From our other sites
The story
A thread titled “What’s a reason to work besides earning money?” popped up on 5ch’s Niche VIP board. Responding to the question of why people keep working even when they have enough money to live comfortably, posters offered everything from “social participation” and a sense of “moving forward” fostering mental stability, to simply “everyone’s values are different.” The exchange that drew the most attention came from a poster who said they’d spent 15 years as a NEET (not in education, employment, or training) before returning to work, declaring “the sense of fulfillment is insane” — prompting other users to repeatedly ask what made them decide to start working again. One poster working as a karaoke parlor clerk also shared firsthand experience of how interacting with customers eased their sense of loneliness.
What people said
but Japan's a country where work is treated as a virtue.
What a boring country.
That's what I think too, but apparently some people disagree, so
I want to know why.
I mean, isn't that just because everyone's values are different?
For most people work is just the best way to get social participation and a sense of fulfillment.
Sure, plenty of jobs don't suit that, but if you don't need the money you can pick whatever job you want.
Would you keep doing it even if you won the lottery?
I'd keep at it for now, that's separate from the money.
That's still about money in the end though.
Working really does tie into mental stability.
Coming back after 15 years as a NEET is seriously impressive.
What were you doing with yourself for those 15 years?
Society provides that automatically, at least halfway.
Then what about a job that's the same repetitive thing every day?
If there's no raise, does just getting a paycheck every month give you that sense of progress?
That's why I said "halfway."
It won't happen unless you actually seek it out yourself.
In most cases it does provide that though.
Re: #79
I was on VIP (5ch's Niche VIP board) every single day though.
Most jobs don't provide that at all.
You just repeat the same thing until retirement.
After being a NEET that long, what made you want to work?
I just kept flushing my time down the drain.
So what do you do with your time outside work these days?
Take care of my kid and cat.
You've got a kid and a cat, so you've probably got a wife too, right?
If you got like 500 million yen, wouldn't not working sound more fun?
What kind of job works out that well?
Seriously, working is better.
How'd you talk your way through the interview?
Guess you were just cut out for work.
I just said it straight.
How'd you even pass with that lol.
So what led to you becoming a NEET for 15 years in the first place?
I stopped being able to go to high school.
That's rough.
Not even close to being one of those "high-education NEETs."
What kind of job lets you get by after 15 years as a NEET?
You're just like me.
I think society just looks huge from where you're standing.
Once you jump in, you realize it's not that big a deal.
Yeah, exactly — OP's probably scared but wants to convince himself he isn't, so he's putting on this tough act.
I actually worked full-time for a few years at one point.
But it suddenly started feeling pointless.
With this face, a girlfriend or marriage isn't happening anyway.
When did I ever say it crosses the line between customer and clerk?
You said interacting with customers makes the loneliness go away, so it just freaked me out a little lol.
Well, customers are people, not robots, so of course it eases the loneliness somewhat — especially at a karaoke place, since customers come there to have fun, they often strike up conversation with me first.
Yeah, there really are people who chat up karaoke staff lol.
I always figured the staff found it annoying.
Honestly, it's impressive that doing customer service hasn't made you see customers as just lumps of meat.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Whether a reason to work can be reduced entirely to “for the money” is a question psychology has long debated under the distinction between “extrinsic motivation” and “intrinsic motivation,” and the disagreement in this thread is really an extension of that same debate. The point that social participation and keeping a daily rhythm contribute to mental stability is reasonable on its own, but it’s worth noting that the fulfillment described by the poster who returned to work after 15 years of unemployment is, after all, just one anonymous forum user’s personal account — not a prescription that applies to everyone. It’s also worth noting that the position “if you have money, you don’t need to work” and the position “there’s still a reason to work” aren’t necessarily contradictory; the thread’s talking-past-each-other likely comes from mixing up two separate axes — financial necessity versus having a sense of purpose.
※This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Niche VIP) thread “What’s a reason to work besides earning money?.”
Leave a Reply