As I sit to write these words, 34 million Americans have become unemployed over the last 7 weeks—that’s 1 in every 5 workers.
Such pain, heartache, anxiety… I am so sorry for each of you.
Along the way, a new conversation began emerging in public discourse and policy: essential workers and non-essential workers.
Who is an essential worker and who is a non-essential worker? Which businesses and industries are essential and which are not?
Medical experts and political leaders debated these phrases in countless communities around the world—often times arriving at drastically different conclusions.
Regardless of how they ended classifying work in their jurisdiction, “essential” workers were allowed to continue, “non-essential” were asked to stay home.
I fear the fall-out from this type of designation and how “essential” workers have been heralded and praised in every community, while many “nonessential” workers have lost their livelihood at these seemingly arbitrary designations. In some cases, the work being accomplished was identical.
Let me offer some thoughts if you are hurting.
First of all, if you are an essential worker and have been putting yourself out there for our society, thank you. If you have been stocking shelves, driving trucks, packing food, or responding first, thank you for the incredibly hard work and extra hours you have been putting in over the last 7-8 weeks.
But equally important, if your work or business has been classified as nonessential, please know your work is essential to us—even if not classified as such by some.
In almost every case, your work is needed, your talent is appreciated, and your dedication to serving others is required for all of us. Your work, by definition, makes us a better people and a better society. You are essential. And I hope you are back to work soon.
If you think the rush for toilet paper was bad, wait until 300 million Americans try to schedule a haircut at the same time.
And lastly, please know, your work may have been deemed nonessential, but your life is not. You are essential to somebody, every day.
So make the most of every opportunity:
- Care for your body and health.
- Love your spouse.
- Spend time with your children.
- Call your neighbors and friends and extended family.
- Serve the less fortunate.
- Foster your faith.
- Offer hope and life to everyone you see.
Live your life with intention and purpose.
You are important. You are essential to someone. And no one can take that away from you.
We are all essential. We have been blessed. My husband and I have been retired for years. All my kids and their spouses worked from home or got some paid leave. We have all donated time and money to local food banks.
However during this global pandemic crisis lost jobs no school anxiety poverty these are eventual consequences. Thus term “Essentials” refers to “basics” in the context of Covid-19 It is just the choice of word. It is aiming at minimal spread of virus so. We all are essential and no one can take that title away from us.
Pure gold, as always.
YES, so TRUE that there are unintended consequences to classifying our work in these ways. I am in Ohio and I have appreciated the “public service” announcements that communicate that we are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. We are all sacrificing for the greater good of one another, but in different ways.
And my prayer has been and will be that we can reimagine new ways for the good work that we do. I pray that the entrepreneurial spirit in so many Americans will take steps of faith to create new ways of offering goods and services in beautiful and safe ways as we fight this pandemic.
And I pray that we can also imagine a new economy that leads us away from mindless consumerism. I pray we can value the people in our supply chains and the meaningful work that they do.
Thank you for articulating what should be obvious but clearly isn’t. Semantics matter here. We are all essential!
As a “working artmaker and art educator”, my career-role in society has ALWAYS been deemed as “non-essential”. Just look at the number of primary and secondary public education institutions that have cut “the arts” from their programming over the past decade. However, in our current pandemic, I’m amazed (and blessed) with the number of requests requesting virtual art classes for their kiddos and for themselves! The arts are proven essential to the development of “soft skillsets” (critical thinking and creative problem-solving). In other words, they are the building blocks to teaching our children how to THINK! Perhaps this is the shift in the validity of how the arts can and do hold a place setting as essential.
Thank you for this reminder. All of us are “essential” to the carrying of bestowed gifts into this life.
This message resonated deeply with me. Thanks, Joshua!