Service Workers or Service People?
Disclaimer: This article contains the personal experiences and opinions of the writer.
In the hustle and bustle of contemporary life, it is easy to overlook the unsung heroes who make our lives easier and more convenient. Service workers, including but not limited to cleaners, security guards, drivers, and healthcare workers, play a crucial role in removing countless burdens from our daily lives. Yet, a majority of us often fail to acknowledge their contributions, nor take the time to appreciate them. This article is dedicated to these service workers. Thank you for all that you do.
Five Security Guards, a Student and a Water Dispenser.
After a long afternoon of studying, my water bottle finally reached its end so I headed to the nearest water dispenser to replenish it, only to find 5 security guards in line. It wasn’t an astonishing scene, just 5 security guards, a student and a water dispenser. As they stood around the dispenser, it wasn’t initially visible to me. Then, suddenly, the guards stepped aside, revealing the dispenser and gesturing for me to refill my bottle, even though theirs were still empty or half-filled.
I was confused, they were in line first, why on earth would they let me refill my bottle first? “Oh! Go ahead guys, you were here first,” I tried to assure them that I was in no rush. “No, you’re a student, you should refill your bottle first.” one of the security guards replied. I didn’t know how to react at the time, so I didn’t insist further and filled my bottle. Afterwards, I replayed this scenario over and over again in my head, while drinking from my water bottle.
I wasn’t in a hurry, and I’d like to think that my body language and demeanour conveyed that. Despite this, the security guards seemed anxious to ensure that I was prioritised for a bottle of water — something there was plenty of. The only conclusion I could draw was that these guards are so accustomed to prioritising others’ wellbeing and they instinctively put themselves last. While it is part of their job, this small act of kindness over water, not a life-threatening situation, spoke volumes.
I couldn’t help but wonder how many students have they bent over backwards for and how often do they hear the words ‘thank you’. Looking back on it now, that whole situation sparked the idea of this article.
I pay my therapist to listen to me, not the other way around.
My therapist is a sweet lady who always has a smile on her face. However, there are days when she appears tired, and I don’t blame her — she’s human, after all. I did ask her once, “Ms, how often do your patients wish you well, say thank you or ask you how your day was?”
“Not often I’d say……” she replied.
Her response saddened me. My therapist has been nothing but understanding and helpful. I think she, along with all healthcare workers deserves to be credited where credit is due.
I often thank her and wish her a good day after my appointments and to me, it never took much effort, and I always enjoy seeing the smile on her face when she hears that. It must be challenging to listen to everyone’s problems without often hearing a simple ‘thank you’. It is true that it’s her job to console students and help students in times of need, but for all that she does, showing appreciation through a simple ‘thank you’ is the least I can do.
My best memory of her was when I brought strawberries for her and her colleagues to share. The strawberries were given to me as a gift from a friend and there were plenty to go around. My therapist was incredibly polite and didn’t take much, so I insisted for her to take as many as she pleased. Those strawberries were a small but impactful way to show my appreciation and thank her for her hard work.
I’ve yet to ask her how the strawberries were, I will in my next session.
“Isn’t it their job? We pay them after all.”
There’s an ongoing debate whether we should go out of our way to show appreciation to service workers, given that we contribute to their pay. But the lingering question is, does that give us the right to mistreat them?
We all have to do our jobs to earn our salaries and pay the bills, service workers are no exception. However, the challenges they have to endure just to be paid peanuts are absolutely ludicrous. Not to mention the incredibly long hours they must work, sometimes even up to 15 hours a day. And all that for what? To be insulted by customers when they make a tiny mistake or can’t fix an inconvenience within a few seconds?
There’s a clear line between an incompetent employee that doesn’t try and a hardworking one who’s having an off-day. Unfortunately to many, it doesn’t really matter — they must be perfect at all times. Because what good are they if they can’t deliver? If they can’t serve? It just all seems to be pure entitlement to think that one has control over another person’s life simply because of monetary reasons.
It’s true that service workers, like anybody in the working class, must fulfil their tasks with the highest quality achievable. Be that as it may, when do we start recognising them as human beings rather than just workers?
The Bottom of The Status Pyramid.
Most service workers come from lower or middle class backgrounds. There’s no denying that there’s a significant wealth gap between them and the financially well-off. But these disparities contribute to a sense of entitlement and the ugly habit of looking down on others.
It’s natural that people want to present themselves to be seen as of high status or at the very least be ‘presentable’. However, this expectation can bring about insecurity and this is further amplified for service workers. We mustn’t forget that like all of us, service workers want to be respected and treated fairly. Alas, this simple wish seems much more difficult to achieve as a service worker. It’s unfortunate that looking down on service workers has become the norm, creating a false stereotype of them.
These stereotypes paint service workers as unhygienic, lazy, irresponsible, and undeserving of respect. In all my years of being assisted by service workers, most of them don’t fit a single one of these stereotypes, which tend to be overly exaggerated. My mother used to tell me to stay away from cleaners because they didn’t smell the most pleasant. Yet, I rarely encountered a cleaner with body odour, in fact they often smelt like soap from all the detergent and cleaning products that they handle. Even if they did smell unpleasant, who could blame them? They’re cleaning your gunk!
It never made any logical sense why these stereotypes exist other than the fact people who had it better in life could never walk a day in their shoes.
Service People.
It’ll do us all some good to be kinder and more humane to service people. They do so much for us and all with a smile too. As cliche as it sounds, these people have lives and families of their own, they’re just as human as the rest of us. We mustn’t take their services for granted, the world would look completely different if it weren’t for them. Their life’s purpose is much more than to just serve, every one of them deserves to be acknowledged for their hard work. They are often told ‘to serve is an honour’, perhaps being served by them is an honour too.
