The key point here is all you earn besides money as you mention.

In Finland where the social security is good, a lot of people stay home after losing a job for 2 years living off the government (tax payers) because getting a crappier job isn't worth it. However, this is a technical country and two years without being in a field, making connections and getting opportunities is a long time. A lot of the long term unemployed I met are so because "it doesn't make sense to work a job and not earn much more than what can be got for free" - the problem is, after those two years - what is "got for free" is a lot less.