Last year I got an opportunity to work from Wework, a coworking office space. I decided to sign up for a 5-month membership. It was a life-changing experience for me to be a part of this incredible community in many ways.
I was awestruck by many things which caught my attention – especially the way people treated the Community Service Associates (CSA) – the team who took care of the cleaning and maintenance of the place. The people occupying the workspace shouted at them and created a scene at the slightest delay in washing dishes or clearing the dustbin. Once a guy left a disposable plate he had on the table instead of throwing it in the dustbin saying it’s not his job!
The way people treat housekeeping staff exposes the class and caste-driven discrimination in their minds, where one dehumanizes labour by looking down upon manual labour especially tasks such as cleaning – whether it’s domestic work, garbage collection or the horrific manual scavenging.
We are still driven by a colonial mindset thinking that getting selected for Civil Services, a government job or a job at an MNC are the only dignified jobs for college graduates.
Never forget that people doing these so called menial jobs are also humans just like you and they deserve empathy. They come into our building as early as 5.30 am and stay till 10.30 pm, to serve us coffee and water.
I had the opportunity to interact with some of them and they told me that they only get to hear things like – “Despite being educated why are some people like this? Would they behave the same way in their houses? We are also human beings no? Just like you all?” I really felt bad and helpless.
The people who still justify their behaviour towards the staff should understand that they’re only assisting us and making our lives better, so we shouldn’t do things to make life miserable for them either.
Another example is how people mix up the garbage making it difficult for the staff to clear, they do this despite the written instructions.
Would you be okay if your manager treats you the same way? Would you be okay if you are asked to take care of the mess created by your boss in addition to your daily work? Would you be okay if you hear complaints from your seniors despite working 9-7 hours throughout the week? No right?
Come on, being sensitive to other people’s emotions and feelings does no harm. Can we at least talk to them politely, maybe smile at them to show some gratitude whenever possible?