Question

Provide an example of one occupation or profession that you feel is underpaid in our society and one that you feel is overpaid. Explain your reasons for selecting your examples by applying ethical theory and/or reasoning. How could this injustice be corrected?

Answer 1

The example of a occupation that is underpaid in our society is of Janitors. Janitors are people who perform multiple tasks such as cleaning toilets, places, schools, offices and all the corners of the places where we live and work in. Cleaning is a labor intensive job and requires more physical work and is scrutinized very strictly as unclean places can have major impact on our health and well-being and in terms of psychology an unclean environment can even affect our productivity and state of mind. But considering the amount of work done in terms of regular frequency of cleaning and amount of physical labor required and compare it to their payment and compensation then you can see they are severely underpaid. The importance of them in current pandemic have made people realize the importance of cleanliness and also safety of the people and janitors not always necessary given safety equipment to prevent any injuries or risks. So the income disparity is glaring to this occupation in our society and should be paid in conjunction to their work scope and their safety too must be compensated appropriately. This injustice can be corrected by reevaluating their pay structure nd proving them with proper work insurance cover with medical benefits so that after they retire of the tiring laborious occupation they still have some support to care for their health and financial stability.

The example of a occupation that is underpaid in our society is of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). The job of a CEO does involve taking important decision for the company which has impact on the future of a company. But if you look at the level of support and resources that are at the disposal of a CEO, then the decision making a petty straight forward based on evidence and data available to them. If we consider the lavishness of their lifestyle and they sheer amount that a single CEO is compensated then we see that maybe hundreds of unemployed individuals can be given job even if we reduce the salary of the CEO by 30%. The payment made to the CEO is not in any way linked to a standard but n exorbitant amount is given to a single individual while the same amount of money can be given to give jobs and not only employ individuals but also support hundreds of families who are dependent on them. So when it comes to collective good in terms of ethics then the disparity seems unethical to the society as a whole. To rectify this situation not only the CEO should be compensated less but staring from the CEO can have a trickling effect on the management and the salaries over the higher positions can be reduced. This reduction with excess money in hand can be used for expansion of the company and employ more people which can benefit more families and can benefit the society on a large scale.