Author Topic: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??  (Read 24589 times)

stylesjl

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #200 on: May 19, 2020, 01:51:55 AM »
My brother two weeks ago got a vaguely worded email about being 'Prepared' to go back to the office on May the 10th. Turns out that they actually meant 'Go to the Office' and when my brother protested that he wasn't given a clear message his manager told him to quit being 'Obtuse' about the message he was sent (unfortunately they don't seem to communicate very well at his office).

Needless to say he is now quite unhappy about his job, especially since he had no issues with doing his work from home. Sadly there aren't a whole lot of jobs that he can apply to at the moment.

My situation is a lot better though, my boss hasn't even mentioned anything yet about returning to the office. I suspect if ever do go back it will be a trickle in where we sometimes visit but work at home most of the time. Not idea where this is headed but I don't think I ever want to go back to the daily office commute.

GuitarStv

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #201 on: May 19, 2020, 06:39:15 AM »
If you can work from home, do it . . . unless directly ordered in writing to come back in.  This is my approach at this point.

StarBright

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #202 on: May 19, 2020, 07:20:42 AM »
I am the person working on a "safe return to the office" plan for my company. I'm usually annoyed when the extra projects get piled on top of my work load, but pretty happy to be running the show this time. I think I will make a safer and more thorough plan than anyone else.

Right now we are looking at:
  • trickling back after Memorial Day,
  • scheduling people back a day or two a week depending on which projects need meetings, and allowing everyone else to work from home and always keeping it to less than 10 people in the office for at least the first month (our main office only has 30 people so this is feasible)
  • changing up the seating plan, moving desks for optimal spacing, putting people who are roomates in the same working area, moving the conference room to a room that has better ventilation/windows, etc
  • Traveling to and from off-site jobs in separate vehicles
  • Creating an outdoor seating area for lunches and small meetings

Masks are going to be tough - half the staff will want to wear them all of the time, a quarter will do whatever we ask them to do, and a quarter are adamant non mask wearers.

I'm hoping to be ready to start moving furniture by the end of the week.

We've also talked about air purifiers and HEPA filters for some of the group work spaces that do not have windows - but I haven't seen enough to indicate they'd be helpful. So probably not at this point. But I think we'd implement ASAP if they were shown to help.

 
« Last Edit: May 19, 2020, 11:03:30 AM by StarBright »

Dave1442397

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #203 on: May 19, 2020, 07:40:34 AM »
I just heard that there are no plans to return to the office until at least September, and even then it will be done in stages.

Personally, I was only going in one or two days a month before all this happened, so I doubt they'll see me for the rest of the year :)

DadJokes

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #204 on: May 19, 2020, 07:54:05 AM »
Our office (government) is returning June 1. We are splitting each department in half, with one half working in office M-T and the other half Th-F. On Wednesday, the office will undergo an additional cleaning.

My departmental director is opposed to going back at all right now, as well as what I assume is most of our department. However, the decision came from above him.

At least it's only two days per week. As far as mustachian people problems, now I will be driving to work, instead of taking the train, to avoiding public transit right now.

mm1970

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #205 on: May 19, 2020, 10:12:38 AM »
Our office is still not in.  Essential workers (who have to be on site) are, but not anyone who can work from home.  Lots of cleaning and wearing of masks.

Management is being cautious, going by state guidelines (CA).  Even when they open the office again (likely this summer), I doubt I will be going in.  I share an office with a door (one other person).  He's a good guy, but a Trumper who thinks shutting everything down is dumb...so, not really feeling like he takes it seriously.

In any event, he and I could probably work up a schedule where we aren't there at the same time.  I've got kids, there's not likely to be much in the way of summer camps.  So my husband and I have already agreed to keep them home all summer anyway.  As the younger one is 7, that means at least one of us has to be at home, for at least half the day. 

I'm not sure how my boss will take that, but I'm fine reopening and coming in for one day/ week or half day.  Otherwise, you'll see me when school starts. 

ketchup

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #206 on: May 19, 2020, 02:42:07 PM »
I just got the memo that we're partially "back to normal" next week, and 100% back to normal the following week.  Currently we have about 20% of the company working remote, with most of the rest working on-site super shitty split shifts (7-1:30, 1-7:30).  Masks will be required whenever leaving your desk, and they'll keep cleaning "high-touch" surfaces like doorknobs, copiers, and such.

Mixed feelings.  Most of the people working remote definitely do not have to come back urgently.  I could certainly do 98% of my job remote even though I've been working the 1-7:30pm clown shift on-site.

Optimiser

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #207 on: May 19, 2020, 03:17:49 PM »
I just got the memo that we're partially "back to normal" next week, and 100% back to normal the following week.  Currently we have about 20% of the company working remote, with most of the rest working on-site super shitty split shifts (7-1:30, 1-7:30).  Masks will be required whenever leaving your desk, and they'll keep cleaning "high-touch" surfaces like doorknobs, copiers, and such.

Mixed feelings.  Most of the people working remote definitely do not have to come back urgently.  I could certainly do 98% of my job remote even though I've been working the 1-7:30pm clown shift on-site.

Overlapping the shifts by 30 minutes seems a little counterproductive if you are trying to keep the two working groups separate.

dodojojo

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #208 on: May 21, 2020, 03:26:06 PM »
Just informed today of a workforce reduction--aka, I'm a goner.  Layoffs are not uncommon at my company so not exactly out of the blue, but still when it affects you directly, it's a gut punch.  More so because though life holds no guarantees, I was told and led to believe my job/team was relatively safe because we generate revenue.  And we generate revenue in a department that does not.  There is and no planned decrease of revenue for the next couple of years (comes from government, not consumers). But I guess they figure they can continue to generate that revenue without paying me to do it.

I'm stewing right now...but will likely start a thread for advice and support.  I checked out after the call so I'm in a vacuum right now but I'm guessing when I turn on my laptop, all the "paperwork" will be in my inbox.  I'm making the holiday weekend a little longer--it's not like they're going to fire me, right?

BikeFanatic

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #209 on: May 21, 2020, 04:31:48 PM »
Dojojo sorry that sucks, hope you can enjoy your summer and regroup in fall.

ketchup

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #210 on: May 21, 2020, 04:44:18 PM »
I just got the memo that we're partially "back to normal" next week, and 100% back to normal the following week.  Currently we have about 20% of the company working remote, with most of the rest working on-site super shitty split shifts (7-1:30, 1-7:30).  Masks will be required whenever leaving your desk, and they'll keep cleaning "high-touch" surfaces like doorknobs, copiers, and such.

Mixed feelings.  Most of the people working remote definitely do not have to come back urgently.  I could certainly do 98% of my job remote even though I've been working the 1-7:30pm clown shift on-site.

Overlapping the shifts by 30 minutes seems a little counterproductive if you are trying to keep the two working groups separate.
Yeah... mostly it was to allow people to be further apart in lab (fewer at once), as some of the instruments are pretty cozy with each other.  Either way, I'm not sure it did a whole lot.

Freedomin5

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #211 on: May 21, 2020, 08:35:03 PM »
I’m back at work and covering for two people who couldn’t get their act together and get back in the country when the borders were still open. This is on top of the other two roles that I have always had. Can’t wait for borders to reopen and for people to come back and actually do their jobs.

kanga1622

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #212 on: May 21, 2020, 08:52:42 PM »
I go back on the 1st. Moved to a private office as the shared office meant we were too close together. So we will all be in separate offices with our doors closed for the next two months.

So I guess that is close to a step up. No visitors will be allowed into our section of the building but we don’t know about the shared hallways that go to the parking lot and bathrooms.

I will be more efficient in the office simply because I’m not trying to parent kids while working. But I will miss having lunch with the family and getting surprise hugs from the kids throughout the day.

chemistk

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #213 on: May 22, 2020, 05:32:09 AM »
Thankfully I haven't lost my job or had a reduction in pay (still), but our situation at work is looking dramatically different.

Ours is a company of more than 15k employees, and across our various corporate buildings (rest are manufacturing) there are approx 4k employees. We were told that:

-Starting June 1st, all open desk areas will be rearranged to be a 'checkerboard' - those who have desks in those spaces have to come in and move their things. Some desks will be off-limits.
-All desks in open areas have to be cleared of personal effects, permanently. This is so that they can be sanitized, nightly.
-Starting June 1st, corporate locations will slowly allow employees in particular departments to come in and work from the office, a few people per department per week, up to about 20% of the capacity of the building.
-The expectation is that by fall, no more than 50% of the building's capacity will be able to work from the office at a given time.
-A 'significant portion' of the workforce will be required to work from home through the end of the year, and possibly permanently.
-All cafeterias will be closed, except for prepackaged meal service.
-All open seating areas will be removed.
-All conference rooms will have half the chairs removed, and the chairs that remain will be replaced with non-upholstered chairs.
-Facemasks will be permanently required, even if you are at a desk or in an office (unless door is closed).


I think the biggest thing that has me scratching my head is that (and I know my company is not alone) the expectation is that these changes are going to be permanent.

ItsALongStory

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #214 on: May 22, 2020, 06:09:16 AM »
Knowing my employer I think these changes may also be what we are asked to adhere to, it just seems like life in the office will be so incredibly unattractive that I'd rather wfh permanently.

As of right now they've said we won't be asked to go in office until November 1 at the earliest unless you're an essential worker (we have very few of these).

Some of the companies we compete with for University and college grads have also decided to offer remote as a full time option and so that may be another driver for us to take a conservative (crazy to think if wfh permanently as conservative) stance.

Freedomin5

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #215 on: May 22, 2020, 07:41:47 AM »
What you are describing is what we are already doing in China. Face masks and rearranged desks and whatnot. It’s not that bad once you get used to it. Human beings are incredibly adaptive.

I forgot to mention, our chairs are zip tied to the table legs in conference rooms to maintain social distancing.

dodojojo

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #216 on: May 22, 2020, 08:27:09 AM »
Dojojo sorry that sucks, hope you can enjoy your summer and regroup in fall.
Thanks.  Would love a new adventure but I haven't interviewed for a job in 12 years.  Hopefully, it will be like riding a bike--you don't forget how to.

chemistk

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #217 on: May 22, 2020, 08:58:22 AM »
What you are describing is what we are already doing in China. Face masks and rearranged desks and whatnot. It’s not that bad once you get used to it. Human beings are incredibly adaptive.

I forgot to mention, our chairs are zip tied to the table legs in conference rooms to maintain social distancing.

I can imagine, but what's crazy to me is that this is all voluntary on my Company's part, there's no mandate that they're following (well, our China office is I'd assume), this is just the 'new normal'

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that some people may work permanently from home. A surprising driver of this shift is that internally, our productivity has actually increased since everyone started working from home, and time to make decisions (historically like molasses) has dramatically decreased. For years they've been trying to improve decision speed and who knew WFH was the answer?

Now, it's not all bad. The silver lining is that our HR VP directly acknowledged that parents who are homeschooling, helping with distance learning, or juggling kids in general are encouraged to prioritize their kids' needs over the Company's (at least, assuming they've made an effort to address both first) and that there will be no recourse from HR if called out.

Plina

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #218 on: May 22, 2020, 09:06:06 AM »
Thankfully I haven't lost my job or had a reduction in pay (still), but our situation at work is looking dramatically different.

Ours is a company of more than 15k employees, and across our various corporate buildings (rest are manufacturing) there are approx 4k employees. We were told that:

-Starting June 1st, all open desk areas will be rearranged to be a 'checkerboard' - those who have desks in those spaces have to come in and move their things. Some desks will be off-limits.
-All desks in open areas have to be cleared of personal effects, permanently. This is so that they can be sanitized, nightly.
-Starting June 1st, corporate locations will slowly allow employees in particular departments to come in and work from the office, a few people per department per week, up to about 20% of the capacity of the building.
-The expectation is that by fall, no more than 50% of the building's capacity will be able to work from the office at a given time.
-A 'significant portion' of the workforce will be required to work from home through the end of the year, and possibly permanently.
-All cafeterias will be closed, except for prepackaged meal service.
-All open seating areas will be removed.
-All conference rooms will have half the chairs removed, and the chairs that remain will be replaced with non-upholstered chairs.
-Facemasks will be permanently required, even if you are at a desk or in an office (unless door is closed).


I think the biggest thing that has me scratching my head is that (and I know my company is not alone) the expectation is that these changes are going to be permanent.

Would it not be easier if people just worked from home? It sounds like a really crappy officeversion. What is the logic behind getting people to the office if they can’t socialize? Who wants to wear facemask the whole time at work.

chemistk

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #219 on: May 22, 2020, 09:24:33 AM »
Thankfully I haven't lost my job or had a reduction in pay (still), but our situation at work is looking dramatically different.

Ours is a company of more than 15k employees, and across our various corporate buildings (rest are manufacturing) there are approx 4k employees. We were told that:

-Starting June 1st, all open desk areas will be rearranged to be a 'checkerboard' - those who have desks in those spaces have to come in and move their things. Some desks will be off-limits.
-All desks in open areas have to be cleared of personal effects, permanently. This is so that they can be sanitized, nightly.
-Starting June 1st, corporate locations will slowly allow employees in particular departments to come in and work from the office, a few people per department per week, up to about 20% of the capacity of the building.
-The expectation is that by fall, no more than 50% of the building's capacity will be able to work from the office at a given time.
-A 'significant portion' of the workforce will be required to work from home through the end of the year, and possibly permanently.
-All cafeterias will be closed, except for prepackaged meal service.
-All open seating areas will be removed.
-All conference rooms will have half the chairs removed, and the chairs that remain will be replaced with non-upholstered chairs.
-Facemasks will be permanently required, even if you are at a desk or in an office (unless door is closed).


I think the biggest thing that has me scratching my head is that (and I know my company is not alone) the expectation is that these changes are going to be permanent.

Would it not be easier if people just worked from home? It sounds like a really crappy officeversion. What is the logic behind getting people to the office if they can’t socialize? Who wants to wear facemask the whole time at work.

I work for a major food manufacturer, and there's a certain number of people who really need to be in the office. At my location, engineers, product development, labs (me!), r&d, etc. all really are only effective if they're on site. There's other roles some departments that just do better in the office at home for various reasons.

It's really not that bad for me personally at work (am an introvert, don't have many work buddies) but for others that's going to be the biggest drag to this whole thing - a lot of people enjoy that socialization and I think it's going to be gone for a long time.

Plina

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #220 on: May 22, 2020, 10:11:23 AM »
Thankfully I haven't lost my job or had a reduction in pay (still), but our situation at work is looking dramatically different.

Ours is a company of more than 15k employees, and across our various corporate buildings (rest are manufacturing) there are approx 4k employees. We were told that:

-Starting June 1st, all open desk areas will be rearranged to be a 'checkerboard' - those who have desks in those spaces have to come in and move their things. Some desks will be off-limits.
-All desks in open areas have to be cleared of personal effects, permanently. This is so that they can be sanitized, nightly.
-Starting June 1st, corporate locations will slowly allow employees in particular departments to come in and work from the office, a few people per department per week, up to about 20% of the capacity of the building.
-The expectation is that by fall, no more than 50% of the building's capacity will be able to work from the office at a given time.
-A 'significant portion' of the workforce will be required to work from home through the end of the year, and possibly permanently.
-All cafeterias will be closed, except for prepackaged meal service.
-All open seating areas will be removed.
-All conference rooms will have half the chairs removed, and the chairs that remain will be replaced with non-upholstered chairs.
-Facemasks will be permanently required, even if you are at a desk or in an office (unless door is closed).


I think the biggest thing that has me scratching my head is that (and I know my company is not alone) the expectation is that these changes are going to be permanent.

Would it not be easier if people just worked from home? It sounds like a really crappy officeversion. What is the logic behind getting people to the office if they can’t socialize? Who wants to wear facemask the whole time at work.

I work for a major food manufacturer, and there's a certain number of people who really need to be in the office. At my location, engineers, product development, labs (me!), r&d, etc. all really are only effective if they're on site. There's other roles some departments that just do better in the office at home for various reasons.

It's really not that bad for me personally at work (am an introvert, don't have many work buddies) but for others that's going to be the biggest drag to this whole thing - a lot of people enjoy that socialization and I think it's going to be gone for a long time.

That makes sense for certain typen of jobs. I am also an introvert and would be pretty happy without all the socializing. My boss, that is a social butterfly, is really looking forward to getting back to the office after the vacations. Me not so much. I hope it will further delayed and I am going to take up the question of working from home two-three days a week in our talk in june.

jinga nation

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #221 on: May 22, 2020, 11:10:22 AM »
@dodojojo
my commiserations, having been in that situation in my first full time job, given assurances that I was critical on a fully-funded project, and let go the next month, just 2 months before my wedding, had been working only 10 months. the logic was baffling on my walk from the building door to my car. "but you said this... and you said that... don't not compute"

thankfully, heard similar talk at my next employer 2.5 years later, waited until my 3 year anniversary to get fully vested in 401k, took a screenshot of 401k, and dropped my notice.

now i know what canaries in a coalmine sound like in a corporate workplace. hopefully things will work out for you soon.

jinga nation

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #222 on: May 22, 2020, 11:13:02 AM »
been notified i am to work from home until i get my notice sometime between mid-Nov 2020 and mid-Feb 2021 to report onsite. But I'll have to go there in September to renew my badge.

Arbitrage

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #223 on: June 19, 2020, 07:35:18 AM »
Stilll WFH full-time, though I have to go in to the office every once in a while for 'essential' activities.  The company is loosening things up ever so slightly, but still telling everyone to work remotely unless you have to come in.  Given that COVID-19 is again spiking where we live as things are opening up, I'm thinking/hoping that we're still months away from any semblance of a return to the office.

obstinate

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #224 on: June 19, 2020, 07:41:58 AM »
My employer has thankfully given us a bunch of time off to take care of kids. So my wife and I switching off with teaching our kindergartner and taking care of our toddler and working. I think things are calming down enough that their regular childcare situation will be able to resume in a week or two, after which we'll both be working from home.

frugalnacho

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #225 on: June 19, 2020, 08:07:02 AM »
We have rehired several people that were laid off.   The 3 employees that were allowed to partially WFH now seem to be back in the office at full capacity.  They still have a moratorium on OT.  They still have the check in procedure before employees are allowed to come on site.  Other than that, everything seems to be back to normal like nothing ever happened.  Almost no social distancing is happening.  I would estimate about 1 in 8 people here wear masks, and the rest never don a mask.  I have been in the locker room bathroom and have witnessed some employees taking a shit and not washing their hands.  I can only assume if you are willing to take a shit and touch a public toilet and not wash your hands, that you are also not following proper hand washing and sanitizing protocols outside of the bathroom.   

economista

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #226 on: June 19, 2020, 09:30:02 AM »
I am still full time working from home. They have put into place a “plan” to bring people back into the office but haven’t actually started bringing anyone back in yet. With the plan, anyone who is in a high risk group determined by the CDC, or who lives with or takes care of a high risk person continues full time telework until there is a vaccine. When people do come back into the office, masks will be work at all times and social distancing measures will be in place until there is a vaccine. I’m pregnant and my boss said I definitely will not be allowed back into the office until after maternity leave.

ItsALongStory

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #227 on: June 19, 2020, 06:00:19 PM »
We were told no mandatory office return until November, once our house sells we will move closer to family which is still same time zone so shouldn't impact my work.

I agree with some people on here that despite increasing infection numbers in my county, people are getting more lax about it all. Strange combination for sure.

All business travel is suspended through year end and hiring is on the back burner for now unless you get a senior exec exception.

2sk22

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #228 on: June 20, 2020, 03:29:58 AM »
Since I work in software, I continue to be work-from-home for the indefinite future. My wife however works for a pharmaceutical company in the research division. They have resumed lab work so she has to go in a few days every week.

BikeFanatic

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #229 on: June 20, 2020, 06:08:09 AM »
I work in a hospital and only essential workers are onsite, but there is talk of going back. Covid is going down in my state, but I hope we can stay WFH at least the summer. My office space is crazy expensive and crowded so they will have to extend WFH at least 2 maybe 3 days to keep people safe.

Channel-Z

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #230 on: June 20, 2020, 04:26:19 PM »
My workplace brought the sales department back from WFH status this week. They plan to bring others back from WFH in the coming weeks. We had three people get sick with COVID-19 in April, but no positive tests since that time.

itchyfeet

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #231 on: June 27, 2020, 04:59:01 AM »
We have been doing Team A/ Team B in the office (ie: 2 days one week, 3 the next), since restrictions relaxed a little at the beginning of June.

Here, there are now no longer restrictions on how many people we have in the office.

We have decided to move everyone back to 3 days a week, so everyone gets to see everyone. After 3 month it will be nice to see my boss.

If someone in the office tests positive we will have to shut the office for a few days for deep cleaning whatever scheme of partial work from home we adopt. We don’t see any significant additional risk from moving team A/ team B to everyone mixed in one team but with the office only 60% max occupied.

We are keeping at only 60% in the office on permit good social distancing esp in elevators. People will need to take responsibility for their own hygiene and for maintaining 6’ distance from their colleagues.

We have hired additional cleaners to cleans surfaces etc throughout the day.

We have installed plexiglass barriers around all work stations. People Will be working in their own fishbowls.


Optimiser

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #232 on: July 02, 2020, 05:14:44 PM »
Masks are now required in my state. The executive order went into effect yesterday. Yesterday compliance was around 80%. Today it is back down to 30%. I guess when the boss won't wear a mask, nobody thinks they need to either.

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #233 on: July 02, 2020, 06:42:16 PM »
I think I'm the only person at my work place to wear a mask.  80 people, but I only saw probably 40 people today and I don't remember anyone wearing a mask.

CupcakeGuru

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #234 on: July 03, 2020, 06:29:37 AM »
The plan was to go back to the office on Monday July 6th and that the plan would be sent to the team (21 people). My non communicative boss said absolutely nothing until 3pm on July 2 that we would NOT be coming back until at least August 3rd.

habanero

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #235 on: July 03, 2020, 06:38:59 AM »
In rotation, generally a week in the office, a week wfh - this is due to reduced office capacity by my employer and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. It's not really the office space per se - which is quite spacious and decent distance between desks even when full, but wfh is still strongly encouraged by the authorities to reduce the crowding in public transport during rush hours.

My desk is cleaned every evening by the cleaning staff.


OtherJen

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #236 on: July 03, 2020, 06:40:53 AM »
I think I'm the only person at my work place to wear a mask.  80 people, but I only saw probably 40 people today and I don't remember anyone wearing a mask.

That’s incredibly depressing. No wonder the state’s daily positive case count doubled from Wednesday to yesterday, if most people are being so irresponsible.

Raenia

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #237 on: July 03, 2020, 08:20:55 AM »
I started back in the office this week.  Only one person per lab/office, you have to post a sign on your door that the room is occupied.  Masks and social distancing in the hallways and shared spaces, temperature checks at the door, hand sanitizer everywhere, and sanitizing wipes to clean desks and bench areas.  Only three of us on a hall that usually houses 10-13 people, and even with that we are only to come on site on days we have lab work to do, all else will still be done from home.  Mixed feelings about returning - I hated having to get up earlier and commute, but it was nice to get some real work done.  I won't mind going back to WFH most of next week, though.

mm1970

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #238 on: July 03, 2020, 10:10:24 AM »
We still have no plans for going back.  I think they are making plans.  But honestly, there are about 10 people or 15 out of 70 who HAVE to go in.  One of these guys is 70.

The rest of us should just WFH.

habanero

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #239 on: July 03, 2020, 11:21:26 AM »
If anyone at my workplace showed up with a mask everyone would think said person was bat-shit crazy. Different places, different customs.

ysette9

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #240 on: July 03, 2020, 11:26:23 AM »
I was listening to a podcast this morning about the future of office buildings and commercial real estate. They were saying things like “work from home is working” so they are unsure of what the office of the future will look like and whether it will even be necessary. To me it seemed a bit presumptuous, but maybe I am projecting. I am lucky enough to be done with working, but when I was I almost never worked from home if I could help it (only did the late-night calls) because it was so inefficient. Bad ergo setup, no room, too noisy, disturbed the rest of the family. The home office seems to be a luxury that people in LcOL areas might take for granted; in HCOL areas you are in the guest room, if you are lucky enough to have one, or at the kitchen table. I know one guy who outfitted his garden shed to be his I’m home office by adding an AC unit.

We knew a family where the parents both worked from home full-time and permanently. Their house was a good 1000ft^2 larger than ours and had a large separate space upstairs away from the kids’ bedroom dedicated to only work. They clearly bought their house with that in mind. So if you really want to have this WFH be a long term solution then people will have to make different housing choices. And for some people that could easily be adding $100-200k to their home cost.

mm1970

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #241 on: July 03, 2020, 12:08:56 PM »
I was listening to a podcast this morning about the future of office buildings and commercial real estate. They were saying things like “work from home is working” so they are unsure of what the office of the future will look like and whether it will even be necessary. To me it seemed a bit presumptuous, but maybe I am projecting. I am lucky enough to be done with working, but when I was I almost never worked from home if I could help it (only did the late-night calls) because it was so inefficient. Bad ergo setup, no room, too noisy, disturbed the rest of the family. The home office seems to be a luxury that people in LcOL areas might take for granted; in HCOL areas you are in the guest room, if you are lucky enough to have one, or at the kitchen table. I know one guy who outfitted his garden shed to be his I’m home office by adding an AC unit.

We knew a family where the parents both worked from home full-time and permanently. Their house was a good 1000ft^2 larger than ours and had a large separate space upstairs away from the kids’ bedroom dedicated to only work. They clearly bought their house with that in mind. So if you really want to have this WFH be a long term solution then people will have to make different housing choices. And for some people that could easily be adding $100-200k to their home cost.
Eh, our house is <1150 sf.  We are doing okay, though it's not awesome.  I'd be just as efficient if it weren't for the kids underfoot.

But yeah - my "office" is the boys' bedroom, and it has a desk.  I bought a chair, and we bought a monitor to use with the laptop.

Husband's "office" is our bedroom.  Two laptops, a big monitor, a fancy chair, and a folding table as a desk.

It's kind of the MMM way though, to make it work.  Yes, I'd love a second bathroom, but we can manage.  Do we actually need a guest room?  We have 2 Bedrooms, it's fine.  Guests can stay elsewhere or on the sofabed.

If the kids were in school, it would be awesome.  Except for the water bill. 

mountain mustache

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #242 on: July 08, 2020, 11:13:36 AM »
I have been WFH since the first set of stay at home orders in March. We have had a variety of communication throughout the past few months from our company, first that we would return to offices in August, with extreme caution (50% workforce, no kitchens, masks, etc) and recently they have changed their tune to "let's see what happens in 2021". I think it is super hard to clean enough, distance enough, and remove all liability from the employer for people to return to the office. My company is extremely conscientious about employee safety and wellbeing, and does not want the liability of having people get sick from being forced to be in an office space. They would just as soon let us all stay home until there is a vaccine...IMO if we are happy working from home and productive, I can't see us being forced to ever return to the office full time. My boss has raised concerns about missing out on socialization and community and I reminded her that I have a job to work, and earn money, not to make friends. If I make friends, it is like an extra perk, but not the driving force behind my employment.

startingsmall

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #243 on: July 08, 2020, 12:55:15 PM »
I ran out of unpaid leave and opted to return to work (for now, anyway) at 1 day/wk. I'm a veterinarian in a corporate clinic that's located in a retail pet store. My coworkers and I all wear masks. The pet store employees also wear masks. The pet store customers are supposed to wear masks, but compliance is mediocre.

Right now, we take pets from their owners in the "lobby" (back of the pet store) and bring them back to the treatment area for all services. Doctor communication takes place exclusively by phone.... I made the mistake of trying to talk to clients in person a couple of times and had clients that really had no concept of personal space, so now I'll only be venturing out of the safety of our treatment area when I'm coming to work, leaving, or using the restroom.

I feel like the situation is still pretty risky (especially because I'm one of the states that is really failing on controlling this virus), so I'm unsure how long I'll stay at this job. My "side hustle" can support us, but returning to work at 1 day/wk means we can get employer insurance instead of going on ACA (which I still worry may be taken away). I've mentally committed to returning through the end of August, then I'll re-evaluate. 

CodingHare

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #244 on: July 08, 2020, 01:12:39 PM »
I opted to quit my job and take a remote only position at a slight pay cut.  Over half of my team is back in the office and are not wearing masks around each other, including my boss.  No chance of staying permanently remote, and the office was full of "it's just the flu" people.  Not worth the money to compromise my safety, and I'm lucky to be financially stable enough to take a pay cut and still have the ability to feed FIRE.

Plus new job has a 401k, so with tax savings I will probably be breaking even!

frugalnacho

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #245 on: August 24, 2020, 01:23:15 PM »
Still almost no one wearing a mask at my plant.

We implemented a screening procedure which was just a bunch of questions, like do you have a cough? Have you traveled? have you been exposed to anyone with coronavirus? etc. At the time I said it was all just pageantry.  None of it is verifiable, and these employees are aware that you aren't supposed to come in while sick.  Especially after you've done the first check in so you know all the questions they are going to ask.  If you know you can't pass those check in procedure questions without lying, then you shouldn't have even come into work, so the whole things seems like a waste of time and only serves to have a paper trail the company can point to and say "hey, we did check ins".  The type of person to come into work while knowingly sick, is the exact type of person that's going to lie during check in, because a responsible honest person would never have reported to work.  So what's actually stopping someone from coming into work while sick? Nothing, unless they are so sick it's obvious to their coworkers.

So that's exactly what happened.  Last week we had multiple people at work while sick.  One had a fever.  A couple more didn't feel well, but didn't have fevers.  They all lied and said they were fine, but then it was obvious they were sick.  They all got sent home and to be tested.  I've canceled my plans of visiting my mom in the hospital, and visiting with our families, and having playdates for my son for the last week, all because I don't feel it's responsible to be around anyone since I may have potentially been exposed.  That was Tuesday morning, and apparently no one has received their test results back yet because it's now Monday, those guys aren't back yet, and management hasn't made any announcements about anyone testing positive or negative (which they assured me they would immediately let us know one way or the other). 

Then while talking with some other employees I found out that they had Typhoid Mary (the one with a fever) back to work on Saturday and Sunday to get some jobs done.  They did it over the weekend so they could be sneaky and not let anyone know they have a potential covid case actively working.  I guess he still doesn't have a negative test result because he is not here today.  To me this whole thing feels like they have to keep him away for appearance sake, but will gladly have him work over the weekend because they think no one will know, despite the fact that some people definitely know now.  I guess it's better to have him working in his department alone rather than right next to people, but I still would prefer he not be on the premises at all until we know he's negative.

Grrrrrr this place is frustrating.

frugalnacho

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #246 on: August 25, 2020, 07:22:50 AM »
He got a negative test result and is back to work today.  Glad it worked out and we don't have a covid outbreak, but I'm afraid this is just going to embolden the "it's just a flu" culture around here, because they had these guys work while sick and everything worked out fine.

jinga nation

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #247 on: August 25, 2020, 07:44:47 AM »
Started going back to the gov customer site twice a week 2 weeks ago. Less than 25% people onsite per orders.

Last week they increased manning to upto 50%. From today reduced going onsite to 2 half-days per week.

Schools and colleges have started, seeing cases. Those parents are coming back to the customer site. Also been told to only focus on tasks which cannot be done from home. If nothing to do at customer site, go home and continue working.


Michael in ABQ

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #248 on: August 25, 2020, 09:58:04 AM »
I'll be returning to my government job in about a month. Looks like it will be primarily WFH. Directive from my boss and her boss is that if you can work from home, do so. My boss said she's been going in one day a week to handle things that can't be done remotely. I figure I'll be going into the office at least a few days at the beginning to get my laptop setup, etc. But having been gone almost a year I no longer have an office to return to and they're just about to start renovations which will affect where my office was.

I've been ordering stuff to setup a nice WFH area - standing desk, monitor arms, couple of 24" monitors, desk chair, etc.

Zaga

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Re: Coronavirus- What is your current working situation ??
« Reply #249 on: August 25, 2020, 06:09:34 PM »
Still working from home for both of us, still loving it.  Don't ever want to go back to having a commute.

CEO announced on a zoom call that he expects us to not go back to the office (except for functions that can't wfh) until the new year at the earliest.  DH's boss unofficially said the same thing.  We'll see!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!