I agree that it’s hard to discern what’s real. For example, Bezos owns the Washington Post. It is in his best interest if everyone stays home, small businesses fold, and everyone orders everything from Amazon. Some of the most fear-mongering stuff I’ve read comes out of WaPo. Some legitimate stuff too, I’m sure, but now I just ignore everything on the COVID topic and read everything else through the lens of “How does this make Bezos richer?”
Post by covergirl82 on Apr 29, 2020 8:49:13 GMT -5
mae0111, that's a good point about WaPo and Bezos, and I tend to agree that a lot of big-box stores/companies are "winning" right now. We've been making a concerted effort to support local stores/businesses right now, even if it means spending a little more money. (Although it is a bit more challenging, because we can't go in the stores, so we have only been able to purchase from stores that already have a website for online sales or are posting pictures of inventory.)
Post by erinshelley21 on Apr 29, 2020 9:08:25 GMT -5
IN is supposed to get an update on Friday when our current orders are set to expire. Our numbers keep rising so we are not ready to open yet. My hair lady rescheduled my appt that I was supposed to have last Friday to the 8th. I'm going to push it to at least June due to DH's job and not knowing who all will be in and out of her house where she works. I've kept up with my brows and I'm honestly excited to see my natural hair color lol
I would like to start seeing my mom again. I'm still worried about her being lonely but she is asthmatic so I don't know when this would be a good idea.
Just got off a call with my boss, a VP. We are to report into the office one day a week for the first two weeks in May and then everyone is to report in every day, business as usual after that. They will make an exception to accommodate parents without daycare so they can continue to WFH. We will have our temps checked and required to wear face masks in the office. I believe this is all coming from the CEO who doesn't believe anyone is actually working unless he sees their butt in the chair.
So I spoke up that I don't believe it's in our best interests, it's not following the federal or state guidelines to re-open, it's not what our peers are doing (slow re-open and allowing anyone that can to continue to WFH), etc. He said he will bring my feedback and concerns to the C Suite. Thankfully, two other managers on the call spoke up and agreed with my point of view. I'm just so mad about it. The fact that there isn't trust in our productivity and they're so behind in thinking in terms of technology and employee flexibility. Also, putting people at risk. We are still in Phase 1 in our state.
Good for you for speaking up mellym. There could be liability for the company if they don’t follow federal and state guidelines, so really you’re protecting them.
Wow mellym, that's awful! Why would a company directly go against the federal and state guidelines just to get butts in seats? Blows my mind. Our CEO has basically said he has no plans to re-open completely until 4th of July. At this point, we're all chugging along at home. Why bother to revamp the office accommodate social distancing, one way entries/exits, closing the employee lounge, masks, etc. just to get us all back in the building faster? I really hope he sticks with something like that as his stance. There are some employees itching to get back to the office, which I get, it's tough being home 24/7. But to what end?
Re: going back to the office. I believe that employees who can do their jobs remotely should be the last piece of the economy to go back in person, in order to reduce the chances of more serious second/further infection waves. I can do at least 90% of my job without being in the office. Let's prioritize childcare and business where people physically need to be there instead.
DH's office will be terrible to go back to - they're a huge company in an open office floor plan.. he can literally reach out and touch the person sitting next to him on either side. And so can they. Being on his campus is the equivalent of going to Disneyland.
My office floor is perfect for social distancing. I've always complained that we don't use floor space wisely - we are office heavy, and even the cubes we have are unnecessarily large. For our public facing folks and operations folks, they have more of an issue - they're primarily cubes (still large) or open desks facing the public. They've taken to keeping the doors locked and only allowing two customers in at a time. And because of the nature of our business (bank), having people wearing masks is problematic.
DH gets up to 10 weeks of covid PTO he can take for childcare and what not in one day increments scheduled in advance. I'm kind of hoping that once he gets to a good place (if that ever happens) he can start scheduling 1 day a week and I can go into the office 1 day a week to actually get work done... It's probably a pipe dream, but it's currently the dream.
Post by covergirl82 on Apr 29, 2020 11:51:00 GMT -5
I have a high-wall (on 3 sides) cubicle at my office, but sit 6+ feet apart from my nearest coworkers, and that is common throughout my department, but I am guessing that we'll WFH at least through May, and then start phasing in. Honestly, I'd be happy to continue WFH more than 1 day a week, so I hope WFH is openly encouraged going forward. (I feel that prior to COVID, WFH, at my last company I was at for 10 years and now my current company I've been at for almost 3 months, was allowed, but more than 1 day a week was frowned upon.) Ideally I'd prefer to go in 2, maybe 3 days a week, and then WFH the other days.
I thought that hell would definitely freeze over before we would ever work from home. But here we are. They kicked us out weeks ago, but they did have to set a good example being public health. We will be home for at least a month, maybe more. We all have our own offices except for a couple of departments that have cubes, but they are spaced out. I hope this has proven that we can work from home and would love to keep it at least a day here and there. I know I have worked my ass off more here than I ever did there.
I am impressed that they actually had the infrastructure ready for us to work from home. I wonder if that is our newer director, he is super techy and loves to keep up to date. Our last one was definitely anti WFH. Ass in the seats and all that or you couldn't be trusted. They pretty much said download this app for your files, this app for your phone transfer, and off you go.
I spoke to another VP right before their COVID meeting today to express my concerns. I got some more info that isn't really making me feel any better. It is coming from the CEO and he wants everyone back to the office pronto, doesn't think anyone working from home is actually working, he is going around thanking the employees who are still coming into the office, etc. This is nothing new from him but I'm questioning more than ever how and why I keep fighting these battles. He is surrounded by yes men that all have SAH wives.
Like you said rere, we are hitting all deadlines, the transition was seamless and we are working more now than ever while we have children at home. It feels like a slap in the face. I was hopeful that they would see it and allow a WFH, flex policy in the future. We could be so productive if we had childcare.
How do you go about a career change in a pandemic? Asking for a friend.
mellym... can't he.. track what's happening remotely? Our CEO gives out statistics on a weekly basis. Something like 85% of our company is logged into the remote system by 8am. I don't remember the other statistics he had, but there was one that said people are actively working in the system for an average of 8.5 hours - and he acknowledged that some of that is the fact that we have certain groups working 14+ hour shifts 7 days a week, and some that have parental responsibilities and are working what they can. Your CEO sounds like a douche canoe.
DH is in the middle of interviewing a potential candidate, so people are still hiring during a pandemic.
Post by traveltheworld on Apr 29, 2020 15:17:53 GMT -5
Totally random but thought I’d share: so my parents, who are 71 and 68, decided that they will re-learn how to ride a bike. They knew how to when they were kids, but haven't done so in over 50 years. My dad got it almost right away, but my mom struggled. And DH patiently spent time with her over the past week teaching her again, and she got it today! They are now cruising down the bike path with the kids 😀
Post by covergirl82 on Apr 29, 2020 16:04:39 GMT -5
sdlaura, traveltheworld, we still see my parents. Not weekly like usual, but every two weeks or so. They've kind of been in our "circle" from the beginning.
We're actually going to see "some" opening up. Still no buffets or sweaty gyms in our future, but outdoor businesses (gardeners) and construction can resume. Retail nurseries and garden centers will be open. Skate parks and other outdoor things like tracks will open (parks and high touch areas will stay closed.)
And they're talking about schools potentially opening early in July.. We shall see..
We can golf on Saturday. Yay? I mean, I guess that’s a pretty socially distanced experience but I don’t get why anyone would bother going to the trouble to write a whole executive order that allows people to golf.
We can golf on Saturday. Yay? I mean, I guess that’s a pretty socially distanced experience but I don’t get why anyone would bother going to the trouble to write a whole executive order that allows people to golf.
Post by traveltheworld on Apr 29, 2020 18:28:43 GMT -5
We've been seeing our parents every day. They live 400 meters away from us and the only people they see is us, and the only people we see is them, so I figure it's not that different than if we were in the same house. I do feel a bit skittish about it, especially during the past week when my parents have just been opening hanging out in front of our house riding their bikes; but none of our neighbours have said anything, yet.
We've been seeing our parents every day. They live 400 meters away from us and the only people they see is us, and the only people we see is them, so I figure it's not that different than if we were in the same house. I do feel a bit skittish about it, especially during the past week when my parents have just been opening hanging out in front of our house riding their bikes; but none of our neighbours have said anything, yet.
Most people I know have picked one other family, especially if they have kids. So for me it’s my parents and brother (they live together.) We are all working from home or retired and family is so physically reserved that I don’t think my brother has touched me since I got married a decade ago anyway. 😂
My in-laws have been with my SIL and her kids. My coworker, it’s his ex wife and her new husband. The family around the corner who have no family in this country, it’s the family one neighborhood over who are from the same country originally as them. It is just .... a lot to try and manage on your own. People are social creatures, kids need support, parents usually need to work, etc.
librarychica I wish I had a setup like that. My poor kiddo could really use a playmate. Unfortunately the neighbors across the street (who I would’ve asked) are clearly done with social distancing. They’re having their house cleaners come and had family over this weekend, with multiple kids playing together. We’re not ready to be back in contact with a bunch of folks.
The CA governor closed beaches throughout the state - previously the local ones were left to the cities to decide. I'm really annoyed. Our town had reopened ours for exercise on Monday and it was so nice. Everyone was being responsible. Even though the media intentionally uses photos to make it look like people are too close together.
The CA governor closed beaches throughout the state - previously the local ones were left to the cities to decide. I'm really annoyed. Our town had reopened ours for exercise on Monday and it was so nice. Everyone was being responsible. Even though the media intentionally uses photos to make it look like people are too close together.
So, our governor just ended up closing Orange County beaches. They were just letting people sit on the beach like normal, while our beaches are only open for exercise. I'd be pissed if I lived there, but I'm glad ours are still open for now. Hopefully people continue to be responsible here over the weekend and we don't end up with the same situation.