Manual Labor Jobs

There is something to be said about those of us who prefer manual labor jobs to convenient desk jobs, such as serving as a railroad conductor. Manual labor gives us a sense of accomplishment that we don't get from sitting at a desk in an office. Although working in an office can be satisfying in its own right, nothing compares to the sense of achievement that comes from a long day of physically challenging work. Even so, it is not without flaws. Manual work has a variety of drawbacks, including health risks and strained relationships with family and friends. A career with the railroad can be rewarding but can have a lasting negative impact on relationships and overall health.

Manual jobs lead to poor family relationships for the employees. In the railroad job, the trains work for twenty-four hours a day, especially in the developed economies. Therefore, most of the employees in the industry work for extended hours to maximize their income. Therefore, the time spent at home with family is very minute. The trains work even on weekends meaning a manual laborer such as a conductor might be working for seven days a week. As such, the individual fails to save time to interact with family. The mental and physical fatigue is very tough for the manual laborers (Schultz and Sydney 263). When they get home, it is straightforward for them to fall asleep without an extensive interaction with the family. Therefore, the relationship with family becomes very weak. A father fails to understand the progress of his children at school or any issues affecting the family.

As the work becomes more demanding, the family relationships weaken more and more due to small interactions. The children rarely see the father because of late arrivals. When kids wake up, the father is at work meaning the children no longer see their dad. Children need parental guidance and bonding from their father for a healthy family relationship. Building strong ties in the family requires a full interaction between all the family members. The long working hours and fatigue associated with manual laborers make it hard for the father to create enough time to bond with family. Manual workers find it uneasy to make the family understand the challenges presented by the job that keeps the father away from the family. The children might think the father prioritizes the work more than the family causing issues within the family.

Apart from family relations, manual laborers find it challenging to make new friends and maintain old friendships, as they are similar to family relationships like activities that strengthen the connection. However, in the railroad industry, individuals work for long reducing any chances of social interaction with friends. Railroad conductors meet new people on a daily basis. However, the interaction is not extensive enough for the formation of friendships or development of a personal connection. Manual laborers lose their social skills from spending too much time on the job. Therefore, their friendships become too hard to maintain leading to ultimate failure. With the job, social activities such as chatting and using the phone become very hard. The employees focus most of their energy on the job forgetting their relationships and friendships.

Medical conditions such as obesity require constant physical practice to reduce the excessive fats in the body. For people in the manual jobs, it is difficult for such conditions to occur because the physicality of the tasks demands a lot of energy. Therefore, the bodies of the manual laborers fail to a small deposition of fats making their agencies and heart very healthy. However, a repetition of the task exposes the heart to severe conditions affecting the overall health of the worker. Manual labor creates the need for the heart to pump more blood to the body to supply the muscles with nutrients and oxygen (Royce, Karen and Emily 209). When an individual is undertaking strenuous duties, a high supply of energy is significant for the working muscles. Therefore, the heart needs to pump blood faster to meet the high oxygen demand in the body.

When the duty is repetitive, the heart begins straining to meet the demand. More so, the blood pressure in the veins rises to improve the supply of oxygen in the body. Therefore, the individual starts experiencing heart problems. Manual jobs are different from working out. In working out, the exercises are moderate reducing any negative pressure on the heart. However, manual jobs such as working on the railroad require constant lifting of heavy material and long durations before taking a break. During the time, the heart must work hard to keep the body active through the supply of oxygen constantly. Therefore, as much as the manual jobs are satisfying due to the physical demands of the task, the risks exposed to the heart are very high and might lead to chronic heart conditions for the laborer.

Apart from the heart issues, manual jobs such as the railroad conductors result in musculoskeletal disorders. Workers in the industry indulge in activities such as bending, stretching and twisting of the body in their daily duties. During the postures, it is possible for the worker to be carrying a heavy item such as luggage. The weight of the luggage combined with the weird positions leads to straining of the muscles. A repetition of the strenuous activities leads to physical injuries of the muscles within the body. However, it is impossible for the manual worker to avoid such instances because they are the requirements of the job. Therefore, it gets to a point where the musculoskeletal disorder makes the whole body unproductive, and the muscles fail to withstand the duties. The health of the employees continues deteriorating with every day on the job.

Railroad conductors work for extended periods a day (Papson and Tom 142). The fatigue associated with the work is high. At times, fatigue leads to loss of appetite for the manual workers. The demanding nature of the work combined with the loss of appetite is not good for the body. The body needs a constant supply of nutrients for sufficient energy for the tasks. However, loss of appetite might strain the body leading to poor health and loss of weight. At times, manual jobs are too demanding limiting the amount of time available for the workers to enjoy a healthy meal. At times, the employees eat while carrying out their duties making it hard for the body to undertake a complete digesting and assimilation of the food nutrients. Therefore, manual workers in the railroad industry experience poor health status due to low supply of nutrients caused by poor feeding habits.

For manual labor to be less strenuous on health, it is important for the workers to take constant breaks and allow the body to relax. Continuous exposure is detrimental to the health of the workers. The pressure exposed to the body piles up making the body unable to withstand it. Therefore, constant breaks will allow the body to have a rest and recover from the previous strains. Moreover, the employees need to engage in healthy feeding habits. Proper supply of nutrients to the body will provide the necessary energy to withstand the pressure created by the working environment. Healthy feeding habits will reduce the loss of weight and replenish the muscles with enough supply of energy for a successful day. More so, manual laborers need to take some time from work and invest in building stronger family ties and friendships. Spending time with friends will overturn the poor relations into healthy ones.

Manual labor is very accomplishing to the body especially after a long day. For a railroad conductor, his duties require constant walking from one place to another making the body tired. However, there are many issues connected to the fatigue such as straining of the heart and high blood pressure. Continued straining makes the heart stress extensively leading to heart problems. More so, family relationships weaken because of the limited time available for spending time with family. Therefore, manual jobs lead to health issues and poor family ties with friends and close relatives. However, rectification of the negative implications is possible through constant breaks to relax the body and a proper feeding habit to keep the body fresh with nutrients. More so, the laborers need to spend time with their families for stronger ties and unity in the household.



Works Cited

Papson, Don, and Tom Calarco. Secret lives of the Underground Railroad in New York City: Sydney Howard Gay, Louis Napoleon and the Record of Fugitives. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2015. Print.

Royce, Christine A., Karen R. Ansberry, and Emily R. Morgan. Teaching science through trade books. Arlington, Va: National Science Teachers Association, 2012. Print.

Schultz, Duane P., and Sydney E. Schultz. Psychology and work today: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology. London: Routledge, 2010. Print.