Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You agree to work without the water.
You think to yourself, "The risk of a lime burn is very small, since we are all very careful. And if I cooperate with the barn owner, I will get a lot more work from him in the future. My plastering business will be sure to do well and I will have work for my crew."
However, luck is not with you today. Despite being very careful, one of your helpers splashes lime on his arm. The resulting burn is not as serious as it could have been. If it had hit him in the eyes, he would have lost his eyesight.
As it is, you have to drive the man to the nearest location where there is water and wash the arm. Next, you take him to the health clinic to have the burn dressed.
You do not get the plastering finished today, and you now have an injured helper who is blaming you for his injury. "You care more about making money than you care about your helpers," he says angrily. "You are not a good employer."
The barn owner is not happy either and you doubt that you will get the extra work that he promised.
You decide that you will never make such an arrangement again. From now on, safety will always come first.
"Safety is very important. When I am working with lime, I have to be very careful," says Reggie Bullard, a self-employed plasterer. "There are lots of other safety issues too, such as working high up on a scaffold. Safety must always come first."