Some Of The Most Thankless Jobs Have Become The Most Essential
The American working class is among some of those who are at the greatest risk, and receive the least recognition.
Rewind just a few short months. You casually stroll into your local grocery store, liquor store, convenience store, or coffee shop.
Items are purchased, “have a nice day” is exchanged, and everyone moves on with their life.
Suddenly, this interaction has literally become a potential matter of life or death.
As many businesses and companies cease operations or move employees home due to coronavirus concerns, we are hearing a lot about essential workers.
In times of health crises and pandemics, our doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers are the clear heroes. Tragically, due to lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and risk of infection, some are even losing their lives caring for others.
Everyone in this field should receive all of our gratitude, all of the time.
Less recognized, though, are the people with some of the most thankless jobs who are keeping society afloat right now. Grocery store cashiers exposed to potential infection all day, those restocking shelves, cleaning crews, bank tellers, delivery drivers, garbage men, and a slew of others.
We cannot discount the potential stress caused by spending full days at work not knowing who may or may not be infected around you.
I heard a cashier at my local grocery store recently say that they’ll be getting protective glass walls next week, like you would see in front of a bank teller.
I spend a hefty amount of time on my social media pages encouraging people to stay home as often as possible, which also means I am frequently reminded that not everyone is able to do so — like the workers deemed essential.
These people are working full days and going home to roommates, husbands, wives, significant others, kids, parents, grandparents…
Now is the time to be caring, compassionate, and understanding. Now is the time to express our gratitude to those who do not often receive it from us. We are usually so busy going throughout our day that these short interactions are not something we stop to appreciate.
This also means we have the responsibility to protect ourselves and others.
Consistent hand washing and sanitizing, the use of gloves or masks where possible, and social distancing practices are all more important than ever to heed.
We can flatten the curve and help this all end sooner rather than later if we each do our part for the greater good.
In the meantime, remember that we are all in this together as one, nobody is immune, and those around us at the highest risk deserve the most gratitude.
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