Covid-19 lockdown check-in

[Duque de Bragança]

On the plus side, Vienna is offering free flu shots this year; this will be the first time in my life that I go and get one

I did not know you were that old. 

[Syt]

What does it have to do with age? They're offering it to everyone in Vienna.

[Duque de Bragança]

Risk populations have been getting flu shots for free for quite a while now, depending on the countries.

[Syt]

The way it works is you have to pay the vaccine, but the shot is free.

[DontSayBanana]

You tell them life is really hard right now, and it has made you sick.  Sick days are given and to be used, in my opinion.  At where I am UC unless it is multiple days in a row or affecting the overall team there are no questions asked.

As some words of advice, this is not the time to take on more things.  Slow down the MBA, take mental health days, and find something wildly distracting.

I've told my advisor that due to real-life stress, I'm going to work at "typical" speed for the time being. If it takes me two years to complete the MBA, then that's what it's going to take. I simply can't push myself on that right now.

As for mental health days, those will be few and far between due to work deadlines but the moment that I can swing an afternoon off, you can bet your ass I'm going to do so. Maybe load the dog up and head east to breathe.

Meri, does your job provide an EAP? I know ours is through a third party that's been paid up-front, so it takes away the perverse incentive for them to steer you back to work when things get tough, as opposed to trusting HR who are there to look out for the company first and the employee as an afterthought.

[Caliga]

My company has extended working from home thru to January.

[DontSayBanana]

My company has extended working from home thru to January.

We're starting to bring people back in, but only volunteers and, soon, low performers who may improve from working less independently. Apparently, 2 CEOs ago, we had a real old-school guy who didn't want to hear any part of WFH, and the new guy sees this as a win-win in terms of cutting leasing costs and attracting choosier talent in management and development.

Sadly, since I only came in-house in June, once we have a mandatory return date, I won't be eligible to apply for any WFH days until mid-December.

[Caliga]

Yeah, if you want you can go in to the office now, but I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork to do it, so I haven't bothered yet.  I really do miss being in there sometimes, though.

[Valmy]

My company has extended working from home thru to January.

I have a court date for a transmission line right before Christmas. I am hoping for a pre-Christmas miracle and hoping we can all be in court for that date but I have a feeling I will still be testifying from home

Come on Big Pharma! All I want for Christmas is a Covid vaccine!

[Sheilbh]

My employer currently calculates with a 65% maximum attendance rate for offices, i.e. there will only be enough desks for 65% of the employees. You have to pick a desk in the morning and completely clean it in the evening. Your personal stuff goes into a locker. They are already decreasing office space by ending rental agreements.

There will be much less demand for office space in.the future. The landlords already start their "socialize our losses" campaign. Same as the owners of now too expensive high street shop spaces.

We're still at 25% in any area (e.g. by floor). But they're starting to ease the restrictions so you don't need very senior approval to go into the office (from October), just approval based on capacity levels. Apparently no expectation that anyone'll be back in the office this side of December unless they really need/want to be (and I wouldn't be surprised if we're all in full lockdown again come December).

Also I get the impression that basically no big company in the city is moving fast on this - they're all being very cautious no matter how much exhortations they receive to bring people back to work. Speaking to friends I know two people who have actually been back to the office since this started. One works in a small company and has stuff they need to do physically, the other one does research so needs to go to the lab so again there's a physical need.

[Caliga]

Come on Big Pharma! All I want for Christmas is a Covid vaccine!

[Tamas]

Come on Big Pharma! All I want for Christmas is a Covid vaccine!

Hells yeah. If I can't fly home on Christmas it is going to be one year without seeing my family and friends. Not acceptable.

[DontSayBanana]

We're still at 25% in any area (e.g. by floor). But they're starting to ease the restrictions so you don't need very senior approval to go into the office (from October), just approval based on capacity levels. Apparently no expectation that anyone'll be back in the office this side of December unless they really need/want to be (and I wouldn't be surprised if we're all in full lockdown again come December).

Also I get the impression that basically no big company in the city is moving fast on this - they're all being very cautious no matter how much exhortations they receive to bring people back to work. Speaking to friends I know two people who have actually been back to the office since this started. One works in a small company and has stuff they need to do physically, the other one does research so needs to go to the lab so again there's a physical need.

Yeah, we're being absolutely glacial at this. We started with allowing 4% as volunteers, 10% this week also as volunteers, and then 20% of our office capacity on a mandatory basis starting mid-next month... we're projecting to up that to 40% (the most we can maintain social distancing) at the beginning of January and stay there for the foreseeable future.

[Grey Fox]

My work place started to going back in early June & were ready to bring us all back on a full time measure this last monday. It took weeks of pressure but that plan was scrapped when management finally understood that we were capped at a max 25% capacity for office workers by Public Health rules.

As we are in the midst of going to back isolation measures in the next weeks here in Quebec, I expect that capacity to not be raised at all before January or anything higher than 50% until the spring. So I'm home for the foreseeable future.

[garbon]

I just blow dryed and picked out my hair for the first time since lock down. Have a decent junior sized afro.