You can't afford to be alone in any society. Not in the monetary sense, but in the sense that it will make you depressed. The fact that many people don't realize this is troubling.
If the society was truly communal, then the people able to employ you should be the same ones gossiping. The question then becomes why they won't employ you. I do agree that living communally can be unpleasant if you're an independent thinker with views different from everyone else in a way no one can appreciate.
