Why is it useful to be friends with the cleaner

This material is written and sent us a reader Victor Fomin LH. We seemed interested in his point of view on relationships with people-invisible swarming around us.

In one scene, Cerial Suits inimitable secretary Donna boss said: "You know, I appreciate the people? Not the way they communicate with their peers; and by the way they communicate with people of a lower social status. "

Why be friends with a cleaner? There are two studies: the human and pragmatic.

human

Although the society like a big machine, where different spinning gears, better not go over that line, when the other person begins to look just a tool that performs a specific function, and nothing more. Behind the facade - janitor, security guard, courier, a waiter, a trainee - hidden thoughts, feelings, hopes, living person.

Quite often, people working together for months (and not only in large companies, but also in the same department), do not know each other very little. This is not a team, and the strangers who, by their different life causes gathered in the same room.

But if you show a little involvement, not only focus on themselves - then suddenly it turns out that a colleague is actively involved in sports and love story; girl from the third section of the left have traveled a lot and writes articles about other countries; secretary teaching foreign languages; taciturn programmer, whom everyone feared - a great photographer and generally quite cheerful person; copywriter still draws pictures and teaches children; and the guard is well put it, and it kind of life psychologist. It is drawn from life.

Of course, not necessarily imbued with altruism to people of all the posts that catch the eye and try to learn the secrets of their inner world (sometimes low social status really means that much of the inner world and there). But not to recognize that a person has the right to hear from you calm "Hello!" Or get A simple smile, simply by virtue of the fact that it is the same human being as you are - a little selfish. Man, nurturing a sense of certain superiority, certainly forget about social conventions, finding themselves in a situation where the ranks and titles mean nothing.
A if we consider the question as regards his British professor of social anthropology David Greber:

"You can say whatever you want about the nurses, scavengers or mechanics, but it is obvious that if they dissolve like mist in the air, the results will be shown immediately and will be catastrophic. A world without teachers or dock is likely to be in trouble, and without pisateleyfantastov skamuzykantov or may be less pleasant. It is not clear how humanity will suffer if all disappear Chairman, publicists, lobbyists, experts on insurance estimates and telephone sales, bailiffs and solicitors (the list can be significantly increase), "

- you can even think about what professions are more useful.

pragmatic

Make friends with the "social stealth". Those cleaners are well aware that most people take more like a walking furniture. And when they were attended to, it is doubly nice.

You do not know how the rest of your life and what kind of people will take part in it. It is likely that the person from whom you did not even think to get the help you really helps. Those cleaners hear many things that are not specifically designed for foreign ears. Watch kaknibud how people talk, completely oblivious to the swarming corner robe with a cloth, and what they say.

In one of Chesterton's stories built on this storyline. The crime was committed and the perpetrator could not be found. There was no evidence, though the murder committed people passing through walls. And only then, when Father Brown (chestertonovskih hero of the story) began to be guided by the principle of "first looking where it may be, then where can not" he suspect the postman. A good example of "social stealth".

- For some reason, no one ever notices postmen, - he said thoughtfully. - But they are overwhelmed by the same passion, that of all other people, and besides, they are mail in large bags, which fit easily dwarf corpse. "