COVID-19: what's happening at your workplace?

I work for a large drug company near Princeton and Sr. Management is providing daily updates and "guidance" via email and via the Intranet portal. As of now, they've only said to delay or cancel travel, minimize face-to-face meetings, wash hands, don't touch your face, and be prepared to work at home should it come to that.

I'm still coming into the office but I'm feeling more and more that I should self-quarantine, or whatever it's called. I'm washing my hands constantly at work and using a paper towel to open doors. No face-to-face meetings. The office seems to be quiet, with fewer people here than normal. Maybe 60-70% of normal.   I can work at home easily (I already do so a day or two a week) so that shouldn't be a problem. But I keep wondering, is it the smart thing to do now?

What's going on at your workplace and what are you thinking?




My company has pretty much the same guidance as you. I started working from home today. The commute into NYC concerned me more than being in the office, but I did have a co-worker from New Rochelle. He left the office early yesterday and is working from home. He doesn't have any symptoms. 


My next door neighbors are both telecommuting from home.  Mrs was already working from home, so no change for her.  Mr said his workplace just changed every eligible employee to work from home for the foreseeable future due to coronavirus.  Mrs isn’t thrilled because she is finding it harder to stay focused with him there all day.  They’re both in dread of what will happen if the schools close as their kids are under age 10 so having them home all day WILL be distracting

My husband is a paramedic.  Obviously that is not a job that can be done remotely.  He recently changed jobs and is no longer working at UH in Newark, but is now in Bergen County (one hell of a commute, but the pay is better) so coronavirus is definitely on his radar.  He’s not freaking out, though he is upset that masks are nowhere to be found since on his days off he has been volunteering on the USS Ling and they need masks due to the mold and other potential airborne contaminants inside the sub


My large company in NJ has closed several (but not all) US sites including mine until further notice.  Wfh is pretty seamless for us and most of my meetings are via Skype anyway.  I am currently scheduled to fly to another domestic site (who’s is open) in a couple of weeks, waiting / hoping to see if that trip is considered “non-essential”.


 Hubby’s NYC company is testing wfh with about half of their workforce.  Their wfh capabilities frankly totally suck.. Hubby is home and has a much harder time getting and keeping a connection to their network.


I was supposed to go to a court conference today in Queens.  The conference really wasn't necessary for reasons I'll spare you about.  We wrote to the court asking them to put it off or alternatively to let us do it by phone.  No response.  Couldn't get through to them by phone either.

I decided not to show up, which is something I would never do in normal times.  The court ended up adjourning it until late April. I think there is zero chance they will be having court conferences of any kind by then.  Whatever.


wendyn said:

My large company in NJ has closed several (but not all) US sites including mine until further notice.  Wfh is pretty seamless for us and most of my meetings are via Skype anyway.  I am currently scheduled to fly to another domestic site (who’s is open) in a couple of weeks, waiting / hoping to see if that trip is considered “non-essential”.


 Hubby’s NYC company is testing wfh with about half of their workforce.  Their wfh capabilities frankly totally suck.. Hubby is home and has a much harder time getting and keeping a connection to their network.

 I also have a domestic business trip scheduled (and paid for!)  - for April 6-8. My boss is skeptical that it will happen. We'll see.

I have a non-business trip scheduled to a music festival in the Dallas area at the end of April. I'd be very disappointed if that was canceled.


A friend of mine was supposed to be traveling to Dallas as the end of April for a conference. They just canceled it.


jfinnegan said:

A friend of mine was supposed to be traveling to Dallas as the end of April for a conference. They just canceled it.

Bummer. I just checked the website for the music fest and there's no mention of Covid19 or any schedule changes.


The_Soulful_Mr_T, I might be massively outdated but you have me wondering: when I used to work radio, our mics were cloth/foam-covered. We had a loosely-enforced anti-bug regime (if I didn't do it, it probably didn't get done) Headphones were harder to sanitise even tho shared with all workers and guests. You and marksierra have me wondering about modern studio etiquette and cleaning. 


Man, all you guys are lucky.  You have the ability to telecommute and continue to earn a living. Think of everyone who doesn't have that option.  


My company has banned travel to any of the countries with Level 3 warning (duh) and we must get permission in advance from upper management to travel internationally.  Any travel internationally or domestically must be "essential."  Otherwise, offices are still open but they said stay home if you're sick (duh).  If employees feel uncomfortable with any travel/meetings/etc they are supposed to discuss with their manager. 


FilmCarp said:

Man, all you guys are lucky.  You have the ability to telecommute and continue to earn a living. Think of everyone who doesn't have that option.  

You're absolutely right. I've been working from home for years and I consider myself blessed for the ability to do so.

We forget sometimes that most people can't do their work by sitting at a computer and teleconferencing. They've got to show up to do their jobs.


Hah! You all have work! I’m wondering if interviews will be held - not everyone can do phone interviews. 


Hire animators from The Simpsons to help out.


I'm in the entertainment industry.  Nationwide thousands of my union brothers and sisters are being laid off, and we are all daily hires for things like concerts, etc, so there is no severance or anything like that.  I think the tv show my wife is working on will probably shut down next week.  We will live off savings and then our equity line, and I count us as among the fortunate.  And of course our pension funds are all in the market, but at least we have 15 years for that to recover.  


People are gonna have to help each other including ways to support the economy,consistent with safe practices. I saw this re restaurants:

Is delivery less risky than dining out?

The short answer is yes. The CDC is advising people at high risk in outbreak areas to have food brought to the house by family members or friends or by delivery services.

A number of services including Postmates and Doordash are letting customers request that deliveries be left on the doorstep to limit exposure even more. Doordash drivers are being advised to clean their cars and hot bags and urged to stay at home if they feel sick especially if they are suffering from respiratory symptoms.

Larry Lynch, senior vice president of certification and operations for the National Restaurant Association, said his group is advising restaurants to pay closer attention to drivers and make sure they aren't showing any symptoms before they go out on delivery runs.

“I think contactless delivery is a good alternative,” Chapman says. But, again, be sure to wash your hands after handling the packaging, though “we don’t really have a good sense that packaging is a good place to transfer this pathogen,” he says.



drummerboy said:

You're absolutely right. I've been working from home for years and I consider myself blessed for the ability to do so.

We forget sometimes that most people can't do their work by sitting at a computer and teleconferencing. They've got to show up to do their jobs.

 My brother works from home, and this morning he told me about what was in an email newsletter for work-at-home people, that he gets every morning:  "For you newbies, keep in mind that your phone has a mute button, for when you're on conference calls."


People who recover from the disease are going to be premium employment prospects for a while.  They should be recruited and paid by the healthcare industry (or government, whatever) to help out as this thing moves forward.


from New York Times, very interesting article:

Sorry, but Working From Home Is Overrated:
Home-cooked lunches and no commuting while we deal with coronavirus can’t compensate for what’s lost in creativity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/technology/working-from-home.html?referringSource=articleShare


There's no one size fits all answer to this.  I've been working mostly from home for many years and I'm fine with it.  Especially in big metro areas like ours, commuting is like a second job.  Does an extra 3 hours of multiple legs of commuting both ways make for a more productive "creative" work day?   Like many people who do this, I'm long into a regular rhythm of being in touch with my colleagues via email throughout the day so even joint-projects progress smoothly.


I work in the Comms Dept of a local university, and I think I mentioned in another thread that as of today, the school is closed, all classes go online starting Monday, and contingency plans have been put in place for resident students, including keeping certain dining halls open for food, etc. I was already working from home this week and have been told we're staying home until at least April 3. 

So the training classes I would normally do are postponed until further notice (I can't really do these online), and all our meetings (I'm usually only in one a week) are moving to google hangouts. Hopefully, there's a mute button on that! 

During this time, I have promised myself that I will not just spend all day eating all the food In the house.


ridski said:

 During this time, I have promised myself that I will not just spend all day eating all the food In the house

 Good luck with that. A few years ago I worked at home, remotely, full-time for a company in Bedminster and I hated it. I was bored, isolated and I gained at least 10 pounds. Now I work from home one or two days a week and I like it. During my remote days I get laundry done, sometimes get out to do food shopping and actually get a lot of work done at the same time.


bub said:

People who recover from the disease are going to be premium employment prospects for a while.  They should be recruited and paid by the healthcare industry (or government, whatever) to help out as this thing moves forward.

 Has it been determined that surviving infection conveys immunity?  I thought this was being debated.  


Th latest things I've read express skepticism about stories of people catching the disease a second time.  They think that an individual may improve and have a flare up without really having recovered. As always, of course, this is new uncharted territory.  


I worked from home for 15 years in my last corporate job.  I found that:

  • I got a lot more done (no people dropping by to chat).
  • I did not receive all the info I needed (people couldn't drop by to let me know things, which they never got around to document formally).
  • I was working way more than 40 hours a week (I was dealing with both customers and colleagues in Europe, Asia & Australia), since I was getting both calls & mails 24 hrs a day.

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

ridski said:

 During this time, I have promised myself that I will not just spend all day eating all the food In the house

 Good luck with that. A few years ago I worked at home, remotely, full-time for a company in Bedminster and I hated it. I was bored, isolated and I gained at least 10 pounds. Now I work from home one or two days a week and I like it. During my remote days I get laundry done, sometimes get out to do food shopping and actually get a lot of work done at the same time.

 I'm okay at it. I lost my job a few years ago and took a 6 month sabbatical to write, and I survived it. Did a Whole 30 thing and learned my way around the kitchen, which really helped. 

Next week, everyone will be home, which might change everything, though!


I enjoy the days I work from home, and I get a lot done because no one else is here.  If the kids and spouse are around, it will be a lot more distracting.... and I may even want my long commute to my quiet office where very few people will be.


FilmCarp - Wishing you the best and I hope this crisis is resolved soon. I see that Broadway has shut-down for six weeks. 


My son works for the NBA in Secaucus and the whole office starts WFH today.


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