About

When I started working in journalism, one of my coworkers happened to be the nephew of the late Studs Terkel, who at the time was very much alive. I didn’t know much about him, so I looked him up. That’s when I found his compendium “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.” It was a snapshot of jobs and lives in America in the early 70s. This year, as more and more of my friends started getting laid off, I thought it would be interesting to take a different snapshot of what it’s like to be Not Working in America. How are people dealing with unemployment? What do they do with their time? How do they feel about it? People seem to spend so much time talking about work. What do people talk about when they’re not working?

My friend Joe and I set up this site in the hopes that you’ll answer some of these questions and talk about life in the ranks of the unemployed. What do you do all day? How are you coping? What are you afraid of? Any positives? What was your last day of work like? How late do you sleep? You can talk about big things or little things. You can even rant (though watch the language, please). If you’d like to submit, either fill out a survey or, if you’re feeling a little more freeform, write a short essay. Just check in with us first at notworkingnation (at) gmail (dot) com. We’d love to hear from you, and your contributions will help provide a personal look at the jobs we’re losing and at what people are doing — and not doing — every day.
- Madelyn Rosenberg