>I absolutely believe that if given the choice of getting over $1200/month on unemployment versus making the same but working, most people would choose not work

>I absolutely believe that if given the choice of getting over $1200/month on unemployment versus making the same but working, most people would choose not working. That seems so intuitive to me. This seems to be a rational choice to me as well if you define work as "shit I don't want to be doing". If you were paid $1200 a week for playing with puppies, you probably wouldn't mind going back. I think what the OP was alluding to was that it caused people to evaluate the nature of work. I'm not saying it's a purely rational decision, but probably a largely emotional one. When your norm is working a miserable job and you are given a reprieve from it, emotionally it may be that much harder to return.