haapai
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Post by haapai on Apr 3, 2020 11:56:08 GMT -5
That's what my grocery store and every other grocer in my stay-at-home state is trumpeting. The jobs are part time and likely temporary, but the public message, and the message being transmitted to employees is "we need and will take every body (sic) that you can possibly send our way. Talk up the job."
I work for a grocery store. I'm scratching my head. I get it that our shelves have been decimated and will take weeks to restock given current (much slowed-down, from what I can surmise) levels of sales. I get it that another big scare or bit of bad news will empty our shelves again.
But I also know that it can take weeks to get an applicant on the job.
I'm also old enough to understand that after this boom of sales comes one hellacious recession.
So I ask you, are my employers hiring to replace us when we drop? Are they claiming to be hiring as a good neighbor PR exercise? Are they claiming to be hiring just so they can get a list of prospects? Are they planning on going curbside and delivery only? Are they expecting more stringent social distancing requirements to slow down our operations?
I'm really quite confused because I honestly can't see work for these folks in a few weeks unless the current workers are unable to work. Any insights? Any leaking or tattling regarding what's behind this?
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 3, 2020 12:05:29 GMT -5
Weeks for training? Or weeks to get them started working?
Grocery stores are quite busy, and wasn't it you that pointed out how much labor is transferred to the employees with online ordering. I would think a place like WalMart could train a person in a day or two to pick groceries off the shelves.
Also, they are probably trying to be good community partners. There are a lot of wait staff that could at least get a little money by stocking shelves or whatever.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Apr 3, 2020 12:21:09 GMT -5
Typically, it takes weeks to get someone started working, or even called back. Historically, there has been a background check and a credit check that weeds out plenty. We haven't done "whiz quizzes" for 15-20 years, so it's the criminal background check (for everyone, not just those handling cash) that really sucks up time and weeds 'em out.
Orientation sessions have also historically been a bottleneck. That might not be quite such an issue if we were rapidly taking folks on.
Training, it's all OJT, and there ain't much. I'm definitely not talking about the time that it takes to get someone up to speed, just the time it takes from when they submit an application and show up for the first shift doing what they were hired to do.
There are some indications (which I will not go into) that our employer was very much trying to get current employees to "recommend" laid-off or underemployed bar and restaurant employees.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 3, 2020 12:37:12 GMT -5
I noticed that my local hospital is not doing any hiring at all. So far they are far from full. I assumed the issues with interviewing and training outweigh the need for new employees right now. Although, I also found out that many outpatient clinics have been mostly closed. And the employees are being put into a "pool" and reassigned where needed. Mostly hospital jobs. So overall they may have more than enough staff.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Apr 3, 2020 12:52:48 GMT -5
... ]So I ask you, are my employers hiring to replace us when we drop? ... My wife works for a grocery store and informed me that her assistant manager said she was told on a conference call to hire for that exact reason.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Apr 3, 2020 13:07:06 GMT -5
I'm guessing they just want to hire unskilled people who can move Thing A to Point B. I wouldn't expect it to be like normal cashier training, or someone they thought would be there long-term. I know several places hiring specifically because of the current pandemic and the impact on some businesses...they're all hiring "dumb workers"...you don't have to think, you have to do what a more experienced employee tells you to do because they are simply short on manpower to do "dumb tasks". "Take everything in this box and put it on the shelf" "Take everything on this pallet and put it out in the freight area of the floor" "Take these cleaning supplies and wipe these things down".
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Apr 3, 2020 13:41:37 GMT -5
I noticed a week into the stay in place order in CA that a few of the stores I went to already had hiring signs posted. I imagine a lot of it had to do with meeting the demand as far as getting products on shelves and yeah if/when someone ends up with the virus and out for two weeks or more to fill in the gap. I worked at a grocery store for almost 2 1/2 years during high school and college and the intro level work isn't something that requires a lot of training. Being a cashier, working in the warehouse, the deli, produce and so on were different but those were more long term positions that at least when I was working there you had to apply for and get promoted to. Between acquiring another company while taking on a lot of those employees and being a brand new store the first person wasn't promoted internally from being a bagger until right after I left and I started at the store when it opened.
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pooks
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Post by pooks on Apr 3, 2020 13:45:39 GMT -5
I hope they are offering health insurance, since these people are essential. They might also need to replace some people. Anecdotally, DD friend quit her grocery store job as soon as the schools shut down. Her parents are older/high risk and didn't want her bringing the virus into the house for money they didn't need.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Apr 3, 2020 13:45:55 GMT -5
... ]So I ask you, are my employers hiring to replace us when we drop? ... My wife works for a grocery store and informed me that her assistant manager said she was told on a conference call to hire for that exact reason. And/or an entire shift has to be quarantined for 2 weeks (if we're even bothering to do that anymore).
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Apr 3, 2020 13:51:35 GMT -5
... ]So I ask you, are my employers hiring to replace us when we drop? ... My wife works for a grocery store and informed me that her assistant manager said she was told on a conference call to hire for that exact reason. That's interesting, and not particularly unexpected but not quite as horrific as well...er...I... made it out to be.
There are a lot of reasons why so-called essential workers might be unable to show up for work. It's not just about us dying. It's not even about us being hospitalized, or very sick, or (and it hurts me terribly to say this) having to sever employment ties in order for someone in the family to get health care that they need to survive without bankrupting the family. (BTW, when I say "bankrupting" it has little to do with actually filing for bankruptcy. It's more of a metaphor for living in your car or moving in with relatives that you've been trying to keep your kids away from. Bankruptcy filing costs money and folks scrambling for indoor shelter tend to be short of that.)
My county has recently mandated health checks for essential workers and if you have a cough, body aches, shortness of breath or the runs, you are required to stay away from your workplace for at least 72 hours after those symptoms subside.
Add a fever to any of the above symptoms and you cannot come back to work for at least seven days.
A whole lot of people who used to work through these symptoms, or live with them year in and year out, now find themselves unable to work without first lying their asses off and/or getting caught in a lie.
Work is basically a shitshow right now. Cough-free folks (who have never had the runs, ever, because they just don't shit) are pointing a whole lot of fingers at the folks who failed the health checks because they didn't lie.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 3, 2020 14:07:20 GMT -5
Typically, it takes weeks to get someone started working, or even called back. Historically, there has been a background check and a credit check that weeds out plenty. We haven't done "whiz quizzes" for 15-20 years, so it's the criminal background check (for everyone, not just those handling cash) that really sucks up time and weeds 'em out.
Orientation sessions have also historically been a bottleneck. That might not be quite such an issue if we were rapidly taking folks on.
Training, it's all OJT, and there ain't much. I'm definitely not talking about the time that it takes to get someone up to speed, just the time it takes from when they submit an application and show up for the first shift doing what they were hired to do.
There are some indications (which I will not go into) that our employer was very much trying to get current employees to "recommend" laid-off or underemployed bar and restaurant employees.
Larger corporations can move quickly. I know a teen who applied at Target and interviewed and got the offer in one day. They started a few days later.
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jeffreymo
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Post by jeffreymo on Apr 3, 2020 14:10:52 GMT -5
My wife works for a grocery store and informed me that her assistant manager said she was told on a conference call to hire for that exact reason. And/or an entire shift has to be quarantined for 2 weeks (if we're even bothering to do that anymore). Or probably the biggest problem is that grocery store workers are starting to recognize the risk and are taking LOA, quitting, or just no-call/no-show.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Apr 3, 2020 14:19:04 GMT -5
Typically, it takes weeks to get someone started working, or even called back. Historically, there has been a background check and a credit check that weeds out plenty. We haven't done "whiz quizzes" for 15-20 years, so it's the criminal background check (for everyone, not just those handling cash) that really sucks up time and weeds 'em out.
Orientation sessions have also historically been a bottleneck. That might not be quite such an issue if we were rapidly taking folks on.
Training, it's all OJT, and there ain't much. I'm definitely not talking about the time that it takes to get someone up to speed, just the time it takes from when they submit an application and show up for the first shift doing what they were hired to do.
There are some indications (which I will not go into) that our employer was very much trying to get current employees to "recommend" laid-off or underemployed bar and restaurant employees.
Larger corporations can move quickly. I know a teen who applied at Target and interviewed and got the offer in one day. They started a few days later. Excuse me, but that was bog standard turn around time when I was younger. You turned in your app. Later the same day, you would get a call to set up an interview, usually for the next day or the day after. The interview frequently became an orientation session and you could easily be asked to show up for work three days after submitting an application. We knew what nimble was in the eighties. I resist your efforts to redefine it.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Apr 3, 2020 14:24:57 GMT -5
Grocery stores in my parts have been desperate for folks since the middle of 2019. In my parts, I think the pandemic just made things works, in terms of finding employees.
My son applied for a grocery store job in late fall, but wasn't hired until December. Once he had the interview, process was quick. However, he's 15 and very much limited by what he can do because of labor laws. He can't cashier. He can't stock. He can't clean up spilled milk. He can bag, watch over the automated lanes, watch over groceries while people fetch their cars and drive up, and alert his manager when patrons are in medical trouble. I assume it took a while to get him in for the interview, because frankly, he's not that useful as a worker, in terms of the tasks that he can do.
My son wanted to take an extra shift while school has been cancelled. He couldn't take it because the shift started at 7:30 am, and he legally couldn't start work before 8.
My county had it's first case of Covid-19 confirmed on Feb 5. My son has worked his shifts as normal since then. He likely will continue to work his shifts in the future.
I hope he stays. He can be vested in the company before he's legally able to drink. After four months of working, he's received his first raise, three retention bonuses, and he's said there's supposed to be a bonus given soon for folks who are working through the pandemic. His supervisors talk to him about vesting in the company and share how they are on the road to a nice retirement. He identifies well with one of his managers, who is 27. This manager is young enough to still be young, but old enough to start mentoring my son if they see something promising in him.
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jeffreymo
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Post by jeffreymo on Apr 3, 2020 14:27:06 GMT -5
I mean there’s a reason that a lot of grocery store chains are putting out press releases about their COVID-19 bonuses and wage increases. It’s because people are overworked, some employees are quarantined, and others are quitting out of fear of exposure. And they can’t close down - right now they’re as essential to public health as hospitals.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2020 14:33:09 GMT -5
I'd vote it's to have backup workers for those who get sick or decide the risk just isn't worth it anymore.
I wish my oldest DS didn't have to go be exposed at WalMart everyday. They treat their employees like disposable crap, yet expect them to quite literally risk their lives for their own profits.
I think at some point, Amazon and other online/delivery shopping may end up being the only option available. And, that scares me a bit, considering everything I have wanted to buy on Amazon lately isn't available.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Apr 3, 2020 14:34:04 GMT -5
I noticed that my local hospital is not doing any hiring at all. So far they are far from full. I assumed the issues with interviewing and training outweigh the need for new employees right now. Although, I also found out that may outpatient clinics have been mostly closed. And the employees are being put into a "pool" and reassigned where needed. Mostly hospital jobs. So overall they may have more than enough staff.
Niece works in surgery at the local hospital. She is furloughed since there is no elective surgery. The hospital went by seniority on who to furlough and with 20 years of seniority, she said she wasn't even close to being kept on. Supposedly elective surgery is where the money is so the hospital has gone very, very lean. The clinic where I go is only doing psychiatric appointments and seeing sick people. Yes, pregnant women and babies also. Clinic is now only open 3 days a week. The psychiatric appointments are being done by telemedicine when possible. Read today less than 10% of their appointments are in person. That department laid off their receptionists and are having the nurses handle the phones.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Apr 3, 2020 16:21:46 GMT -5
That's what my grocery store and every other grocer in my stay-at-home state is trumpeting. The jobs are part time and likely temporary, but the public message, and the message being transmitted to employees is "we need and will take every body (sic) that you can possibly send our way. Talk up the job."
I work for a grocery store. I'm scratching my head. I get it that our shelves have been decimated and will take weeks to restock given current (much slowed-down, from what I can surmise) levels of sales. I get it that another big scare or bit of bad news will empty our shelves again.
But I also know that it can take weeks to get an applicant on the job.
I'm also old enough to understand that after this boom of sales comes one hellacious recession.
So I ask you, are my employers hiring to replace us when we drop? Are they claiming to be hiring as a good neighbor PR exercise? Are they claiming to be hiring just so they can get a list of prospects? Are they planning on going curbside and delivery only? Are they expecting more stringent social distancing requirements to slow down our operations?
I'm really quite confused because I honestly can't see work for these folks in a few weeks unless the current workers are unable to work. Any insights? Any leaking or tattling regarding what's behind this?
Cannot speak for others but for us we have: - waived the background check and drug test. - we interview you today, you start today ——> yes the job is still contingent on you passing background check and drug test but by the time the results come in, you possibly worked ~2 weeks already. We do need the bodies for us for express lane (orders online) and stocking shelves because we are busier. Guess people are cooking more at home and also eating more. Yes a lot of the applicants are from restaurants / bars / hotels and we do expect to lose them as things go back to normal. But we figure it is a win-win for both parties for now. And also maybe out of the bunch we will be able to retain a few good ones and what not and promote them.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 3, 2020 16:23:43 GMT -5
DD has now been asked to change her airline job leave of absence request from 90 days to 6 months to 1 year. She is going to ask for one year. They are indicating their flight schedule this month is 80% smaller than originally planned, with over 100,000 flights cancelled. They expect their revenue to be down over 90% for the 2nd quarter.
Ii don't know how they are doing it but, the e-mail DD got, indicates that the are working with states to gain assurance that unpaid Voluntary Leaves of Absence will qualify for Unemployment Insurance Benefits. It is approved in GA, MN, UT, WA, MI, MA. 3 of those states have major Hubs for that airline. I don't know if our state will approve it or not, and if they do approve it, if my DD will qualify. She also works 16 hours a week for DH, and the State UC code says if you work for a family member you can't be laid off and collect. We have been paying into the fund for DD and DS, as I was unaware of that. My company also pays In for family members. I was aware you could be excluded or limited for WC purposes, but never knew there was an issue with UC.
I also don't understand what the difference is between a Voluntary Leave of Absence, or a layoff. I suspect it has to do with the Cares act, b/c said Airline forced employees to declare leave before the cares act was approved. DD was told if she did not ask for leave, she would no longer have a job. So she requested leave.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 3, 2020 16:28:00 GMT -5
Grocery stores in my parts have been desperate for folks since the middle of 2019. In my parts, I think the pandemic just made things works, in terms of finding employees.
My son applied for a grocery store job in late fall, but wasn't hired until December. Once he had the interview, process was quick. However, he's 15 and very much limited by what he can do because of labor laws. He can't cashier. He can't stock. He can't clean up spilled milk. He can bag, watch over the automated lanes, watch over groceries while people fetch their cars and drive up, and alert his manager when patrons are in medical trouble. I assume it took a while to get him in for the interview, because frankly, he's not that useful as a worker, in terms of the tasks that he can do.
My son wanted to take an extra shift while school has been cancelled. He couldn't take it because the shift started at 7:30 am, and he legally couldn't start work before 8.
My county had it's first case of Covid-19 confirmed on Feb 5. My son has worked his shifts as normal since then. He likely will continue to work his shifts in the future.
I hope he stays. He can be vested in the company before he's legally able to drink. After four months of working, he's received his first raise, three retention bonuses, and he's said there's supposed to be a bonus given soon for folks who are working through the pandemic. His supervisors talk to him about vesting in the company and share how they are on the road to a nice retirement. He identifies well with one of his managers, who is 27. This manager is young enough to still be young, but old enough to start mentoring my son if they see something promising in him. Is he working at Woodman's? My niece's DH works there one weekend day every other weekend. He worked there while he was in College, and he works FT for the investment department of a major bank but kept the side job b/c they pay workers really well on weekends.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Apr 3, 2020 17:18:43 GMT -5
Cannot speak for others but for us we have: - waived the background check and drug test. - we interview you today, you start today ——> yes the job is still contingent on you passing background check and drug test but by the time the results come in, you possibly worked ~2 weeks already. We do need the bodies for us for express lane (orders online) and stocking shelves because we are busier. Guess people are cooking more at home and also eating more. Yes a lot of the applicants are from restaurants / bars / hotels and we do expect to lose them as things go back to normal. But we figure it is a win-win for both parties for now. And also maybe out of the bunch we will be able to retain a few good ones and what not and promote them. Would it be safe to say that skipping the backgroud/drug test doesn't carry much risk - as most of the applicants were recently employed (and may have had the checks done within the last 12 months or 24 months - or who have long term employment with a single employer (which implies a worker who's good at showing up for work as expected and who manages to do some work while there)? I would think in a time of regular employment/people working that waiving those two things would potentially be risky but when lots of regular good workers are looking for jobs I think the 'rules of thumb' change. (I could apply the 'standards' above to IT professionals during a downturn- I assume it would work for retail as well.)
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Apr 3, 2020 17:27:08 GMT -5
... ]So I ask you, are my employers hiring to replace us when we drop? ... My wife works for a grocery store and informed me that her assistant manager said she was told on a conference call to hire for that exact reason. is this figurative - drop from exhaustion - or literal - we expect 25% of our workforce to get sick? die? what?
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Apr 3, 2020 19:42:11 GMT -5
My wife works for a grocery store and informed me that her assistant manager said she was told on a conference call to hire for that exact reason. is this figurative - drop from exhaustion - or literal - we expect 25% of our workforce to get sick? die? what? Sick and die: yes! Look at the nurses and doctors? The amount of police officers calling out sick? Why would grocery workers be exempt? We had so far 1 “known” case and she has been out since March 17. It took 5 days to get her test results... and she is still not back and we are not expecting her for another week or 2. The question is if she will be back? After going through this and her words : she would not wish it on anyone... do you want to expose yourself to it again? So far no one has said that those that catch it once can definitely not catch it again... So yes, at some point ... some of us or a lot of us will start calling in sick. And you are talking 2-4 weeks time at a minimum (quarantine is 14 days). As one of my co-workers said: we are part of the 100,000 that are considered “disposable” in an effort to keep the world running.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Apr 3, 2020 20:40:59 GMT -5
I've seen several grocery stores are hiring. They need people to clean and stock shelves. People are now eating at home for most of their meals. They need to buy a lot more groceries to have enough food.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Apr 4, 2020 7:48:38 GMT -5
Is he working at Woodman's? My niece's DH works there one weekend day every other weekend. He worked there while he was in College, and he works FT for the investment department of a major bank but kept the side job b/c they pay workers really well on weekends. Yup. The Sunday pay is good. But, they treat their employees well, too. I remarked that to DH after skimming through some of TheHatian's thread. There's a reason why some folks are lifers, and it isn't because the best they can do in life is being a bagger. The manager that hired DS started as a bagger at 15; by 27 he worked his way up to being a manager.
There has been one case of the virus at Woodmans either in Janesville or Kenosha, I've forgotten where now.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Apr 7, 2020 4:40:47 GMT -5
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Apr 7, 2020 9:56:30 GMT -5
is this figurative - drop from exhaustion - or literal - we expect 25% of our workforce to get sick? die? what? Sick and die: yes! Look at the nurses and doctors? The amount of police officers calling out sick? Why would grocery workers be exempt? We had so far 1 “known” case and she has been out since March 17. It took 5 days to get her test results... and she is still not back and we are not expecting her for another week or 2. The question is if she will be back? After going through this and her words : she would not wish it on anyone... do you want to expose yourself to it again? So far no one has said that those that catch it once can definitely not catch it again... So yes, at some point ... some of us or a lot of us will start calling in sick. And you are talking 2-4 weeks time at a minimum (quarantine is 14 days). As one of my co-workers said: we are part of the 100,000 that are considered “disposable” in an effort to keep the world running. I would expect you would be immune once you recover, at least for a significant period of time. An analogy to the flu, if the same virus circulates in consecutive years, the second year is usually mild. And god help us if you are not. Life will be like this until we find a treatment, because even a vaccine won't save us.
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