The Dignity Of Labour

There is dignity in labour. Nothing can take the place of having a legitimate work. Having something of value to occupy one. And no matter how menial or intellectual the work, the worker's dignity must be respected.

The higher we rise in life the more we value the dignity of our labour. As we go up the corporate ladder, we become less tolerant to people undermining the value of our labour. We care more about how people treat us and the relative value of our labour. No senior management staff, no matter how much he is paid, will be happy to see the opinions of an entry level staff constantly given higher regard than his. 

We are naturally designed to work for a living. Work not only helps to earn money but to be gainfully occupied. It gives us a sense of high value. Knowing that a lot depends on us and that a lot can go wrong if we don't play our part is sometimes the biggest reward of work. You not only see the result of your labour in your pocket but also in the business' success and other people's lives. You are meaningfully engaged.

At the other end is when one works only for money. When the work you do has no value and you are only doing it for money. It is not a happy situation. This time it's not others who are undermining your dignity but you. You, knowingly or unknowingly, decided that you have no value to create and would be okay to just exist. You are adding no value to anyone's life, just your pocket.

What kind of work will fall under this category besides the obvious ones like robbery and fraud? Well, any work that you don't have any motivation to do beyond the money it gets you. To you, that work is meaningless. You should start plotting your escape to doing something you find value in. You shouldn't deny yourself the intrinsic joy in doing valuable work. You shouldn't do a work that makes you feel like you only exist; a work that doesn't give you joy and doesn't have a motivation beyond money.

And when you see a man doing a work of value, no matter how lowly you consider the work, you must respect him. Give him his dignity of labour though he may be a bus conductor, a LAWMA staff, a gateman or a househelp. The men we should have no respect for and we should smoke out are people who make a living from looting, deceit, fraud, extortion, mental laziness and stealing.