As you open your eyes and roll out of bed unmotivated on a monday morning realising you’re not in a nine to five stuck in traffic, but you are stuck in the que of the jobcentre around midday, you begin to tell yourself “this is all temporary”.
As you wait in line, to then be passed onto the next body who tells you to take a seat until your name is called, members of staff mixed with too many “security” attendants who just loiter, walk around the building like “they have oil wells pumping in their living rooms”. Multi Colored post it notes, forms and filing trays fill up desks with wallflower yet robotic women sat behind them talking to you, a bit like a she’s been programmed by the government. No one wants to actually be there (and those who do I fail to comment) we all want to work and earn money (the majority) but it’s a painful experience when you’ve never really not worked and have more transferable skills than the person actually interviewing you.
How the government expect you to live off £68 a week is beyond me, I would imagine most people are left with around £8 after feeding their drug habit that leaves you with enough for maybe a trip to Greggs and a tram fare! It’s life lessons in itself being unemployed and learning to budget, I couldn’t begin to imagine what I would do being on £1500 a month again. Well actually I do, I’d pay my rent and all my bills, and I’d be left with about £200 if I was lucky with no chance of bettering my skills as I’d have no money or time to study. I’d be paying for my dentist trips and prescriptions amongst the other annoyances that so happily jump up and bite you in the arse. However, sometimes you reach a point in life where you need those things and the jobcentre happens to be the place where you can get it. They can actually help you pay for courses and put you onto people who can help you find a house to which then pay your rent and bills! They offer you minimal weekly money but they can give you the opportunity to better your career. I can also see why people lack the motivation to ever want to work again. Sat in their home, claiming their benefits, free dentist trips and meal coupons not taking advantage of some of the actual things that would help them get a job.
But that is no life, no real life anyway. These things are temporary, a stepping stone, back into better employment and getting a better life for yourself. Over 1.1 million of us are unemployed now in the UK, think how hard it must be for some of those people who have not worked for such a long time to want to go back to work. I think there becomes a point when you lack motivation and aspiration to want to work so I could imagine it would be very easy to get stuck in a depressive unemployed bubble.
This is not any kind of life to sit at home, watch Jeremy Kyle, eat a sandwich and nap. You may be thinking I couldn’t think of anything better, working your 70 hour week, but trust me I have qualifications coming out my arse, I’m not stupid, I’m just bored and unemployed………….yet employable!
Karen Talks 