CON TEXT: Sorry, no time to talk – I have to look for a job. So, you've been let go by your company, and, with the economy in a tailspin, your chances of getting another job are looking slim. You're looking at spending the rest of 2009 and most of 2010 at home watching the telly.

Don't depress me. I'll get another job – now leave me alone. Put down that paper and listen for a minute. Have you considered the possibility that being out of a job might turn out to be a good thing?

A good thing? I don't see anything good about signing on the dole and tramping round to endless job interviews. Perhaps if you stopped running around like a headless chicken and smelled the roses, you might see the bright side. Some are realising that unemployment can be fun, and are using their new-found free time to really enjoy life.

So, they've decided not to bother looking for a new job?Let's face it, with the job market the way it is, it's going to be nigh-on impossible to simply walk into a spanking new position right away. So, many people have decided that, rather than bang their heads against a brick wall, they're going to turn this period of enforced idleness to their advantage.

How will they do that?They'll use the time to go travelling, take up a new sport, work on their golf swing, write that novel they've got inside them, do some volunteer work, or simply reconnect with their friends, family and social acquaintances. Instead of rising with the lark to make the stressful commute on the M50 carpark, they're having a leisurely lie-in and breakfast on the patio. Instead of wading through paperwork in a stuffy office, they're paddling through cool water on a nice, sandy beach. Instead of stressing out at their desk and slurping endless coffees, they're stretching out on a sun-lounger and sipping pina coladas. No more back-breaking work – it's back massages and deep tissue work from here on in.

Sounds like heaven! Cancel that job interview right away!Now that the job loss hangover has worn off, many people are waking up to the idea that perhaps the rat-race wasn't worth running after all. During the Celtic Tiger, we all worked like dogs eight days a week, and none of us had any time to enjoy our newly-acquired affluence. Now that it's all gone, we're thinking perhaps its time to tip the work-life balance back to life again.

Well, the world would be a better place if we all stopped being so self-absorbed, switched off our iPods and started re-engaging with the world around us.More and more people are seeing unemployment not as a purgatory, but as a "paycation", a chance to realign their priorities and learn to appreciate the important things in life, like friendship, generosity and spending the day watching the entire second series of The Wire.

That's all very well, but how are you going to pay for all this funemployment when the redundancy money runs out?Eventually, the holiday will have to end and we'll all have to get out the job section again. Most funemployed people are hoping their resources can hold out until the end of the recession – if not, then we'll all be going around richer in spirit but poorer than church mice.

Try at home:"He's read the entire works of Shakespeare, Sophocles, Nietsche and James Joyce. Wait till he reads his bank statement."

Try at work:"Congratulations, Jones! You are going to really get to know your family this year."