No, not a thread about self-abuse!
As someone who spends a large part of his working day at a PC, I was just sitting blinking wondering if my eyes are OK. I have regular eye tests and do pretty much all I can to save my eyesight (looking away from the screen, taking breaks etc) but I still get headaches.
Then I got to thinking, most professions involve some amount of "acceptable" damage to oneself.
1) office workers: RSI from keyboard and mouse, eyestrain and headaches from monitor
2) builders: white knuckle, breathing dust, aching back and joints
3) plumbers and electricians: similar to builders
4) mechanic: flashburn and hearing damage (garages are noisy places!)
5) postman: worn knee joints and arthritis in the fingers (from all the letterbox flaps)
And all jobs have stress of varying form and degree. Whether it is a late delivery or an incompetent colleague, we all get headaches.
So, why do we do it?! I prefer having money to having no money, and I would get bored as heck if I was on the dole. But why do we accept a level of accumulated injury?
Can't we figure out a way of doing our jobs, without the risk of lasting injury, and without HSE getting involved and telling us we can't drink hot coffee in case a passing child tries to wash their face with it (I dunno, sounds like an HSE reg)
As someone who spends a large part of his working day at a PC, I was just sitting blinking wondering if my eyes are OK. I have regular eye tests and do pretty much all I can to save my eyesight (looking away from the screen, taking breaks etc) but I still get headaches.
Then I got to thinking, most professions involve some amount of "acceptable" damage to oneself.
1) office workers: RSI from keyboard and mouse, eyestrain and headaches from monitor
2) builders: white knuckle, breathing dust, aching back and joints
3) plumbers and electricians: similar to builders
4) mechanic: flashburn and hearing damage (garages are noisy places!)
5) postman: worn knee joints and arthritis in the fingers (from all the letterbox flaps)
And all jobs have stress of varying form and degree. Whether it is a late delivery or an incompetent colleague, we all get headaches.
So, why do we do it?! I prefer having money to having no money, and I would get bored as heck if I was on the dole. But why do we accept a level of accumulated injury?
Can't we figure out a way of doing our jobs, without the risk of lasting injury, and without HSE getting involved and telling us we can't drink hot coffee in case a passing child tries to wash their face with it (I dunno, sounds like an HSE reg)
