‘Funemployed’ revel in freedom from work
Kimi Yoshino, Los Angeles Times
Sunday, June 7, 2009
(06-07) 04:00 PDT Los Angeles –
Michael Van Gorkom was laid off by Yahoo in late April. He didn’t panic. He didn’t rush off to a therapist. Instead, the 33-year old Santa Monica resident discovered that being jobless “kind of settled nicely.”
Week one: “I thought, ‘OK … I need to send out resumes, send some e-mails, need to do networking”‘
Week two: “A little less.”
Every week since: “I’m going to go to the beach and enjoy some margaritas.”
What most people would call unemployment, Van Gorkom embraced as “funemployment.”
While millions of Americans struggle to find work as they face foreclosures and bankruptcy, others have found a silver lining in the economic meltdown. These happily jobless tend to be single and in their 20s and 30s. Some were laid off. Some quit voluntarily, lured by generous buyouts.
Buoyed by severance, savings, unemployment checks or their parents, the “funemployed” do not spend their days poring over job listings. They travel on the cheap for weeks. They head back to school or volunteer at the neighborhood soup kitchen. And at least until the bank account dries up, they’re content living for today. ”
Never heard of funemployment? Here’s Urban Dictionary’s definition: “The condition of a person who takes advantage of being out of a job to have the time of their life. (Example:) I spent all day Tuesday at the pool; funemployment rocks!”
As frivolous as it sounds, “funemployment” is a statement about U.S. society. Experts say it’s both a reflection of the country’s cultural narcissism - and attitudes of entitlement and self-centeredness - and a backlash against corporate America and its Dilbert-like work environment.
“Recession gives people permission to be unemployed,” said David Logan, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. “Why not make use of the time and go do something fun?”
Nina Flores, 28, quit her job as a jury consultant Feb. 1 and has no regrets.
“You figure out how much … you miss when maybe you’re tied to your BlackBerry all the time or, in my case, traveling for work all the time,” she said. “I can’t imagine doing that again and sacrificing everything I want to do for me. … I think it is a new way of thinking.”
Flores said she finds herself looking into jobs she would have never considered before, even if it means taking a big pay cut. What’s more important, she said, is flexibility, lots of vacation time and something that doesn’t have “that 9-to-5″ feeling.
Flores’ decision to quit her job was initially met by concern and worry by her parents and some friends, but she thinks it’s partly because they simply can’t relate. By the time her parents’ generation reached their late 20s and early 30s, most were married with children.
Logan, the USC professor, isn’t convinced “funemployment” is unique to this generation. Slackers - or whatever label is in vogue - have been around for decades. What’s different, he said, is the new social media that allows the unemployed to find each other and make plans through Facebook and Twitter.
By thumbing their noses at unemployment, they also are sending a message to corporate America, Logan said.
“People are saying screw it, and they’re leaving companies,” Logan said. “We need to figure out how to make companies work better for everybody. Until that happens … early retirements and furloughs are going to continue. People are going to opt out of the system.”
This article appeared on page L - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle
