A real interaction between a pharmacy cashier and a customer that I overheard with my very own ears in Crooksville, OH, last week.

Granted, I didn't have high expectations for the combination pharmacy-hardware store, but WOW.

What shocking covid-related things have you encountered lately?

  • CommunistCuddlefish [she/her]
    ·
    10 days ago

    wtf that's terrible! Fuck these ghoulish employers. And 15 years of experience is a lot of talent and skill for them to throw away just because you don't want to go along with their evil and stupid policies.

    This is one of my big fears, that I'll end up "unemployable". Howhave you managed to get by that long? Unemployment caps out at 18 months, at least where I am.

    I have been far more productive remote than I ever was in the office. Getting to and from the office and dealing with the sensory and social hell of it drained me to the point where most of my capacity to work was wasted on their inane in-office rules and shit that had nothing to do with, well, doing the work.

    There was absolutely nothing more productive about being in office before the pandemic started, and now that we're in a prolonged pandemic office-work is even more unproductive than before!

    Bosses: Oh , we want you to have face to face conversations with coworkers! Reality: It's going to be at most face to mask because if I have to be in office then I have to be in a respirator. And I'm going to be keeping my distance from the unmasked plague rats, and if they come in sick like they often do I'll be cursing at them and telling them to go die in a fire. You want to see my face? Then let me video call in from the safety of home. You want me to be cool with coworkers coming in sick? Then let me work from the safety of home where I don't have to protect myself from their psychotic desire to assault everyone around them by spreading the fucking plague.

    Bosses: We want you to be able to spend more time working away from distractions. Reality: At home, anytime I need a sip of water or a snack, I can just drink or eat. At the office, I would have to go outside anytime I needed to eat or drink. Even if that means leaving a meeting. Oh and of course I'm not clocking out for that "break" because it only takes so long because they demanded in-office presence. Depending on the office size the round trip may take 10 minutes. And sometimes after drinking, I need to drink again quickly -- especially if I've been delaying hydrating because I've been in a mask indoors for hours -- so it might be a cycle of very frequent disruptions. I'm sure they'd quickly get pissed and try to hold disciplinary action for doing what they forced me to do.

    Fuck them. Office-pilled management is evil and I hope they all die horribly.

    • Ivysaur [she/her]
      ·
      edit-2
      10 days ago

      Howhave you managed to get by that long? Unemployment caps out at 18 months, at least where I am.

      I had a nice savings built up that lasted us about 6 months or so and then unemployment capped for me at 6 months as well, but since then my wife was lucky enough to get a min wage job to cover us; she assured me it’s no trouble and that she’s just repaying me working and supporting us for years on my own but I still feel pretty rotten about it often because I was just sitting at home safely and she’s in crowds of hundreds of people coming and going daily as the only one masking.

      We got really, really lucky and found a rent-controlled apartment with a roommate who is just as serious as us about Covid thanks to my connections in our city’s Covid activism Discord, which was a genuine miracle with the timing. I’m not sure what else we would have done otherwise. We have only been surviving, not anywhere near what we had prior to the RTO mandates starting around 22-23, and I am very bitter about it. I’m already at a disadvantage for being a woman in tech, and this shit definitely doesn’t help. I don’t need to be in a building full of sick assholes who will kill me because I’m immunocompromised; guess what else employers discriminate against?

      So I agree, I hope they all leave this earth violently. If they keep this up maybe I’ll get my wish.