Monday, September 12, 2022

Motivation Story

 WELT wrote up an interesting piece today, which will generate a fair amount of discussion among Germans.  A survey was done on gov't-run Job Centers, and found that threatening possible reductions on your unemployment if you don't seek work in an active way....apparently has "no motivating effect". 

Meanwhile, the government's plan for 'citizens money' (basic income)....was supposed to replace the current welfare program, and there's questions about success....if you can't motivate people out of work to seek work.

Virtually every German has some story about a co-worker, friend or relative....who was on unemployment for a while, and for a year.....did absolutely nothing to seek employment.....saying they deserved the time off.

This survey telling us anything?  Not really.....I think nine out of ten Germans would have suggested that motivation is often hard to get across to some people.

I always thought that each town needed some depot building that you had to report to daily, if unemployed.....mandating you stay in the building without any cellphone contact for the day.  If you didn't like the warehouse treatment....then you ought to apply for jobs.

I had a neighbor in the 1990s...over in the K-Town area of Germany, who saw unemployment as a occupation, and regularly practiced it.  He'd occasionally get a job for six to eight weeks, but for each 12-month period....I doubt if he worked more than ninety days. Even today....approaching sixty years old....I suspect he's still on the same routine.  You could encourage him in dozens of ways....some even being blunt, but it didn't matter. 

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