There are more people in American than you think who have taken on jobs that are considered dangerous. In an era where office jobs are available all over the place, one may wonder why anyone would take on dangerous work.
The point, of course, isn’t to take on a job that has an element of danger. (These sorts of professions have a way of identifying and weeding out adrenaline junkies pretty quickly!) Dangerous jobs have many elements to them that attract others parts of the human mind that aren’t just thrill-seeking. Police officers may want to help protect their communities; soldiers may want to help protect their countries. Animal welfare workers want to bring the medical and conservation advancements we’ve made to other species. Pilots… well, pilots just want to fly.
A lot of people who don’t have dangerous jobs don’t quite appreciate how different your state of mind must be in order to deal with your profession. If you want to understand it more, or if you’re going to take on a job you know has an element of danger to it, then read on.
The rules. Many modern workers don’t think all that much about the rules of their workplace. Office workers may be wary of using their mobiles on the job, sure. But they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about fire drills, or many other measures that are there for their safety. On the other hand construction workers, to take just one example, must have the rules in mind on a near-constant basis, as well as having a deep understanding of them. This is what you should take away from this: if you’re going to be joining a dangerous profession, it’s not enough to just be able to recite all the rules. You should know exactly why those rules are in place—and what can happen if they’re not followed.
Knowing your rights and legal protections. Don’t go into this thinking that no-one is going to have your back if something goes wrong. For many people, the assumption is that those who sign up for dangerous work must not have that much swing when it comes to rights and legal protections simply because they “knew what they were signing up for”. But this isn’t true. The fact is that most dangerous professions see the majority of their workers walk away unscathed—and that’s because of stringent regulations placed on employees. So if you’re injured on the job, you should still consider getting an attorney to assist you in getting compensation.
Dealing with stress. A much less-discussed element of such jobs is that there is a lot more stress attached to them. And stress, of course, is a danger unto itself. Not only is it doing its own damage to your body and mind, but increased stress can also make it more likely that mistakes will be made on the job, thus compounding the danger you’re in. If you’re thinking of taking on such a job, then you should be prepared to deal with the increased stress you’ll face. And by “deal with”, I don’t mean “learn to live with”—I mean actually taking measures to reduce your stress levels.
Photo by Austin Neil
Milo Senalle
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