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

bub said:

I was always skeptical of the surgical-masks-are-useless advice.  I understand the need to give healthcare workers priority on surgical masks though.  If you feel the need, there are videos on line about how to make a mask out of a shirt.

Even the bit about giving healthcare workers priority is a bit goofy. I assume hospitals don't send someone down to Walgreens to get masks - they order from a supplier. If things ever got so bad that they had to go to Walgreen's, there wouldn't be any masks there anyway.

The answer, obviously, is to increase the supply and direct it towards medical suppliers, if that's possible.

I always figured I could just take a bandana and tie it around my nose and mouth. Gotta be better than nothing. More stylish too. 

I work for a sizeable consulting firm and this morning they mandated remote work for all staff - whether for those who typically work on client site or from one of our offices.  Should be quite interesting. 

Work for an international investment mgmt firm in NYC.  We were already on 50/50 in-office/work-from-home last week or so, but we just decided this weekend to go completely to work-from-home unless critically required in office.  For those who have to be in, firm is paying for car transportation upon request, and also nearby housing if needed.

chalmers said:

Despite the fact that most workers can do their jobs from home pretty easily, our company's current policy is "Fingers Crossed!"

 After a "don't come in if you're sick, but business as usual" e-mail late Friday evening, we just switched to continuity planning where most workers can stay from home and managers come in the next two days to set things up for the new normal.

I work at Rutgers National Call Center (part of Rutgers Behavioral Health Services – RBHS). The Call Center is a large room (over 100 cubicles) that houses the NJ Helpline, the NJ Addiction line, as well as many peer programs (for cops, vets, caregivers of those with dementia, moms of kids with special needs). Some of the vets remain in the Guard and are occasionally deployed over-seas but then return to the center. It’s a locked room – no windows open and the ventilation sucks.

Call Center leadership refuses to consider a work from home option. From my cube, which is a shared workspace since we’re all part time (per diem, no benefits, no raises) I could reach out and touch 5 other people without leaving my desk area.

Call Center leadership is considering moving half the staff of each program to another physical location so that when people start getting sick, all the peers on one of the lines won’t all get sick at the same time.

Their disregard for the health of all of us workers – and our families - is appalling.

The fact that a health care organization is willing to put the health of so many employees at risk is unconscionable. Go Rutgers!

I brought home everything I wanted to have from my desk (like my UMDNJ – call center was UMDNJ before the Rutgers takeover - Excellence Award) last Friday….

bub said:

I was always skeptical of the surgical-masks-are-useless advice.  I understand the need to give healthcare workers priority on surgical masks though.  If you feel the need, there are videos on line about how to make a mask out of a shirt.

 There are two points to wearing a surgical mask:

1) While not anywhere near perfect, they do prevent large size particles from emerging when someone sneezes or coughs; and

2) If everyone wears masks, it removes the social stigma for those who are wearing them who simply have colds and don't want to spread them.  

And I think the masks, along with aggressive contact tracing, free testing (free health care), and closed borders seem to have largely stopped the virus in Hong Kong (though authorities are saying no school openings until 28 straight days of no new cases).