The other day, I was the first person on the scene of a nasty car crash on my commute home. Being a former paramedic, and a current firefighter obviously, I began helping those involved in the accident. I ended up being needed for an extended period and so, an hour later I was kneeling down, working with a patient amongst a bunch of ambulance staff.
For anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to work within an emergency context, a funny thing happens. One’s focus narrows and becomes very refined. All the externalities become silent as you become hyper-focused on the situation in front of you. It’s one of the impacts of adrenaline and is a throwback to our primal fight-of-flight past.
Anyway, as I looked down, what I saw were various sets of hands, performing highly skilled work on a person in need. Since the accident, I have found myself spending a lot of time thinking about hands. More specifically, what those hands do day to day.
Recently, I attended another sort of event. This was much more of a talk fest where very intelligent individuals sat in front of the audience. waxing poetic about their views on the world. These individuals rather than wearing overalls with pockets for life-saving equipment, wore flash suits, and expensive albeit garish aftershave.
There’s a dichotomy here, which is actually well worth thinking about. On that theme of hands, think about the people that you interact with, day by day. Perhaps nurses whose hands give comfort and support to people suffering from illness. Perhaps craftspeople who take raw materials and build things of beauty that will live for generations. Perhaps our own employees at Cactus Outdoor, who craft some of the most reliable workwear and other items that people depend upon to help get their jobs done. Or perhaps teachers whose hands write knowledge on whiteboards that literally build our nation’s future.
All of these examples have a couple of things in common. Firstly, they are examples of people doing something skilled with their hands, building something, creating something, bettering something. But secondly, and this is the tragic thing, they are examples of skills that are underappreciated, undervalued and underpaid.
In addition, they are examples skills that are often forgotten until the moment that we actually need them. Who thinks about the people who make their stuff, care for their loved ones or teach their children? I think it’s a sad indictment of where we are as a society and what our economic system has delivered to us. It is perhaps the most visceral reflection of what neoliberalism has delivered. The idea that those with simply ideas are worth millions, but that those who execute upon those very ideas are worth pennies.
We live in a time that some have called a cult of ideas. When we are so enamoured with the idea of having ideas that simply espousing a viewpoint is deemed the most important thing. I’m also well aware of the irony of all of this, the fact that I am writing this article for a local audience. And in doing so, I’m not actually building anything, helping anyone or teaching anyone. It certainly is a troubling irony.
In my own case I certainly feel the angst of not actually “doing anything” in how I spend my days as a professional board member. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that sometimes I go home, wondering what I actually did to add value. In an effort to make amends for the fact that all of this idea work isn’t physically productive, I spend a lot of time doing other stuff. As I said before, I’ve been a volunteer firefighter for 25 years. I also build furniture at home as a bit of a creative outlet. I tend to do a little bit of voluntary work.
But this article isn’t about me trying to resolve my personal angst. Rather it is an attempt to get people thinking about how we value things in this world and our norms in terms of how we attribute value to things. I’m not sure what the answer is here. Maybe it’s as simple as next time you encounter a teacher, a nurse or a craftsperson giving them the respect they deserve and not considering them somehow lesser than someone who drives a fancy new European car or wears high-end suits.
Maybe by changing the way we approach things we will, day by day, start to change the value set of the society we live in. Here’s hoping.
On the money as usual, Ben.
I’m the husband of a NICU Nurse, midwife, child birth educator and volunteer for PiPs…all revolving around the care and nurture of our most vulnerable and their families. It breaks my heart to see how many midwives are leaving the profession (as my wife did) after underpay, poor treatment, real contingent health and safety risks and a real lack of perceived “societal value”. What could possibly be more important?!
I was (and will be again) an Executive, professional Board member and it often piqued my conscience that my board fee and / or work “bonus” was often close to her annual wage.
Well executed strategy, of course, can create value and direction that benefits the Company / organization and – hopefully – those who choose to invest their time there as employees.
The differential in perceived “value” is quite odd.
After 35 years in that world, I resigned and have become a builder, landscaper and handyman.
Certainly changes your perception of your own value and the benefits you provide to others.
Love your work…and, actually, due for some cactus long pants now it’s getting colder (LOL)
Go well
Brett
I’m really enjoying your posts.
I started my ‘career’ as it were, as an Occupational Therapist. OT’s are the last pair of hands in a medical / rehab journey for many patients. After the surgeries on inpatient care, after the specialists and doctors, Physios and OT’s help people go home safely. They mitigate risks around re-injury(think knees and hips) and work with those who have had a neurological event manage. I finished my degree and wanted to work with children with developmental delay. I was inspired by the work those OT’s did to help kids who were struggling – manage life.
And our health care system pretty much cut all the positions in New Zealand during the mid to late 90’s. And I decided to retrain.
You are on point when we consider what’s important. Ideas are nothing without the wonderful folk who do the work. And the studies are there to show the benefits of many professions in the long term. But short-ism seems to be the only approach our society / Government is primed to consider. Perhaps this would change if we looked at 30 year plans for our vulnerable children, or health care or justice systems…
Watching what is happening in our political arena, we are are heading to another debacle. We need to consider the long term gains, not the short term wins.