Today is Friday and no one is happier about that then myself, because tomorrow is one of the two days of the week when I don’t have to get up at five in the morning. But what amazes me is that there are people in this world that never have to get up in the morning – because they don’t have a job. And it’s not like they don’t have a job because they can afford to not work – they don’t have a job because they choose not to have one.

While I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone, I think that not having a job in today’s society is a very dangerous thing – and many of the people that don’t have jobs don’t realize that all they are doing is digging a deeper and deeper grave for themselves with each day that passes that they are unemployed.

In our society, corporations and employers are looking for the best people for the job. Companies want to ensure that their vacancies are filled by people who have an extensive background and a solid resume – that does not have any gaps in it. What people who choose not to work do not realize is that the longer they stay out of work – the wider the gap on their resume becomes. And when they go on an interview and show their prospective employer their resume – the employer’s first question will be, “Why is there such a large gap in time since you were last employed?” And what can they possibly answer? And with thousands of people every day on the job hunt – a person with a gap in their resume is going to get pushed to the bottom of the pile very quickly.

Another problem with staying out of work for so long is that the longer the time between jobs – the less people want to return to work. I remember when I left the Marketeer in October of 1998 and had to wait until the end of January of 1999 until I could take my position at the Department of Buildings. I collected unemployment for those three months so I had money – but I basically did nothing every day. And when the time came to start my job at the DOB – I did not want to go back to work for anything – and I was only out of work for three months.

Another reason why working is so important is because money from each of our paychecks is going towards our retirement – and those who are not working are not investing anything in their futures. So what are they going to do when they reach retirement age? These days, most retirees are taking jobs because their Social Security is not even enough to live on – so if Social Security is not enough to live on – how will people who don’t work live on nothing when they reach sixty-five?

My final comment on why working is so important is because those people that are not working are not really contributing to society in any way. To me, any job is a good job. Before my career as a journalist began, I worked as a bank teller, a stockboy – and I even sold vacuums. So I feel that everyone from the stockbrokers on Wall Street to the workers at McDonalds are contributing to society in their own way – and I think that everyone should.

Again, I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone, I just think that those people who are unemployed by their own choice are doing more harm to themselves then they realize – and the sad thing is that when they do realize what they have done – it may be too late to do anything about it.