adminthat worked at the fire brigade explained his job in an interesting way. He said that he grew up in the rural areas where they raised cattle and cut down trees, chopped firewood and built fences.
To him, fire was just another part of nature. He believed that if one understood the forest, respected fire, and paid attention then they could keep themselves safe.
I also read an interesting Reuters interview with Adolf Hitler’s former food taster, Margot Woelk, who spent the last few years of World War II eating meals and fearing that each mouthful could mean death.
According to the story she was served a plate of food and forced to eat it between 11 and 12 every morning for the last two years of the Nazi German leader’s life.
If she and the rest of the girls did not fall ill, the food was packed into boxes and taken to Hitler at the Wolf’s Lair, a military headquarters located deep in woodland, in what is today north-eastern Poland.
I tried to imagine the kind of life this woman led – yes, it was a job which had to be managed.
What made it even unimaginable for me was that Hitler was a vegetarian so it was all vegetarian – with white asparagus, fruits, peppers and cauliflower.
Woelk lived in fear that every meal she ate would be her last. She said that they were always terrified that the food might be poisoned because Hitler’s spies had hinted that England wanted to poison him.
She had to live each day as it came. Way after Hitler’s death, she said that she still has nightmares about her role as a food taster and did not speak about her experiences for decades after the war.
But you see everything in life is risky, even starting a business is risky. Working for someone else is risky too.
Your employers are the ones that decide what to give you and how much to give you.
They may decide when to retrench you and will look for every possible excuse.
I have done a little research among my colleagues and have compiled my top six risky jobs.
Truck drivers
These travel 24/7 often having to contend with difficult road conditions, careless drivers and occasionally sleepless nights – their risk factor is very high.
Miners and rig workers
They run the risk of roof cave-ins, fires, floods and explosions.
All in a day’s work for your average miner they also run the risk of contracting lung disease and other respiratory illnesses because of their prolonged exposure to dust.
Construction workers
They run the risk of injury and fatality is high –Slips, trips and falls are the main injuries
Bomb disposal experts
Working with bombs is dangerous, full stop. They have to work within a degree that is off the danger-o-metre.
This job requires intense training and focus to protect not only their lives but potentially the lives of hundreds of others.
Job prerequisites: Courage and a pair of pliers. Or, in other words: heroes.
Bodyguards
You may as well call yourself “the human shield”, because when you’re on the payroll to protect the likes of presidents, prime ministers and other businessmen, you know chances are you might one day have to take a bullet for your boss. Most would remember Kevin Costner in the movie “The Bodyguard”.
Policemen
They deal with domestic disturbances, crime, robbery, theft and arresting unruly elements of the society.
They are often thrown into risky, dangerous and unpredictable situations on a daily basis.
There are some jobs that are culture-oriented such as witchdoctors which you could add.
There are also some which are relative to the economic situation such as nurse aides in Zimbabwe.
Some if not most of these have long-term effects on emotions. Woelk said she never saw Hitler, though she did see his dog.
When Hitler killed himself in April 1945, the other 14 food tasters who had stayed behind were all killed.
After the war, Woelk said she started a job in pension insurance and was surprised when her husband, who was held captive in Russia and presumed dead, turned up unexpectedly. She had not heard from him in two years and did not recognise him.
Some of the jobs that we take up are quite hazardous, but are they worth it. Would the scale not tip if we would weigh the benefits versus the consequences?
Till next week, may God richly bless you.
Shelter Chieza is an adviser in management issues. She can be contacted at [email protected]
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