Coronavirus and Anxiety

[wgeo]

Wow. Anyone paying attention to Dr. Fauchi's testimony on the Hill?

Yeah, I mean when guy in charge says the worst is yet to come and that it is 10 times deadlier then the seasonal flu I think we should be paying attention.

 

[hellow]

I'm shocked at some of the extreme measures - conferences getting cancelled/rescheduled, universities going on remote learning, etc. It's starting to feel like overkill. I'm worried about my senior mom contracting it, but otherwise it doesn't seem that so much caution is necessary.

Totally agree. Higher Ed already has the infrastructure in place to do online classes, and the word on the street is that it could also act as a way to get more people doing online classes. Those big buildings are expensive to maintain. Unfortunately, just the decision causes the domino effect for others to cancel out of panic. We all have to remember that a bad economy can make life hell for people too (especially those on the edge already).

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

Not worried about the coronavirus, I'm 25 and healthy. Also not worried about a lockdown, personally, because I'm a nurse and I'd be locked down at the hospital rotating shifts (similar to what we do for hurricanes). That sounds highly unlikely to happen, but that's my personal "worst case scenario" idea in my head.

You're going to be okay. I know what you mean about all of the shortages on basic necessities. That bothers me, too. The stores are getting stricter with 2-item limits. That'll be well controlled once the stores stock up. It's going to be okay! We'll make it through this one, just like we did with the others

 

[Lynne M]

And how would you see that? If the measures work and the virus doesn’t spread as expected, everyone will be chirping about overreaction. If the virus spreads regardless people will say measures weren’t taken early enough.

Very true. Kind of like Y2K. People look back now and say it was all a huge overreaction, because nothing disastrous happened.

Nothing disastrous happened because many thousands of people in the IT industry worked their backsides off for the two years prior to Y2K, fixing bad code, upgrading operating systems, updating databases, making sure our customers' equipment was able to support the date change, and staffing round-the-clock over the Y2K weekend to fix the issues that did come up as quickly as possible.

 

[Lynne M]

Totally agree. Higher Ed already has the infrastructure in place to do online classes, and the word on the street is that it could also act as a way to get more people doing online classes. Those big buildings are expensive to maintain. Unfortunately, just the decision causes the domino effect for others to cancel out of panic. We all have to remember that a bad economy can make life hell for people too (especially those on the edge already).

It's not panic, it's solid public health policy and has been for a long time. You've probably seen the terms "social distancing" and "flattening the curve" in the news. That's the goal of closing schools, canceling events and having people work from home.

Social distancing means reducing the number of large gatherings of people. The fewer such gatherings there are, the fewer opportunities for the virus to spread. If you do it right and do it enough, you can slow the rate of spread and reduce infections, reducing the impact on the health care system (and the economy).

Flattening the curve means that you slow the rate of spread (through measures like social distancing), so that the patients are not slamming your health care system all at once. Italy is an unfortunate example of what happens when there's a huge spike in patients hitting the hospitals. They're completely overwhelmed, to the point that doctors are having to make some ugly decisions about who to save and who to let go. Because they simply can't treat the number of patients they have.

Institutions like Harvard are doing this on the basis of guidance from public health experts.

 

[MikeNamez]

Someone needs to start an Employer web site of shame that points out the worst responses from an employer to the Coronavirus. Telling people that if they work from home they have to use a sick day, puts your employer up near the top for now.

Yesterday we just had a report that an employee tested positive who came from CA recently and visited 3 different offices, one which is right down the street from me(Less than 1 min)....

Today, HR just sent out an email stating it is STRONGLY advised for all corporate employees to work from home if they have the ability too. Every one in my office does, but my Manager told us if we chose to do that it would directly impact our end of year review (Bonus and raises). This is a MAJOR retailer in the US who actually just released a public statement a few days ago about how they care for employees safety. Its all PR nonsense.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Yesterday we just had a report that an employee tested positive who came from CA recently and visited 3 different offices, one which is right down the street from me(Less than 1 min)....

Today, HR just sent out an email stating it is STRONGLY advised for all corporate employees to work from home if they have the ability too. Every one in my office does, but my Manager told us if we chose to do that it would directly impact our end of year review (Bonus and raises). This is a MAJOR retailer in the US who actually just released a public statement a few days ago about how they care for employees safety. Its all PR nonsense.

Any way o get word to upper management about your manager? Sounds like someone needs to be moved to the unemployment line.

 

[MikeNamez]

Any way o get word to upper management about your manager? Sounds like someone needs to be moved to the unemployment line.

There are ways for sure, but honestly no1 else around here seems to care to much other than myself... Probably because my wife is pregnant so I'm trying to be extra cautious. I'll be working from home regardless of the impact and looking for a new job. Long time coming.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

There are ways for sure, but honestly no1 else around here seems to care to much other than myself... Probably because my wife is pregnant so I'm trying to be extra cautious. I'll be working from home regardless of the impact and looking for a new job. Long time coming.

Good luck with the job search, and congratulations on your pregnancy!

 

[yoopermom]

I've tried to explain "social distancing" to my elderly parents and in-laws, but they are *still* going out to restaurants, stores, church, etc, almost every single day (and all have other serious issues....). Sigh....

Terri

 

[katie01]

I've tried to explain "social distancing" to my elderly parents and in-laws, but they are *still* going out to restaurants, stores, church, etc, almost every single day (and all have other serious issues....). Sigh....

Terri

Same, mine served dinner to a large church group, cleaning up everyone's dirty plates and silverware afterwards

 

[RamblingMad]

Same, mine served dinner to a large church group, cleaning up everyone's dirty plates and silverware afterwards

Much safer to get an app for this.

 

[gotomu212]

I can't help but wonder if some of these reactions is because a university doesn't want to be "the one" where the infection spreads. So after several shut down, it leaves the others wondering "what if." I guess we will soon see what is over reaction vs. what was really needed.

There are some very unique issues with college students on campus. You have thousands of 18-22 year olds living away from home without local family support. Even if this is “mild” and you get the flu- that could still mean stuck in bed and in need of care. Families are typically the ones that nurse us when we have “minor” illnesses, and if you have thousands of kids without support the schools have to step up to provide that care. That’s one reason there is such a push to close some schools and have kids back “home”.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I've tried to explain "social distancing" to my elderly parents and in-laws, but they are *still* going out to restaurants, stores, church, etc, almost every single day (and all have other serious issues....). Sigh....

Terri

My MIL is still working the huge book sale at her church. My husband told them they need to distance, but I guess they are not, unless the sale gets canceled.

 

[sailorstitch]

Someone needs to start an Employer web site of shame that points out the worst responses from an employer to the Coronavirus. Telling people that if they work from home they have to use a sick day, puts your employer up near the top for now.

Yesterday we just had a report that an employee tested positive who came from CA recently and visited 3 different offices, one which is right down the street from me(Less than 1 min)....

Today, HR just sent out an email stating it is STRONGLY advised for all corporate employees to work from home if they have the ability too. Every one in my office does, but my Manager told us if we chose to do that it would directly impact our end of year review (Bonus and raises). This is a MAJOR retailer in the US who actually just released a public statement a few days ago about how they care for employees safety. Its all PR nonsense.

These are the type of things that are giving me the most anxiety. Employers should be making exceptions to their sick days policies for people who test positive for Coronavirus. I don't think many are.

At my job full time employees get 10 sick days a year. Part time employees get 5. Doctors notes will not excuse you. If you miss, you miss. We also use a rolling calendar. If you use a day in April, you don't get that day back until the next April. Any full-time employees (that has used even one sick day in the last 12 months) and any part time employees that needs to do a 2 week quarantine will be fired when they return.

The only exception my employer is making is for employees that travel to countries like China or Italy. Those employees are allowed to do a 2 week quarantine when they return to the states. But not any employees that might catch it locally.

I had the flu last summer, so if I catch the Coronavirus and am forced to quarantine I WILL BE FIRED. No ifs, ands or buts about it. If my doctor wants to quarantine me, there's going to need to be an armed guard at the door. I would willingly do a quarantine if it didn't cost me my job.

 

[RamblingMad]

These are the type of things that are giving me the most anxiety. Employers should be making exceptions to their sick days policies for people who test positive for Coronavirus. I don't think many are.

At my job full time employees get 10 sick days a year. Part time employees get 5. Doctors notes will not excuse you. If you miss, you miss. We also use a rolling calendar. If you use a day in April, you don't get that day back until the next April. Any full-time employees (that has used even one sick day in the last 12 months) and any part time employees that needs to do a 2 week quarantine will be fired when they return.

The only exception my employer is making is for employees that travel to countries like China or Italy. Those employees are allowed to do a 2 week quarantine when they return to the states. But not any employees that might catch it locally.

I had the flu last summer, so if I catch the Coronavirus and am forced to quarantine I WILL BE FIRED. No ifs, ands or buts about it. If my doctor wants to quarantine me, there's going to need to be an armed guard at the door. I would willingly do a quarantine if it didn't cost me my job.

As a manager, if my employees got this, I’d let them work from home paid. And if they couldn’t work, I’d still not count it against them. I wouldn’t count it as sick time. I just wouldn’t have them enter it into our system. Sometimes the rules don’t work for every situation. You have to be flexible. Sure, I’m breaking the rules, but I know my boss knows I’ll do what’s best for my employees. And they like low turnover.

 

[pryncess527]

As a manager, if my employees got this, I’d let them work from home paid. And if they couldn’t work, I’d still not count it against them. I wouldn’t count it as sick time. I just wouldn’t have them enter it into our system. Sometimes the rules don’t work for every situation. You have to be flexible. Sure, I’m breaking the rules, but I know my boss knows I’ll do what’s best for my employees. And they like low turnover.

I’ve been fortunate enough in life that most of my bosses were like you, but not all. And I fear the nice bosses are in the minority. We are about to find out

 

[sailorstitch]

As a manager, if my employees got this, I’d let them work from home paid. And if they couldn’t work, I’d still not count it against them. I wouldn’t count it as sick time. I just wouldn’t have them enter it into our system. Sometimes the rules don’t work for every situation. You have to be flexible. Sure, I’m breaking the rules, but I know my boss knows I’ll do what’s best for my employees. And they like low turnover.

Sadly, my job isn't one that I can do from home or anywhere else.

 

[rjb123]

my friend works as a nurse in a large hospital system and was told yesterday that if they get the virus and need to be quarantined because of caring for a patient, they have to use sick time and it counts against their absences. They are NOT considering it workers comp, they consider it to be essentially "laying out of work". This is NOT going to go well here. Just saying. I am SO glad that I am not working right now (retired from nursing).

 

[Kittyblue]

I've tried to explain "social distancing" to my elderly parents and in-laws, but they are *still* going out to restaurants, stores, church, etc, almost every single day (and all have other serious issues....). Sigh....

Terri

That's my mom. No way she's giving up bingo or her quilting group