Going to get this off my chest.
Shortly after I was told by my boss no, I could not use the ubiquitous piles of gloves I see all around me at work, he sent out a department-wide e-mail both assuring all of us that our company and he are taking infection control seriously while at the same time enforcing policies to make sure that we don't step out of line. Not only are we reminded we cannot use gloves (it's obvious that was just for me); he had warnings about overtime and leaving on time as well.
Two things that are irksome about this e-mail. First, he insists that if we take all precautions at work -- wash your hands, cover your mouth, disinfect your area before and after your shift -- we should be fine. He's my boss, and he certainly knows more about the company than I do, but he sure as hell is not an epidemiologist, so forgive me, but I'm not going to take his word that we'll be fine. He damn well knows that our department isn't spaced six feet apart, and that people walk through our area all the time. If one of us is sick, that person probably infects the whole department, and then the whole department is wiped out -- and if it gets really bad, the company might be liable. Then, that'll be on his ass. We probably won't be fine then.
The other thing that pissed me off was the last line. He wanted us to keep things "in perspective." Paraphrasing, he said that he would rather be grateful that we still have jobs, unlike many people who have been fired and are now on unemployment. Dude, I live with my elderly parents. If I get the coronavirus from work, and I give it to them, there's an elevated chance they'll get sick, or worse. Add to it that our job is essential in name only, if that.
I'm kind of taking a risk of bringing this virus home with me. I guess I'll be the first person I'll have to hold accountable if that happens, but I sure as shit am not thanking him or anybody else for putting myself in this position just so I can get a paycheck. Sure, people who've been let go of their jobs aren't bringing in any money and they're worried as hell about it. But first of all, they'll get on unemployment, and that's Minnesota unemployment, which is a fuck-ton better than other states. And second of all, assuming they love their fellow statespeople, they'll be able to just chill at home, physically distant from everybody. And you know what? I kind of envy them being able to be totally safe from this invisible, invincible disease that's going to ravage our state. So he can fucking pump the brakes when he says we all should feel grateful.
And besides that, we've been cut from work several times over the past couple weeks, an indication of the slowdown in the national (and global) economy. I'm not sure we should be that grateful for work we don't have and money we can't make. But hey, at least I get to get home faster, don't I?
It's surprising how willing he is to toe the company line. I couldn't say I know him, but I kind of wished he would understand the plight we worker bees are going through. (I also wished he knew I live with my folks, but to be fair, I've never told him.) This isn't a "let 'em eat cake" situation. But he sounds flippant, and I am chalking that up to him being young. And despite all the data saying that this will adversely affect the old (such as my parents), people his age can get sick from this. In fact, a couple people his age have died, I believe. I would think that he would cool it with this ... well, cool it with this arrogance about not getting down with the sickness. But to me, him thinking we'll all just be fine (when the governor says 80% of Minnesotans will get infected, BTW) and we should all just shut up and be grateful about having somewhere to go every day (for only half a day) is a sign that he isn't taking goddamn COVID-19 seriously -- like many people of his generation aren't taking it seriously. So what I'm saying is, Gen Y dude, stop.
Shortly after I was told by my boss no, I could not use the ubiquitous piles of gloves I see all around me at work, he sent out a department-wide e-mail both assuring all of us that our company and he are taking infection control seriously while at the same time enforcing policies to make sure that we don't step out of line. Not only are we reminded we cannot use gloves (it's obvious that was just for me); he had warnings about overtime and leaving on time as well.
Two things that are irksome about this e-mail. First, he insists that if we take all precautions at work -- wash your hands, cover your mouth, disinfect your area before and after your shift -- we should be fine. He's my boss, and he certainly knows more about the company than I do, but he sure as hell is not an epidemiologist, so forgive me, but I'm not going to take his word that we'll be fine. He damn well knows that our department isn't spaced six feet apart, and that people walk through our area all the time. If one of us is sick, that person probably infects the whole department, and then the whole department is wiped out -- and if it gets really bad, the company might be liable. Then, that'll be on his ass. We probably won't be fine then.
The other thing that pissed me off was the last line. He wanted us to keep things "in perspective." Paraphrasing, he said that he would rather be grateful that we still have jobs, unlike many people who have been fired and are now on unemployment. Dude, I live with my elderly parents. If I get the coronavirus from work, and I give it to them, there's an elevated chance they'll get sick, or worse. Add to it that our job is essential in name only, if that.
I'm kind of taking a risk of bringing this virus home with me. I guess I'll be the first person I'll have to hold accountable if that happens, but I sure as shit am not thanking him or anybody else for putting myself in this position just so I can get a paycheck. Sure, people who've been let go of their jobs aren't bringing in any money and they're worried as hell about it. But first of all, they'll get on unemployment, and that's Minnesota unemployment, which is a fuck-ton better than other states. And second of all, assuming they love their fellow statespeople, they'll be able to just chill at home, physically distant from everybody. And you know what? I kind of envy them being able to be totally safe from this invisible, invincible disease that's going to ravage our state. So he can fucking pump the brakes when he says we all should feel grateful.
And besides that, we've been cut from work several times over the past couple weeks, an indication of the slowdown in the national (and global) economy. I'm not sure we should be that grateful for work we don't have and money we can't make. But hey, at least I get to get home faster, don't I?
It's surprising how willing he is to toe the company line. I couldn't say I know him, but I kind of wished he would understand the plight we worker bees are going through. (I also wished he knew I live with my folks, but to be fair, I've never told him.) This isn't a "let 'em eat cake" situation. But he sounds flippant, and I am chalking that up to him being young. And despite all the data saying that this will adversely affect the old (such as my parents), people his age can get sick from this. In fact, a couple people his age have died, I believe. I would think that he would cool it with this ... well, cool it with this arrogance about not getting down with the sickness. But to me, him thinking we'll all just be fine (when the governor says 80% of Minnesotans will get infected, BTW) and we should all just shut up and be grateful about having somewhere to go every day (for only half a day) is a sign that he isn't taking goddamn COVID-19 seriously -- like many people of his generation aren't taking it seriously. So what I'm saying is, Gen Y dude, stop.
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