&gt; How do you know that?<p>Because I read about it many times in the past ?<p>&gt; That seems like an unfounded conclusions. For example, a lot of people here on Hacker News don&#x27;t have a &quot;job&quot;, but they&#x27;re building startups and working on products. I wouldn&#x27;t call that a job, in the sense that they&#x27;re not performing work in exchange for money. It probably does have some effect on their self-worth, but I don&#x27;t think it has anything to do with the lack of an employer.<p>That&#x27;s because you are drinking the koolaid without reading the warnings all over HN about the entrepreneur porn lalaland echo chamber it is at time and succumbing to the game of redefining common words to fit a specific story. Also, very specific and small population sample here. You can&#x27;t exclude the majority of the population to deny the fact that self-worthiness is linked to employment (edit: whether it is a good thing or not).<p>Here&#x27;s some unfounded conclusion:<p>- <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.apa.org&#x2F;pi&#x2F;ses&#x2F;resources&#x2F;indicator&#x2F;2012&#x2F;04&#x2F;unemployment.aspx" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.apa.org&#x2F;pi&#x2F;ses&#x2F;resources&#x2F;indicator&#x2F;2012&#x2F;04&#x2F;unempl...</a><p>- <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;psychcentral.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;archives&#x2F;2011&#x2F;09&#x2F;19&#x2F;the-long-unemployed-emotional-effects-of-unemployment&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;psychcentral.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;archives&#x2F;2011&#x2F;09&#x2F;19&#x2F;the-long-un...</a><p>- <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.usatoday.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;money&#x2F;columnist&#x2F;kay&#x2F;2013&#x2F;08&#x2F;31&#x2F;at-work-self-esteem-depression&#x2F;2736083&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.usatoday.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;money&#x2F;columnist&#x2F;kay&#x2F;2013&#x2F;08&#x2F;31...</a><p>- <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;kar.kent.ac.uk&#x2F;19046&#x2F;1&#x2F;abrams_unemployment_self.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;kar.kent.ac.uk&#x2F;19046&#x2F;1&#x2F;abrams_unemployment_self.pdf</a><p>- <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.researchgate.net&#x2F;publication&#x2F;222079910_&#x27;Unemployment_Joblessness_Psychological_Well-being_and_Self-esteem_Theory_and_Evidence&#x27;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.researchgate.net&#x2F;publication&#x2F;222079910_&#x27;Unemploy...</a><p>- <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;commonwealthmagazine.org&#x2F;economy&#x2F;016-the-hidden-injuries-of-long-term-unemployment&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;commonwealthmagazine.org&#x2F;economy&#x2F;016-the-hidden-injur...</a><p>- <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncda.org&#x2F;aws&#x2F;NCDA&#x2F;pt&#x2F;sd&#x2F;news_article&#x2F;67151&#x2F;_PARENT&#x2F;layout_details_cc&#x2F;false" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncda.org&#x2F;aws&#x2F;NCDA&#x2F;pt&#x2F;sd&#x2F;news_article&#x2F;67151&#x2F;_PAREN...</a><p>&gt; And to follow on from that point, someone can be retired and spend 8 hours on art, music, writing, or any other creative endeavor. I don&#x27;t think those are the kinds of people who live shorter lives after retiring.<p>But that&#x27;s the thing. Retirees have a different status to hold than the unemployed. Plus, you forget that the transition from a working class member to a retiree can be really hard.