When we drive on clean roads and highways and spend the weekend by the fresh sea, we feel calm and relaxed. And if these places are full of garbage, it affects our mood on the contrary.
When we are sitting in the comfort of our home after a busy week we all love to have our food delivered to our home, a break from the daily routine of cooking, washing dishes, or picking up food makes us feel relaxed and happy.
It’s no big deal for us to cargo our goods and to order shipments. These are things we do sitting comfortably in our homes, yet someone else’s effort, sacrifice and tough labor made them possible.
What is labor? It is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs of themselves, their families and a wider community. Every job and the people who do it are undeniably important, regardless of whether they are considered so or not.
Often the perceived unworthiness of a job gets unduly transferred to the person in the job. If the work one does is considered “dirty,” the person doing it is seen as dirty or if a job doesn’t require much education, the tough and important work they do isn’t respected as they must be “uneducated”.
People in stigmatized jobs are part of our routine, their invisibility a byproduct of their indispensability and good work, doing the things most of us have the luxury of forgetting about, the work that enables us to live our lifestyles.
The dignity of labor or the dignity of work is the philosophical holding that all types of jobs are respected equally, and no occupation is considered superior and no job should be discriminated on any basis.
People performing jobs which are often discriminated compromise the workforces of the companies we love. They ensure safe roads to drive on, ship our packages, decontaminate our drinking water, clean our doctor’s offices, ready our hotel rooms, and dispose our trash.
They deserve our appreciation and gratitude for the work they do. they are much worthy of honor and respect. It only takes one genuine smile and one kind word to brighten someone’s day and make them feel valued and appreciated. Just as we can take meaning away from someone, we can also give it to them.
We must adopt an attitude that makes the world a better place for everyone.