UNIT 5: WORK AND CAREER
My name‿ is‿ Omar. My brother‿ is‿ a firefighter,│ an(d) for ten years‿ I have‿ asked (h)im why he tolerates‿ a vocation that has‿ injured (h)im twice‿ an(d) remunerates (h)im less generously than‿ a warehouse manager.
He answers with‿ a wor(d) that‿ is‿ easy to mock‿ an(d) difficul(t) to replace:│ duty. He is highly specialised,│ on call one weekend‿ in four,│ and‿ every intervention begins with‿ a risk‿ assessment,│ which‿ is the par(t) the public never witnesses. What they witness‿ is the rescue,│ an(d) rescue is‿ a small fraction‿ of the work. The occupational hazards‿ are real,│ an(d) so is the psychological‿ attrition:│ six‿ of his colleagues have taken‿ extended leave│ after traumatic‿ incidents‿ an(d) two have not returned‿ at alladall.
I used tousta argue that dangerous work should be automated‿ or prohibited‿ outright. That position‿ is‿ untenable│ once you accep(t) that somebody has tohasta enter the burning building,│ an(d) the question then becomes one‿ of protective‿ equipment,│ compensation‿ and‿ a duty of care that‿ is‿ actually enforced rather than declared. His rewards‿ are‿ in‿ a currency I do not fully share,│ and‿ I have stopped pretending│ that my office work‿ is‿ equally demanding. It‿ is not,│ an(d) the pretence was‿ a form‿ of disrespect‿ I am glad to have‿ abandoned.