Maybe you can explain this to me because I never understand this "why work?" sentiment. How do you pay your rent, have food, etc. without working?

It is actually quite easy to find food and be alive without money.

This “rent” thing sounds suspicious, you do you I guess.

Some degree of support network, and when you get paid dirt and the cost to work is high itself (buying and maintaining a car being the big one) the tiny amount of money you get for a huge mental and physical toll just isn't worth it?

You are likely still going to be entirely dependent upon that support network job or no job. Jobs that are available to most people dont generally pay a living wage anymore, is that not sinking in for you?

I am trying to learn here so I am asking these questions with genuine curiosity.

When you say "support network" - I hear that as "friends and family" or some sort of community support (eg: church?) Is that what you mean?

And if so, is it "fine" to not work and thus be a bigger burden on this network? Meaning, even if a role doesn't pay a "living wage", there's a big difference between just living on your friend's couch and eat their food (or whatever) and being able to work and contribute say $2K/month towards your friend for the favor they are doing you?

Nowadays, you can't make any demand if you don't work because of a choice of yours.

workers (should) have unions, the ability to go to strike, and the political position to ask better

The anger of the general public is moving on from high unemployment rates to low wage for workers.

- Have no job ? Nobody cares anymore since service industry needs a workforce (even if you're qualified in any other field)

- Have an underpaid job ? You can have a political impact nowadays.

Also, jobs allow you to have better jobs in the future. You build experience, and working in some companies, like Amazon, allows you to follow a university course, as mention in OP's article.

If you're not doing this for you, you should just have a job to be able to flip off abusive bosses.

>Jobs that are available to most people don't generally pay a living wage anymore

I don't think it can be a long lasting trend. Check out China, where ppl are protesting. And check out what happens at Amazon in the USA, where the high rate of resignation worries management https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-burns-workers-quickly-executiv...

OP's article wasn't about choosing between not working and working in hotels, it's about hotel workers who moved on to other industries after a few years of covid. They're no longer available to work in hotels, no matter how you compensate them : they move on and are happy with their new job and lives.

But in your situation, if you have the opportunity to work, you can do it to grow the GDP and make your wage. You can't just expect that others, who might also dislike their jobs, have to pay taxes to share their salary with you just because you don't want to work.

There are real issues that cause unemployment : real estate that prices out workers in cities with jobs, banks that expect you to have a job before giving you a credit, when you need to afford a license and a car before you start a job, inconsistencies between companies expectations and job seekers, injuries, depression or lack of confidence,...

But being a crybaby about working isn't a reason to piggy back on workers.

I'm not even neoliberal, I'm communist. And I think you should work both for yourself and for the sake of the others.