This is a quote from a stand up comedian, Michail Zhvanetskiy I believe. I don't think it describes the economy in the USSR very well even though it's catchy an

This is a quote from a stand up comedian, Michail Zhvanetskiy I believe. I don't think it describes the economy in the USSR very well even though it's catchy and funny. People considered working as some out of ordinary experience. For instance there were so-called "student construction squads" (строительные отряды, ССО) that consisted of young people, usually students, who toured the countryside and doing whatever construction work they could find (and there was a lot). This was a very well paid job and you could make a year of normal salary in a few months. People joined those to make enough money to buy new furniture or car etc. and after that returned to slacking off at their government job/study. There had been many more outlets like this so there were ways of getting reward for hard work. However very few entertained the idea of doing this full time.