Essential Employees

[disneychrista]

I work for an essential government service and am therefore considered an essential employee.

Are you an essential employee? How do you feel about risking your health for your employer? Do you feel you ARE an essential employee?

I am glad my job & livelihood is secure, that goes without saying. But I also can't wait to go home where I feel safe. I go to work and come home, that's it. I would prefer to just stay home. It doesn't help that some position have been put on admin leave and don't have to come in (or only come in half time). While we have reduced public access/services I still do not feel "safe" being exposed to other employees who may or may not be following the same "stay at home" protocol that I am.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

All of our employees are essential which is why we found a way to let them work from home when at all possible.

 

[Farro]

I'm an essential employee - defined as supporting the operations in place for Covid for our hospital system.

I'm home working right now, but we are assigned to labor pools and I can be called in to do things like take temps of people wanting tests, direct people where to go , etc.

I'm fine with that.

 

[Wendy31]

DH is an essential employee & a first responder/firefighter at a power station. He’s expecting to be sequestered at work sometime this week & has started packing.

 

[low-key]

My money is fine, but Im becoming like a caged lion, Im worried about how many jobs will be lost as we get the economy moving again. I worry about my daughter, will her employer decide he has to layoff people. Im hoping we just keep social distance and open the world back up

 

[SaintsManiac]

I don't work. My husband is an essential employee. Hurricanes, pandemics, whatever! He has to be available. We have a "pass" to put in our cars should we feel the need. He can work from home, but has been running out to equipment centers and the office this week.

 

[RedAngie]

My employer has been deemed an essential business in all the states in which it operates. I'm an administrative and support employee who can and has been working at home since the beginning of last week. However, I'm subject to being called into a retail location if necessary, as it was last Thursday night for several hours.

 

[bcla]

I don't work. My husband is an essential employee. Hurricanes, pandemics, whatever! He has to be available. We have a "pass" to put in our cars should we feel the need.

A neighbor of mine works for our county and while he's been mostly working from home has been taking a work vehicle home. I think it's in order to make any typical visits straight from home rather than from the office. He'd normally drive a personal vehicle to work and then have this marked vehicle available to give somewhat of an air of authority. It's frankly kind of scary looking because he deals with dangerous things. If I didn't know that's what he did for a living I'd be scared that there was some sort of emergency in my neighborhood.

 

[disykat]

My husband is essential, but working from home. He was "lucky" because I am considered high risk, his job classification was changed so he could work from home. I am not essential because I only work on call and my work places are all closed. The only people in my immediate family that are working outside their home right now are my DIL, who works in a hospital and takes extra clothes etc. to work in case she is locked in and my son, who is a police officer and will be out and about regardless. It's amazing how many people I know for whom working at home was never an option are now at home working on their computers!

I'm so thankful for all those who are essential during this crisis! I'm also thankful for all those who don't want to be at home, but are doing so for the greater good.

 

[DuskKodesh]

I'm essential... somehow. I'm not happy being put at risk honestly. I wish we'd limit the store to pickup only. I've got older coworkers, people I care about and we're still getting people in and whole families who just browse. We hear a cough and we all get tense. I'm three days a week, extreme part time as a hiring condition and they're trying to find any way they can to up my hours.

 

[low-key]

How can you say you are hoping we keep social distancing and open the world back up, yet chastise me on the other thread for reporting a large group of people in the park

Im a complicated person, lol, hey i see your view, and I was generalizing , nothing personal.

 

[SaintsManiac]

A neighbor of mine works for our county and while he's been mostly working from home has been taking a work vehicle home. I think it's in order to make any typical visits straight from home rather than from the office. He'd normally drive a personal vehicle to work and then have this marked vehicle available to give somewhat of an air of authority. It's frankly kind of scary looking because he deals with dangerous things. If I didn't know that's what he did for a living I'd be scared that there was some sort of emergency in my neighborhood.

I wish my husband could bring the company vehicle home. That would make it easier. He works for the local telecommunications company. He has to keep the internet on for everyone working and schooling from home.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

I provide/produce the seafood that people eat, we haven’t been deemed “”stay at home” yet but I really can’t see how I wouldn’t be considered essential, Along with the contract workers, boat owners, and suppliers that I deal with. We really don’t work in close quarters, boat owners are 1-3 persons per, shop workers are usually spaced 1-2 per room depending on the process but it’s easily spread out if necessary. I supply my delivery drivers with disposable gloves to where at each destination. We’re doing what we can.

 

[RangerPooh]

Both DH and I are considered essential and we’re at the office until Monday, then the campus was closed. Now it’s work from home until further notice.

 

[Someone28624]

I'm a nurse, so yep, essential. I don't really feel like my life is being put at risk at this point. I'm high risk if I get it, but thankfully I'm not a direct patient care nurse so I've been avoiding going in rooms. We've only had a couple confirmed COVID-19 cases.

 

[bcla]

I provide/produce the seafood that people eat, I really can’t see how I wouldn’t be considered essential, Along with the contract workers, boat owners, and suppliers that I deal with. We really don’t work in close quarters, boat owners are 1-3 persons per, shop workers are usually spaced 1-2 per room depending on the process but it’s easily spread out if necessary. I supply my delivery drivers with disposable gloves to where at each destination. We’re doing what we can.

I was reading that some fishing boats in my state were coming back last week with little to no knowledge of the shutdowns and cratering prices. In particular, one boat had a malfunctioning radio so they weren't checking out the news until they got close enough to shore to pull in a TV signal and find out. The prearranged buyers weren't showing up since they wouldn't be able to sell to restaurants and markets. I saw something about one boat deciding to unload its catch to individual buyers at the dock.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Fishermen-return-from-sea-with-big-catch-no-15147954.php
This report said that one boat dumped $80,000 worth of squid since they couldn't sell it and they couldn't store it.

 

[bcla]

I wish my husband could bring the company vehicle home. That would make it easier. He works for the local telecommunications company. He has to keep the internet on for everyone working and schooling from home.

Well - my neighbor is a government worker and it's got exempt plates and everything. I think he's kind of like the K-9 police officer allowed to use a police vehicle home. Still - he normally wouldn't be taking this vehicle home, but he's basically home all the time now.

 

[wenrob]

My DH is essential. He’s a power plant operator. They make power not just for our city/state but other cities/states as well. The boss and maintenance guy stay in their own offices and direct from there. The two operators on shift have plenty of space to spread out if they happen to be in the same area at the same time. They’ve outfitted the place with plenty of sanitizer etc. and take the whole thing pretty seriously. They’ve talked about doing two week 24/7 shifts and alternating. Hasn’t come to pass yet. DH doesn’t seem worried about it at all.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

My husband is an essential employee. He works for one of the major freight rail companies on the east coast. We’re both concerned. Although our state is on a shelter in place order & cases are popping up all over, he still has to be on the rails & staying in hotels many nights a week.
Needless to say, he has been bringing his own disinfecting supplies for the hotel rooms. He was given a letter from the Department of Homeland Security to keep in his vehicle in order to be able to commute to the freight yard.

 

[WeatherLights]

I'm an essential employee (I mean, not me personally, but my job that I'm currently doing is an essential job). I don't feel like I'm taking risks for my employer but, rather, to continue to provide the essential service to the community. I've never really felt like I do my work to serve me employer, though, because i'm employed by the government so my work is a public service! If it was solely to benefit my employer I would be huddled at home, for sure!