Cohousing-L Mailing List: Hiring Labor -- Skilled vs Unskilled

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

I would like to question the definitions of skilled vs unskilled. I can't
think of any jobs that don't require skills.

I understand that in the job world, these distinctions are made but from the
point of view of a consumer, my housekeeper is much more skilled than I am
at getting the floors clean and knowing what products work best and what
will cause damage. Otherwise, I would hire someone who did. When I buy a
vacuum cleaner, I ask her what to buy. Also, the idea that I am sitting
around doing nothing while she works, is far from correct.

I've learned how to do my taxes rather than pay someone to do them because
it is more valuable to me to understand my finances than to pay someone to
do them. But this is not a value judgment. Other people get great
satisfaction out of cleaning floors.

One of the decisions I make about work is to use a global view. In the total
scheme of work that needs to be done in the world, which jobs can I do well
and happily. This means taking into consideration my personality, physical
abilities, mental abilities, learned skills, time available, resources
available, etc. If someone else can do a job better than I can, there are
still many things left over for me to do.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org

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