Work, Livelihood and Career
Soft skills, dignity and ergonomics
Work skilfully, respectfully and safely.
Soft skills are personal skills that help us work well with others: working productively, learning effectively, communicating clearly, working cooperatively, thinking critically and creatively, as well as concentration, tact, empathy and multitasking.
Dignity of labour: every worker deserves respect, and there is pride in any honest work. Gandhi cleaned his own toilet at Wardha; Abraham Lincoln rose from being a farmer's son to President of the USA.
Values are beliefs about what is good: service, social justice, dignity, relationships, integrity. Ethics are the formal rules of conduct in a profession. Both reduce waste, and raise morale and productivity.
Ergonomics (from the Greek ergon, work) studies people at work, to fit the work to the worker. It rests on four pillars: anthropometry (body measurements), biomechanics, physiology and industrial psychology.
Its benefits: better safety and health; fewer errors, absences and accidents; and higher productivity and morale. For example, an adjustable chair prevents back pain. Respect every job; fit the job to the person.
Practise this lesson
Questions that get harder as you improve, a Tutor that helps without giving the answer away, and progress you can see. Free for every learner.
No account, no email address. Opens the real product.