Unique Strategy to Cure Unhappiness Forum

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone ever tried to get fired so that they could leave their legal job, collect unemployment while figuring out the next step and becoming happy?

[NotMyRealName09]

Not a legal job, but I had a friend do this, be bad enough to get fired so he could get unemployment. I think it worked.

Whether it leads to "happiness," that seems highly context based. Getting fired sucks, and even if you delude yourself into thinking "this is all part of my plan," getting fired and looking forward to collecting unemployment for awhile doesn't seem, to me, to be the foundation for ever lasting happiness. Then again, if you just hate your job but feel stuck because quitting would leave you with no income, while getting fired gets you unemployment, then hey, maybe its something to consider. Just make sure you understand the laws on unemployment - I'm no expert at what types of "getting fired" get you unemployment versus other types. Like, if you get fired by screwing up a project very bad, that might be different than getting fired because the company has to reduce is workforce due to lack of work. Someone with some employment law background could chime in here.

[zot1]

Why not just look for another job while you're still employed?

[kellyfrost]

I agree with the above poster. His/Her advice makes the most sense.

[Anonymous User]

I'm the OP. I want to start my own firm and get the unemployment. That's part of the reason for this plan and why just looking for another job won't do the trick. My options are either get fired and collect OR quit and don't collect. So basically, while I agree that I could be fired and not able to collect (due to be fired for cause, for example), I don't see a real downside. I'm just plain miserable here and need to be out of here asap.

[grand inquisitor]

self-employment =/= unemployment, op

[Anonymous User]

self-employment =/= unemployment, op

Of course. I just mean until I get everything in place and can be up and running. So maybe a month at most. Basically, all the things I cannot do while still employed, but need to do before I am officially self-employed.

[grand inquisitor]

don't you have to pay back unemployment once you get a job?

[NotMyRealName09]

I'm the OP. I want to start my own firm and get the unemployment. That's part of the reason for this plan and why just looking for another job won't do the trick. My options are either get fired and collect OR quit and don't collect. So basically, while I agree that I could be fired and not able to collect (due to be fired for cause, for example), I don't see a real downside. I'm just plain miserable here and need to be out of here asap.

Yeah that, so how does one purposely get themselves fired but NOT for cause? I think the forum needs to know the answer.

[zot1]

What you have to be careful of is that the firing will stay with you. Say you open your firm and it tanks in two years. Then you're back on the market and really the best rec you have is prior firm... But you got fired. Gotta think about all the what ifs and I think you're risking too much to collect unemployment.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Those are good points about the long term impact on recs and getting fired without cause. To the point of paying back unemployment, in my state, it only has to be paid back if you collected it fraudulently, not just because you found a job. I'm not sure if that's the case for all states though.

I guess I really need to think about just quitting. I'm having a really hard time at my firm, but I'm afraid of just quitting and losing the paycheck.

[zot1]

I'm not sure why you can't start working on getting your firm started while still on the job.

[Desert Fox]

[Anonymous User]

Op here. I have been prepping my own firm while working. I'm just having a really hard time at this job and want to be done with it now. For a variety of reasons I can't leave yet, so I'm stuck right now. I guess I was just hoping that they would fire me so I could move on now.

[RedGiant]

Has anyone ever tried to get fired so that they could leave their legal job, collect unemployment while figuring out the next step and becoming happy?

Dude, do you know how little unemployment is? The max in CA is like $800 A MONTH. And you pay taxes on that later, so...good luck with this little scheme of yours. You could make $800 by working at Starbucks, bartending, babysitting, doing Lyft/Uber and still have time to get a firm going on the side. Newsflash--you don't just open a firm an magically have 40 hours a week of billables. You're not going to be too busy to have a side hustle.

Alternately, if your current firm is large, I would try to go on disability for mental health reasons. That's a better plan. Have seen that done and it's sort of genius.