Covid-19

[The Unknown Poster]

Vegas’ new marketing slogan. “Las Vegas: Lets see how many people die”

[tacklewasher]

9 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Vegas’ new marketing slogan. “Las Vegas: Lets see how many people die”

Holy ****. That is one stupid lady.

[Noeller]

the elected officials who make these decisions should be held responsible for the COVID deaths that happen as a result.... negligent manslaughter or something. 

[Mr Dee]

37 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Vegas’ new marketing slogan. “Las Vegas: Lets see how many people die”

It’s becoming more and more evident that the US has two viruses going around. The obvious Covid-19 and a brand new one that has surfaced within the last few months. This one is hideous and staring Americans right in the face, but it is seemingly undetectable. It’s a brain disorder. It appears to be spreading faster than Trump’s insults. 
Hey, that’s it. 
Donspinrus-20. Highly contagious, but only amongst those with an IQ as evident as the length of Trump’s ties.

Edited April 22, 2020 by Mr Dee

[bustamente]

Again there's always a tweet

 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

8 minutes ago, bustamente said:

Again there's always a tweet

 

Yup... always a tweet

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

some much needed good news and inspiration.

 

 

 

 

[SpeedFlex27]

7 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I agree 100%.  And you'll see it, I think.  You'll see companies allow it and you'll see a lot of push back from employees when companies dont.  I know among my co-workers, some prefer being in the building, either because they feel more productive or miss the social interaction.  But for others, its amazing.  Totally changes the work-life balance.  I think companies just feel like, if they cant see you every second, you're probably up to no good.  But its really no different then managing employee productivity in an office.

I have a feeling my workplace will fight tooth and nail against it, with no real reasoning.  I hope Im wrong.  

I'm one of those employees who needs the structure & discipline of a dedicated workplace. I don't think I'd do very well working at home long term. Now, under a pandemic maybe I'd have changed my mind as I'd be forced to but I sometimes lack the discipline to do well at it. I was an Independent Claims Adjuster in Thompson 30 years ago. I travelled all over Northern Manitoba. I had a small one man office & a secretary. I routinely put in 50-60 hour work weeks including weekends  so I know I can work independently. But I left my home every day. Put on a suit & away I went. I didn't work in my pyjamas, not shave everyday or go without a shower. Being a school bus driver now in the twilight of my twilight working career I'll never find out if I could have made the change either. I always looked at it that my home is my shelter away from work or a boss who was a prick.  (Had a couple of those).  When I wanted to get away from the workplace my solitude was my home. I didn't want my work brought to it. 

[Noeller]

I also prefer the brick and mortar workplace. I enjoy the interaction with most of my coworkers and minions. I also lack the motivation to be overly productive at home. 

[Tracker]

7 hours ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ohs-cargill-inspection-high-river-covid-outbreak-death-meat-processing-1.5539263

OSH inspection by video call...? Unreal.

Welcome to Alberta's rigorous inspection program. You may recall something like this happened with tainted meat at Brooks a few years ago. And you don't want to hear about their (alleged) housing inspection program.

[GCJenks]

I like working from home and can be very productive doing. In to this cuurentb5 week stretch I am over it. I need the freedom to go the office when I need or want too. I need to be able to have personal interactions with coworkers and customers. 
 

4 hours of video and conference calls today does not match the need of being person to person at times. 
 

An interesting conversation was repeated a few times today, is the hand shake dead? Will you ever be comfortable shaking hands again?

[SpeedFlex27]

7 minutes ago, GCJenks said:

I like working from home and can be very productive doing. In to this cuurentb5 week stretch I am over it. I need the freedom to go the office when I need or want too. I need to be able to have personal interactions with coworkers and customers. 
 

4 hours of video and conference calls today does not match the need of being person to person at times. 
 

An interesting conversation was repeated a few times today, is the hand shake dead? Will you ever be comfortable shaking hands again?

We'll return to normal. The handshake will make a comeback as will hugs once the pandemic is over. We are creatures of habit. If wars can go on when we know of the ugliness & atrocities without seeming to learn any lessons then a simple handshake won't go away either. 

[The Unknown Poster]

Personally I find myself more productive working from home.  But if I had to have endless video conferences that would get annoying.  
 

I do hope my company allows people to work from home who want to.  There’s no good reason not to allow it now.  And it makes sense to have a percentage of workforce split between office and home.  
 

Other  things too. Our company has field workers and over the years many would have their work vans at home and go straight to their first appointment.  Company got rid of that. You have to meet at an area office every morning for manager face time.  During this pandemic they reverted to home dispatch. Only makes sense to continue.  
 

Far too much connectivity to think your staff is ditching work without you knowing. 

[GCJenks]

3 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Personally I find myself more productive working from home.  But if I had to have endless video conferences that would get annoying.  
 

I do hope my company allows people to work from home who want to.  There’s no good reason not to allow it now.  And it makes sense to have a percentage of workforce split between office and home.  
 

Other  things too. Our company has field workers and over the years many would have their work vans at home and go straight to their first appointment.  Company got rid of that. You have to meet at an area office every morning for manager face time.  During this pandemic they reverted to home dispatch. Only makes sense to continue.  
 

Far too much connectivity to think your staff is ditching work without you knowing. 

It has its time and place for sure. I can absolutely be more productive at home when I need to complete a certain project or such but creativity and collaboration are best fostered with other people around.

 

Some companies have been forced to have field service workers pick up trucks from a central point as a cost cutting measure. If you ever travel through any of the bedroom communities they are filled with work/ company vehicles. Staff often putting 100km/ day or more on company vehicles and fuel to live where they want to live. Some of those costs need to be the expense of the employee. Sadly it ends up costing everyone the freedom of doing the work the best way for the sake of saving costs spent by a few. 

[GCJenks]

21 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

We'll return to normal. The handshake will make a comeback as will hugs once the pandemic is over. We are creatures of habit. If wars can go on when we know of the ugliness & atrocities without seeming to learn any lessons then a simple handshake won't go away either. 

That is one opinion, not the prevailing one from my discussions today. I foresee a return to hugging people you know and are close to coming back long before shaking the hand of a stranger. 
 

It already is not a standard greeting in all cultures and as we continue to diversify I can see it fading completely. 

[SpeedFlex27]

1 minute ago, GCJenks said:

That is one opinion, not the prevailing one from my discussions today. I foresee a return to hugging people you know and are close to coming back long before shaking the hand of a stranger. 
 

It already is not a standard greeting in all cultures and as we continue to diversify I can see it fading completely. 

Well, kind of pointless to discuss this during a pandemic when we are freaking out having to go to the grocery store. You really can't have a logical discussion. 

[The Unknown Poster]

 

[Tracker]

Trump's Geniusity Strikes Again!

The head of the Department of Health and Human Services tapped a 37-year-old former dog breeder with no public health experience to lead the government’s “day-to-day” response to the coronavirus to disastrous effect, Reuters reports. HHS Secretary Alex Azar chose Brian Harrison, who from 2012 to 2018 ran a company called Dallas Labradoodles that sold mixed dog breeds, to be his chief of staff in 2019 and later promoted him to coordinate the nation’s coronavirus task force. 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/alex-azar-hhs-secretary-tapped-former-dog-breeder-to-lead-early-government-coronavirus-task-force-report?ref=home

[Brandon]

 

3 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I do hope my company allows people to work from home who want to.  There’s no good reason not to allow it now.  And it makes sense to have a percentage of workforce split between office and home.  

I'm in IT and even I've seen resistance from the "old guard".   It's the old guard mentality that if someone is at home that they can't possibly be productive.

It's a weird kind of thinking where if these bosses really do not trust their employees then why did they hire them in the first place?

 

[SpeedFlex27]

Old guard? Funny how age is always brought into the conversation in situations like this. How about saying it's all about what a person is used to doing. If someone like myself prefers an actual working environment away from home it's just what I'm used to as I've always had a workplace to go to. I've always enjoyed personal interaction with my co workers & I'd miss that working from home. Doesn't mean I can't work at home or won't adapt. There are tens of millions of bad & lazy employees out there worldwide that will take advantage of everything they can to get out of doing as much work as possible but still demand to get paid. No matter what their age is. Employers have a right not to trust them & be concerned about their output. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by SpeedFlex27

[Fatty Liver]

27 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Old guard? Funny how age is always brought into the conversation in situations like this. How about saying it's all about what a person is used to doing. If someone like myself prefers an actual working environment away from home it's just what I'm used to as I've always had a workplace to go to. I've always enjoyed personal interaction with my co workers & I'd miss that working from home. Doesn't mean I can't work at home or won't adapt. There are tens of millions of bad & lazy employees out there worldwide that will take advantage of everything they can to get out of doing as much work as possible but still demand to get paid. No matter what their age is. Employers have a right not to trust them & be concerned about their output. 

 

Hell they've had software that can track your monitor activity for over 20 years, if an employer want to know exactly what employees are doing  with their time, it's not difficult for them to find out.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Throw Long Bannatyne

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Hell they've had software that can track your monitor activity for over 20 years, if an employer want to know exactly what employees are doing  with their time, it's not difficult for them to find out.

The insurance company I worked for in Calgary back in the early 2000's knew if we were on the internet even on our breaks. They did not want us surfing the net even on our coffee breaks or at lunch.  Pretty serious consequences if you did like a verbal & written warning first & then being fired if you kept on doing it. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by SpeedFlex27

[Eternal optimist]

22 hours ago, Tracker said:

Reports out of the US yesterday confirm that the Trump administration is looking to shield employers from criminal and civil liability if they force employees to work without protective equipment or rules and thus contract the Coronavirus. If employees refuse to work under these circumstances, they would be denied UI benefits. Ain't America great?

Land of the free, home of the infected.

[do or die]

Was working at home (project based), for certain periods of time, before this crap hit the fan.....

But I do have to VC, far more often than I would like.  A lot of them are a complete waste of my time.   But, a lot of incompetent management types are in love with these, as they make them look engaged and busy - simply another way of "justifying" their phony baloney jobs.   The same types who don't know how to hold productive meetings, in the first place......

Like not having to get up, until 10 minutes before work, no taking the bus, or sitting in a cubicle, downtown, and being able to stretch, listen to my favorite music, drink my own coffee, have a gin, talk to my partner, make a good lunch, save money et al......

When the smoke clears, I will be pushing to do this full time, until retirement.    Have more than enough focus and self-discipline to do this.    Prefer the social interactions, outside of the workplace, anyways.

 

[The Unknown Poster]

Yeah to me, even the responses here, tell me that the obvious thing is for companies to not be so rigid.  You have X people who prefer being in the office and you have X people who prefer work from home.  Seems like an obvious win-win.  This pandemic has shown us that it would be foolish to have 100% of your work force trapped in close quarters in an office anyway.  I do think my company will declare everything safe eventually and do just that which is absurd.

It reminds me of when I started for current company.  Quick aside: I started in a department that was open 7am-9pm and on weekends.  Probably 50 people or so.  Every week or two the schedule would come out and it was like it went through a randomizer or was pulled from a hat.  Two weeks later, new schedule comes out, same thing.  So you could be days one week, evenings the next etc etc.  And when the schedule was released, half a day was spent with everyone frantically trying to switch shifts to make their life work.

So being the new guy I asked about this and everyone said "thats how it is, it sucks and they wont change it."  So I go to the dedicated scheduling person to ask and she says, everyone would want days if they had a choice so this way, its equally crappy for everyone.  I said, how do you know everyone would want days.  And she said of course they would.  Because SHE wanted days, she assumed everyone did.  But we had students who had school, people with second jobs, people with kids with spouses working opposite shifts etc etc.  I even raised it at our quarterly session with the VP and he deferred to the manager who said "its too hard to accommodate everyone's requests." and shut me down.

A year or so later, new scheduling person.  First thing he does is send out a questionnaire asking people for their first, second and third preferences.  When I asked him he said "why would I want to build a new schedule every two weeks when I can build a master schedule, give most people their preference and only have to make adjustments?  Ummm yeah, exactly.  He told me 90% of people got their preference and whomever didnt, it was by seniority.  And it vastly cut down on the shift swap emails (increasing productivity).

Sometimes, management gets so used to doing something, they simply cant see why a different way is better.  In my current department, when I arrived I was shocked at how toxic it was, how miserable everyone was, people sobbing at their desks etc.   Its only slightly better but I always think of the saying "you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink."