I feel like this is might not be directly applicable to this sub, but hopefully it’s related enough. I love sitcoms, but this seems to be a common thing that happens on most of them. An episode will usually be centered around one of the main characters getting fired/laid off, with a very short amount of time passing before they go “crazy” or get super depressed because they’re not working.
Now, I can understand being upset after getting fired – that’s fine. I could even understand being depressed if it’s a job that they’re passionate about and they’d been out of work for months, not weeks (the show that triggered this post is New Girl, and if you haven’t seen it, Zooey Deschanel’s character is a teacher. I could see really wanting to be teaching kids). But in almost every episode that it happens, only a few days pass and the character goes through an existential crisis where they’re like “I just don’t even know what to do with myself” and it’s genuinely bewildering to me. You don’t have any hobbies/interests? You don’t have literally anything besides work that gives your live meaning and purpose?
It’s mainly done for comedic purposes and jokes, but it also just really irks me because it feels like it further pushes the narrative that work is what defines us