Covid: Is your job essential?


COVID: Is your job essential?  

72 members have voted

  1. 1. Is your job essential?

    • Yes
      47
    • No
      19


Recommended Posts

Work for a large telecom company, one of the customers I'm personally involved in supporting is multiple hospitals.. So have to say prob falls into essential - if their network went down would not be a good thing. We joke about it when they complain about the stupidest thing "people could die" but it is true statement.. Just not when it comes to some of the ###### they complain about ;)

 

Have always had the option to work at home when need be.. I could do my job from a beach as long as had connection.. Doesn't really even need to be all that fast.. Most I have ever WFH before is couple of days in a row..  So yeah this is nuts, whole company is wfh.. And nobody sure when will be able to even go back into the office.

1 hour ago, dead.cell said:

Work for an MSP, we've got like 60+ clients so yes... "essential".

 

Just thankful I have a job. I've been going into the office this past week just because I'm tired of being at home. Only like 2-3 of us coming in at a time, we wipe down anything we work on.

Service comes in my work and cleans few times a day

@Barney T.

 

Dude rock it!!! great pic.. The only problem is that people didn't appreciate what you were doing before the ###### hit the fan!!

 

edit: The problem with the world is people do not understand the value of other people jobs until they actually need them!! Yeah billy the pizza delivery guy is just some kids job... But when you can not get your pizza delivered its an issue ;) What about when you need that health care worker to check you in, or XYZ.. And hey they are not working.. Or sure your house never catches on fire - why should we pay for fireman, etc..

 

The infrastructure that allows the world to work is built on the backs of many workers.  While you might not think that X is essential - give it a few weeks when that function is not being done.. Who would of thought that barbers were "essential" for example - give it a few months and everyone looks like ###### ;)

 

We are in the middle of a society changing event, that will be in the history books..  My youngest grandson is 5 currently - what do you think he will remember about this?  What will he tell his kids about this time in his life when they ask him dad how was he pandemic of 2020?  Could you really not wipe you ass because there was no TP?

 

I work for a DME company (Durable Medical Equipment), so I get to deliver and set up hospital beds, wheelchairs, O2 concentrators, nebulizers, etc.  I am also the one that mainly goes outside when clients come up (we are keeping people outside, so as not to spread anything).  So maybe I am also the "expendable" one?  LOL!

4 hours ago, Barney T. said:

100%

Barney RN.jpg

Perfect picture (although no smile?) to highlight the point of the idea of what is essential and what isn't.

 

How do you define "essential"? What Barney is doing is essential for people's lives, but one could argue I'm essential in such a matter because I'm keeping our guys working from home able to connect and do their work.

 

It's abundantly clear to me who is essential out of the two. And I'm not it. Barney and his ilk didn't get the slight pause that we may have had. They take it as another day despite suddenly being hammered by an influx, We get given the possibility, thanks to that, to reduce the impact.

 

I do find it funny how it has caused this situation for governments to recognize how much they look to the public to provide support. Now that the public can't provide the tax due to the virus the government (U.K. at least) are sending 500 million to charities, working on wiping NHS debt...why did it take a virus to make those decisions, and why was that money not available before? I know this is a "rainy day" situation, but damn...that's a lot of savings that could have been used elsewhere previously...

I define essential as people who keep the population safe and fed.  Which could be Drs, Nurses, PAs, Military, Grocery Stores,/food&water services, Communications (internet/tele services), Shipping.  There are more but I think I made the point.  .Anyone else I know still working is just happy/lucky to still have a job.

11 minutes ago, techbeck said:

I define essential as people who keep the population safe and fed.  Which could be Drs, Nurses, PAs, Military, Grocery Stores,/food&water services, Communications (internet/tele services), Shipping.  There are more but I think I made the point.  .Anyone else I know still working is just happy/lucky to still have a job.

I process funding and payments.

 

prettysure a lot of people lifes will be a little harder if I had to stop working. In fact a few businesses might default if they don't get funds.

 

However I am thankful I can do it from home. Opened my eyes as I thought I needed to be there together with coworkers to get it done.

 

However it is more work but also easier to focus in a quiet environment.

 

People who have kids - they find it so hard to do.

14 hours ago, PGHammer said:

it still can be done to an extent from home.  Furnitureland South literally has their entire staff WFH - and they make mid-end to high-end furniture for half the United States.  Our own rep is WFH - her office is in Greensboro - however, her home is not.  WE are located in Maryland,  It's why I asked what is driving the resistance.

Ya, all the office people are working from home, but wife isn't an office person. She's on the floor actually making the furniture.

19 hours ago, adrynalyne said:

Poll is misleading. 
 

Essential job? No. 
Still working? Yes. 
 

Answered no on poll.

I agree, define essential. Medical, truck drivers, etc? 

 

In Florida, I run an independent paint store, (you want to paint your house, you come see me for the paint). Legally, we fall under the construction trade which falls under the essential category on paper.

 

Our business doubled after Hurricane Michael, it has now doubled again because of the stay home rules.  I've been here going on 21 years and this is the busiest I've ever seen it.

 

That being said, I am down 2 people, one because they don't have childcare, and 2, one quit under the pressure.

 

 

Like others have said, my work isn't essential but I am still going in to work.  I could probably work from home most of the time but at the minute I have to go in as I am the most senior who can go in and supervise where needed.  We have reduced the number of staff in the building from around 60 to 10-15 at most.

Delivery driver....so yes....BUT, is half the stuff I'm delivering essential?? NO....Yet, these companies are still working?? The internet doesn't shut down....more people at home, means more people ordering stuff online....DIY stuff, exercise stuff, gardening stuff, the list goes on....

 

We do deliver some medical stuff and supplies to hospitals and care homes...plus it seems most building sites are still open, so I guess our deliveries to them are essential, the rest, I'm not so sure...

I think there are levels of "essential" jobs, compared to others.   Anything medical, highly essential, military, etc.  However, there are other "essential" jobs I would place under those which have to do with infrastructure (Roads, ISP, Networks, delivery, food supply, supply in general).

 

The thing is, one could not function without the other.  A Dr./Nurse, wouldn't be able to do their job without proper equipment, gear, and some of that gear/equipment needs to be delivered and maintained.  Same for food, supplies, etc, etc...you get my point.

 

Basically, the beautufil thing here is, that nature is showing us how interconnected we all are, how symbiotic our relationships are to one another, and i just dont mean human to human....human to nature overall.

 

ohh well, words that will get lost in the vast hole of the internet...and ######, i need to stop drinking so early....not good when the IT director is drunk.

21 hours ago, adrynalyne said:

Poll is misleading. 
 

Essential job? No. 
Still working? Yes. 
 

Answered no on poll.

As above.

 

Country went in to 'lockdown' (I use the term loosely) on the night of Monday 23rd March. I was furloughed from the Tuesday however I had to turn in on the Tuesday to carry out a few hours work. At that point we were sent home and furloughed. I've since been told that the company are not telling HMRC we were in that day. This means instead of 21 days of furlough i'm only going to get 20 as i'm back at work next week.

 

Absolutely pointless 3 weeks. Nothing has changed. 

 

For me, I would much rather sit at home on 80% pay. Not because i'm lazy because if I had a choice this whole Coronavirus thing would be sorted and i'd be at work on 100% pay but as things stand I would rather be safe at home on 80%.

 

Sadly I don't have a choice. 

 

My workplace don't sell food, is nothing to do with the NHS, police, fire service etc. We sell building and plumbing materials. The section that I work in sells building materials so if they remained open for plumbing and electrical goods (in case of emergencies for example) I wouldn't be called in, that's not my department. 

So I will be selling things such as bricks, blocks, loose sand and stone for things such as landscape gardening and house extensions etc.

 

To me that's not essential. To me that's putting my health at risk for the £. I'm not comfortable about going back to work especially as I have a high risk partner with multiple conditions that put them as high risk yet I also feel if I kick up a fuss then I will be out of a job. 

  • 10 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Posts

    • Apple has clarified Series 9 was left off the watchOS 27 compatibility list by mistake.
    • Signal accuses UK government of using child safety as cover for mass surveillance by David Uzondu Recently, the UK's Home Office announced a sweeping set of proposals to make Britain the "first country in the world" where children cannot share or view nude photos on their smart devices, an initiative that authorities claim will protect children from online predators and combat pornography. In response, Signal believes that while the government must keep children "safe" and "protected," it should do so through social services and education, not by "surveillance, funding cuts, and cover-ups." The company called the plan "dystopian" and warned that it violates everyone's fundamental right to privacy, arguing that scanning on the presumption of nudity will only strengthen the market dominance and data control of giant corporations like Apple and Google. The statement continues by accusing the government of hiding its true intentions under the guise of child safety. Signal argues that the Home Office is building an invisible surveillance infrastructure that remains ripe for exploitation by future administrations and authoritarian regimes. According to the company, this aggressive approach completely ignores the actual needs of young people, such as properly funded schools and mental health services. Tech companies like Apple and Google have a three-month window to implement these mandatory device-level filters across the United Kingdom. If these tech firms refuse to comply with the mandate, the government will pass emergency legislation to force them to comply, threatening massive fines and even going after the CEOs of these companies with criminal charges. The technology will work by blocking explicit images directly on the operating system of all smartphones and tablets by default. This system monitors the device camera and third-party apps to intercept nudity before anyone can upload or send the image. Adults can still view explicit content, but only after completing a strict age verification check to unlock their devices. Several bodies like the NSPCC and Barnardo's praised the Home Office's decision, arguing that device-level intervention stops the cycle of grooming before it starts. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) also supported the policy, claiming that tech companies can implement on-device checks "without threatening privacy or collecting any data."
    • Did you watch the keynote? It is way beyond what is described in this article. Looks interesting. Now it is time for them to deliver unlike what happened in 24.
    • It pretty much has to be compatible with MS Office or it is going nowhere. The rest of the world runs office including Europe. If it is not compatible it will not survive.
    • Incredible deal gets you free NVMe 512GB SSD with AMD AM5 B850 motherboard for only $150 by Sayan Sen Earlier this week we covered the story of an interesting PC case wherein you can build two full-size computers inside it as in it can house and run an AMD and an Intel system simultaneously. Speaking of building PCs, these are hard times to make one for sure as prices are often very high except during flash sales or discounts. If you are in the market for a 1080p gaming PC then Nvidia's 8GB RTX 5060 Ti is currently on sale for just $330 and you get the latest James Bond game too, for free. Speaking of which, right now there is another incredible sale going on as we can get a free 512 GB NVMe SSD from TeamGroup in the form of the G50 alongside the purchase of an AMD B850 socket AM5 motherboard for only $150 (purchase link under the specs table down below). Getting an AM5 motherboard now in 2026 will be a wise investment for sure, especially since AMD confirmed its commitment to support the socket till at least 2029. The MSI PRO B850M-P WIFI is a micro-ATX motherboard that is compatible with AMD Ryzen 9000 series processors. Since it is AM5, the motherboard works with DDR5 memory and includes MSI’s Memory Boost technology, along with EXPO and XMP support. Connectivity features include built-in Wi-Fi 7 paired with a 5G LAN solution. The board offers a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot with MSI’s EZ M.2 Shield Frozr II thermal solution, that is said to help maintain SSD performance by providing ample cooling against overheating. The technical specifications of the MSI PRO B850M-P WIFI motherboard are given in the table below: Specification Value Form Factor Micro-ATX (mATX), 243.84 × 243.84 mm Chipset AMD B850 Socket AM5 Supported Processors AMD Ryzen 9000, 8000, and 7000 Series Desktop Processors Memory Slots 4 × DDR5 UDIMM Max Memory 256 GB Memory Speed DDR5 8200–5600 MT/s (OC), DDR5 5600–4800 MT/s (JEDEC) Display Outputs 1 × HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K 60Hz) 1 × DisplayPort 1.4 (up to 4K 60Hz) PCIe Slots 1 × PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU) 3 × PCIe 3.0 x1 (Chipset) Audio Codec Realtek ALC897 Audio Channels 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio M.2 Slots 3 × M.2 slots M.2_1: PCIe 5.0 x4 (CPU) M.2_2: PCIe 4.0 x4 (CPU) M.2_3: PCIe 4.0 x2 (Chipset) M.2 Device Sizes M.2_1: 2280/2260 M.2_2: 2280/2260 M.2_3: 2280 SATA Ports 4 × SATA 6Gb/s RAID Support SATA: RAID 0, 1, 10 NVMe: RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 Rear USB Ports 4 × USB 2.0 2 × USB 5Gbps Type-A 1 × USB 10Gbps Type-A 1 × USB 10Gbps Type-C Front USB Headers 4 × USB 2.0 4 × USB 5Gbps Type-A 1 × USB 10Gbps Type-C LAN Realtek 8126VB 5Gb Ethernet Wireless Networking Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Tri-band 2.4GHz / 5GHz / 6GHz MU-MIMO, MLO, 4KQAM Up to 2.9Gbps Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.4 Internal Power Connectors 1 × 24-pin ATX Power 1 × CPU Power 1 × PCIe Power (8-pin) Cooling Headers 1 × CPU Fan 1 × Combo Fan/Pump 3 × System Fan RGB Headers 3 × Addressable RGB Gen2 (JARGB_V2) 1 × RGB LED (JRGB) Additional Internal Headers 2 × Front Panel (JFP) 1 × Chassis Intrusion (JCI) 1 × Front Audio (JAUD) 1 × COM Port (JCOM) 1 × JDASH Tuning Controller 1 × TPM 2.0 Header The free TeamGroup T-FORCE G50 NVMe SSD is a PCIe Gen4 and as such it promises to deliver sequential read speeds of up to 5,000 MB/s, helping accelerate game loading, file transfers, and everyday computing tasks. The SSD features an InnoGrit controller and SLC caching technology to support consistent performance. An ultra-thin, patented graphene heatsink is included to aid in heat dissipation. The NAND flash is based on TLC which means it has plenty of endurance up its sleeve. The random performance may not be as amazing as other drives with DRAM though. Still it should be very good since it can access system memory via HMB to use it as its DRAM cache. The technical specifications of the TeamGroup 512GB G50 NVMe SSD are given in the table below: Specification Value Model / Part Number TM8FFE512G0C129 Form Factor M.2 2280 Interface PCIe Gen4x4 with NVMe Sequential Read Speed Up to 5,000 MB/s Sequential Write Speed Up to 2,500 MB/s Endurance (TBW) 325 TBW DRAM Cache No Cache Technology SLC Cache Controller InnoGrit Controller Solution Operating Temperature 0°C to 70°C Storage Temperature -40°C to 85°C Weight 7 g Dimensions 80.0 × 22.0 × 3.7 mm Vibration Resistance 80 Hz ~ 2,000 Hz / 20G Shock Resistance 1,500G / 0.5 ms MTBF 3,000,000 hours Get it at the link below: MSI PRO B850M-P WIFI AM5 AMD motherboard + Team Group T-FORCE G50 TM8FFE512G0C129 512GB SSD (free gift): $149.99 (Sold and Shipped by Newegg US) This Newegg deal is US-specific and not available in other regions unless specified. This is a first-party seller link (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you also purchase from a first-party seller link only. If you don't like it or want to look at more options, check out the previous deals that we have covered, OR you can also visit Amazon US deals page. Get Prime (SNAP), Prime Video, Audible Plus or Kindle / Music Unlimited. Free for 30 days. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Very Popular
      Captain_Eric earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • One Month Later
      amusc earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      503
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      224
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      87
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      80
    5. 5
      +Edouard
      80
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!