many of us down the path to being unemployed.  The formula is quite simple and many folks have been successful in following it:  Study hard in school +  Get Good Grades + Get Hired after College or High School + Work Hard + Get Promoted = Good things will become of it.  I will be the first to admit that I have tasted some of the success  mentioned above.

However, the formula mentioned above is for the worker bee.  You spend your entire life living off one stream of income which comes from your  job.  Your job defines you, it pays your bills, buys you nice things and give you a false comfort.  Life is good until the day you’re called into the conference room by your immediate supervisor and told that the company has to let you go.  If you are fortunate to have saved your money well or your spouse is earning income, you manage to stay afloat until you find another job and start the whole process over again.  If you are lucky, you may end up making the same income as your previous job and you might actually find a another job that you enjoy doing.  The unlucky ones, end up taking a job in which they are over qualified, and probably earning considerably less income than before.  Having that type of job is better than not having one at all; however, the unlucky one is now a lower level worker bee going nowhere fast. This is why my intuition tells me that the American Dream is on life support.

Are you currently unemployed due to downsizing,  misconduct on the job,  or just bad luck with employment? The current economy is rough and a lot of us out here are struggling.  The price of goods and services is skyrocketing, while our take home income is constantly shrinking.  Losing a job stinks and the sudden change in lifestyle can be downright demoralizing.   Having to rely on savings and unemployment  benefits to make ends meet is another level of stress that one should not have to endure.  There is an inner voice that is angry, frustrated and not heard.  Use this site as an outlet to voice your opinions, frustrations, rants or whatever you feel like discussing about the current job market.  Your opinion matters — help build a strong united voice for the jobless nation.