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‿ invites derision‿ an(d) resists substitution:│ duty. He is highly specialised,│ on call one weekend‿ in four,│ and‿ every intervention commences with‿ a risk‿ assessment,│ which‿ is the portion the public never witnesses. What they witness‿ is the rescue,│ an(d) rescue constitutes‿ a small fraction‿ of the labour. The occupational hazards‿ are real,│ an(d) so is the psychological‿ attrition:│ six‿ of his colleagues have taken‿ extended leave following traumatic‿ incidents‿ an(d) two have not returned‿ at alladall.
I once‿ argued that dangerous work should be automated‿ or prohibited‿ outright. That position‿ is‿ untenable the momen(t) one‿ accepts that somebody must‿ enter the burning building,│ an(d) the question then becomes one‿ of protective‿ equipment,│ compensation,│ and‿ a duty of care that‿ is‿ enforced rather than merely declared. His rewards‿ are denominated‿ in‿ a currency I do not fully share,│ and‿ I have desisted from pretending│ that my office work‿ is‿ equally demanding. It‿ is not,│ an(d) the pretence was‿ a form‿ of disrespect│ that Ithad I am glad to have relinquished,│ however comfortable‿ it│ once was.