Let’s Work To Be Safe. But Let Us Never, Ever Stop Working

Let’s Work To Be Safe. But Let Us Never, Ever Stop Working

By: Kim Christink

Published On: April 28, 2019

951 workplace fatalities – 46 more than the previous year – 23 were 15-24-year-olds

Forty-six more!

More is not always good. In fact, in the case of 46 more workplace deaths it is the very opposite. It is bad . . . very bad!

I will never forget the day when I failed to notice that my son had mysteriouslychanged,overnight!He had transitioned into the ‘terrific two’s’. While I was attempting to put his shoes on he declared “Me do it.” as he pushed my hands away.

There are lots of reasons for why we work. We not only work in order to eat and have a roof over our heads. We also work to say,“Hey, I can do something to contribute.” We all have a deep, deep need to contribute to the family, to our community and to our world. Without work, life’s meaning loses its luster and we begin to drift aimlessly.

When we reply, “No. I will do it – don’t worry.”, it is not always a good thing. While it is wonderful to want to help others, we need to understand that we all need to contribute. We may, indeed, be sending the undesired message that ‘you don’t matter’ or ‘you are not needed’.

In a very real sense, the less we work the more we regress into dependency, insecurity, complacency and basically anemic mental and physical health.

When we hear our children, friends and family say, “What can I do to help?”, we are seeing them at the pinnacle of their best. They are not just offering their time and energy, they are offering themselves.

Our work, perhaps, is one of the best gifts we present to those we love.

Work is a four-letter word like love, gift, hope. It is not a four-letter word like F_ _ _! Work is so important for us all. It is the way we say ‘we matter’.

On this day of remembrance of those who have perished at work due to the, sometimes, dangerous work of first responders, or the accidental death in a warehouse, we give them our much-deserved attention. Simply because it matters. Because they matter, and their work matters. Every terrible,horrific story, from the Humboldt bus crash to the politician that had a heart attack while working, represents another fallen brother or sister. They are our fellow worker, our friends, our fallen.

We pause in the midst of our journey, our workday and sometimes the best part of our contribution, to ponder, feel and throw value on those who have fallen by our side as we all work to move us forward.

Friend, thank you for your example, for your sacrifice. We will not only ‘not forget’ but ‘we will remember’. We will remember with intention, gratefulness and determination to carry on your work and also to tirelessly work to reduce the 46 more’ to 0.

Let’swork to be safe out there. But let us never, ever stop working.