The hardest question

Name the lab technician who set up the previous 2 lab sessions for you. (2 bonus marks)

This question appeared at the end of my Life form and function quiz. Nobody I talked to knew the answer. It's obvious what the lecturer was trying to bring across with this question. We are all not appreciative of the "insignificant" people who work behind the scenes to make our lives possible. Who cares to remember the lab technician who prepares our lab materials for us way before our lesson ends? Or the toilet auntie who keeps the toilets clean for our use? We don't even acknowledge their presence, let alone know their names.

I think back about my MRF days. We were exploited to do so many things that were out of our job scope. Setting up events for the higher ranks, moving logistics for the Asian tsunami, being the one source of manpower the Medical corps can always count on. Nobody cared about how tired we were or how we felt. There was no recognition for the things we did. We were the "lab technicians" then.

Actually, there's no reason to think that we are above the lab technicians or the toilet aunties. We may think that we are important and the work that we do will be recognised. However, except for a privileged few, most of us will still be slogging it out in the workforce. We will be cogs in the Singapore machine, generating higher GDP for the country. Our hard work will not be seen. Everyone can remember who the prime minister is but nobody will know the names of his backroom staff, for example. They can be as important as the prime minister himself but nobody recognises their work. More often than not, the speeches that important people give are not written by them but by "invisible" scriptwriters who toiled for hours making sure the speech is good.

Perhaps, we should start appreciating these "insignificant" people more. Because, in fact, we are just another one of them.