HUMAN OCCUPATIONS

Human occupations are mainly divided into the following five categories. This classification has been made on the basis of increasing distance from natural resources. 1. Primary Occupations: Hunting, gathering forest produce, agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, mining, etc. 2. Secondary Occupations: Manufacturing, production, energy-production, processing, etc. 3. Tertiary Occupations: Transportation, trade, communication, administration, entertainment, banking, insurance, tourism etc. 4. Quaternary Occupations: Information, research, management, education, health, security, etc. 5. Pentanary: Executives, decision m

Occupation, that is, purposeful activity, is a central aspect of the human experience. In developing a theory of the human need for occupation an exploration of occupational evolution as well as the biological and the socio-cultural aspects of occupational behaviour is necessary. This paper, which is based on a study of human occupational behaviour throughout history, explores the proposition that although in most instances the conception, expression and execution of occupation is unique and motivated by sociocultural values and beliefs the need to engage in purposeful occupation is innate and related to health and survival.

 All animals appear to have some special characteristic which is paramount to their survival. This varies between and within species. For some it is speed, for others the ability to camouflage, and for yet others, highly developed visual or auditory capacities. Many animals possess qualities and characteristics once thought unique to humans, which is not surprising as all mammalian brains have neuronal circuitry and systems which enable them to receive, attend to, interpret, communicate with, and act upon information from the environment. In fact, “there is no strong evidence of unique brain-behavior relationhips in any species within the class Mammalia” 2 . The difference between species is in the degree of capacities. Ethologist, Konrad Lorenz contends that:

Among humans ..perceptions of depth and direction, a central nervous representation of space, Gestalt perception and the capacity for abstraction, insight and learning, voluntary movement, curiosity and exploratory behavior and imitation .... are more strongly developed than any of them is among an animal species, even if they represent for those animals a fulfilment of the most vital, life-furthering functions

The difference between humans and the other mammals is manifest in the size of the human brain. It is 6.3 times larger than expected for mammals of the same body size4 , with the difference mainly attributable to an increase in association areas of the cortex. These are responsible for the mediation of cognitive processes such as the capacities noted by Lorenz, and complex communication, language, thinking, forward planning, problem solving, analysis, judgement and adaptation. It is these highly developed cognitive capacities, along with consciousness, which are the special survival

 characteristics of humans, enabling them to adapt to and meet the challenge of many different environments and dangers. These differences in degree of cognitive capacity are central to the occupational nature of humans who go beyond survival needs in their pursuit of occupation because they free them from the functional constraints of most animals, enabling them to use their apparently strong drive to engage in daily, new or adventurous occupations. People are able to undertake activities with individuality of purpose; to think about the effects, conceptualize and plan beforehand; and to reflect and mentally alter future behaviour as a result of outcomes. Children, through play, the predominant occupation of the young, learn practical skills to enable them to survive, to interact with others, to choose future roles, in fact to develop according to their environment and cultural values. Occupation provides the mechanism for social interaction, and societal development and growth, forming the foundation stone of communal, local and national identity, because not only do

 individuals engage in separate pursuits, they are able to plan and execute group activity to the extent of national government or to achieve international goals, for individual, mutual and community purposes. As Marx suggests “History is nothing but the activity of man pursuing his aims” 5 . Individuals dream and communities plan what they will ‘do’ in the future. Such dreams and plans often predict potential accolades for what will be achieved, reflecting how occupations are the outward expression of culturally desired intellectual, moral and physical attributes. Occupation is the mechanism by which individuals demonstrate the use of their

 capacities by achievements of value and worth to their society and the world. It is only by their activities that people can demonstrate what they are, or what they hope to be. Occupational achievement usually results in self development and growth experiences, which Hegel and Marx described as “labour as man’s act of self creation “ 6 . Marx founded much of his philosophy on the idea that labour is the collective creative activity of mankind, in fact, is ‘man’s species nature’ 7 . As people engage in occupation to master their environment and improve human opportunities, well-being and survival, the physical and social environment is altered. The more sophisticated theoccupation the greater the change to the environment which in turn causes further change to and development of people, and “by thus acting on the external world and changing it, he at the same time changes his own nature” 8 . In the same vein, Braverman proposes that people are the special product of purposeful action arguing that occupation which “transcends mere instinctual activity is the force which created human kind and the force by which humankind created the world as we know it” 9 . The idea that occupation is not just the object of human function but is an integrated part of each persons being in relationship with the world, suggests the need to explore the biological purpose of the human need to ‘do’. This need is so much a part of our being that we have, to this time, paid scant attention to it’s purpose, other than, in post-industrial societies, as an objective of living. In considering people as occupational beings it is implied that humans need to engage in occupation in order to flourish, and that as Selye observes purposeful use of time is a biological necessity because”our brain slips into chaos and confusion unless we constantly use it for work that seems worthwhile to us.” 10. Further Sigerist argues that work is essential in maintaining health “because it determines the chief rhythm of life, balances it, and gives meaning and significance. An organ that does not work atrophies and the mind that does not work becomes dumb”11. BIOLOGICAL NEED Because basic biological needs are now obscured by millions of years of acquired values, present day awareness may not reflect human needs which were, and probably still are, fundamental to healthy survival. In fact, the study of biological needs has been neglected of late either because, as Allport remarked on fashion in scientific enquiry, “we never seem to solve our problems or exhaust our concepts; we only grow tired of them”12, or because of a false dichotomy between disciplines concerned with the study of biology and sociology which mirrors the Cartesian division of mind and body. In the long running nature versus nurture debate the need to consider both is poorly recognised except perhaps by disciplines such as ethology, sociobiology and occupational therapy. Biological mechanisms aimed at ensuring survival are basic to all animals, and the proposition put by Ornstein and Sobel in ‘The Healing Brain’13 that “the major role of the brain is to mind the body and maintain health” appears more logical than some of the lofty purposes attributed to it by those seeking to differentiate humans from their animal heritage. The brain, they argue, by making “countless adjustments” is able to maintain stability between “social worlds, our mental and emotional lives, and our internal physiology” . It is contended here that biological ‘needs’ have an integral role in this process.