MORAL AND SUBSTANTIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN MAN AND LABOUR

Abstract

A person perceived as a single, holistic entity is essentially a unity of spirit, matter and energy. This trinity is the cornerstone of the moral and substantive correlation between man and labour. As a moral category that embodies the unity of spirit, matter and energy, a person as a whole is also the basic precept for conceptualising work as a moral category. Labour has been largely perceived either as a sociological or legal category, but it is also the subject matter of statutory legislation. However, it has also become a tautology, because the issue of work as a moral value inextricably linked to an individual still remains unexplained and unprotected by law. A person is the basic constituent of labour relations; an individual shapes the nature of his/her work activities, but is equally shaped by the work itself, which is vividly illustrated by the idiomatic expression on one’s ‘professional deformation’ under the ‘pressure’ of the daily workload. Thus, the impact is two-directional. Their interaction also entails the concepts of dignity at work and dignified work because the disclosure of this correlation leads to the disclosure of the moral, social and legal value of dignity. However, the concept of a person as a whole (personhood) is much broader than the concept of dignity, which may be attributed to an individual, but there is no true understanding of a person without dignity, nor vice versa. Yet, the depiction is not complete without examining its correlation with the concept of labour.