What about office workers?

[Ole Anderson]

We have heard of the affect of COVID-19 on retail, food service and to some level, manufacturing. I have yet to hear how offices are handling the crisis, other than for those that can work at home. Big office buildings are stuffed with folks pushing paper, doing design or other office work. News on that front has been largely quiet.

[Mike Henderson]

People I know who are office workers are being asked to work from home. Most of the people I know are engineers and computer programmers. I expect the support staff are being asked to stay home, also.

Mike

[Jon Grider]

This morning Cuomo said that workers present at the workplace were being reduced to 25% from 50% in New York. Wouldn't be surprised to see other states following that model.

[Prashun Patel]

We have office staff. We've done this:

Make those who can, work from home.
Essential staff works a split shift 6-12, 12-6. It's a reduction in hours in exchange for some understanding in working non-overlapping shifts.
Everyone has procedures to sanitize their workspace. This is really a futile effort, but better than nothing.
We don't allow people to use conference rooms or the kitchen except to 'take out'.
We've increased cleaning staff from 2x week to daily.

We've been successful in having about 25% staff present at any point in time.

It's been hard to keep consistent.

Faint silver lining: We have made YEARS of psychological progress in WEEKS in with respect to working-from-home in virtually every department. Any vestiges of face-time value have gone away, and people are just figuring out how to be productive. We have used Microsoft Teams to excellent effect.

[Steve Eure]

My wife works at a county court house and has to deal with the public everyday. They come in to pay on their utility bills, taxes, tags, etc. Since this outbreak has hit close to home for us in SW Ga., most places are now heeding the warnings. They have eccentrically closed off the court house to non-employee, and are sanitizing everything they touch. They still have to interact with each other, but at safe distances. Fortunately there are only a dozen or so employees there.

[Rod Sheridan]

People I know who are office workers are being asked to work from home. Most of the people I know are engineers and computer programmers. I expect the support staff are being asked to stay home, also.

Mike

That’s true for my company Mike, aside from skeleton operations staff we’re all working from home.

I’ve been in so many virtual meetings this week I’m tired of them.

I live in a large city and noticed that the traffic cameras are showing major highways with very little traffic.

I presume you’re doing fine?

Regards, Rod

[Jim Becker]

There's very little "pushing paper" these days, Ole, and a good percentage of businesses and government agencies are having their employees at every level work for home. Some firms are better prepared for this than others, just like some educational institutions are better prepared than others. For those that must work in a physical office for whatever reason, the concepts of social distancing still applies as does the need for proper disinfection, etc.

[glenn bradley]

People I know who are office workers are being asked to work from home. Most of the people I know are engineers and computer programmers. I expect the support staff are being asked to stay home, also.

Mike

Ditto. My previous employer sent the whole department home till the end of April. We were all geeks and have been telecommuting since the late 90's so virtually no impact. The rest of the University followed a few days later. That's 25,000 people not crushed together . . . at least on campus. The students are probably still all crammed together somewhere. I know I was indestructible in my college years; why would that change? ;-))

[Lisa Starr]

PA ordered a large number of businesses closed today. Basically, grocery, pharmacy and medical are open along with the supply chains for them. Everyone else has been ordered closed.

[Bill Dufour]

The ski resorts near me no longer serve food or drinks. Only 10 people inside the building at a time. limited lift tickets allowed to be used at a time. I think maybe only one person per chair or gondola?
I heat sterilize my firewood inside my woodstove. Last night my wife took raw lasagna and sheltered it inside the oven at 350 degrees. I then took some of it and sheltered it inside my stomach.
Bil lD

[Curt Harms]

.................................................. ..........
I live in a large city and noticed that the traffic cameras are showing major highways with very little traffic.

I presume you’re doing fine?

Regards, Rod

The traffic situation is a silver lining. Roads that are notorious for congestion in the Philadelphia area are running at the posted speed limit +.

[Jim Becker]

PA ordered a large number of businesses closed today. Basically, grocery, pharmacy and medical are open along with the supply chains for them. Everyone else has been ordered closed.

Here's the complete list...

https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/scanned-from-a-xerox-multifunction-printer-1-1584656193.pdf


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Bill, with your governor's current order for state-wide shelter-in-place, I'm guessing that the ski resorts probably are supposed to stop being open for business I would think.


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Curt, is your particular work curtailed with less private travel?

[Brian Elfert]

Here's the complete list...

https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/scanned-from-a-xerox-multifunction-printer-1-1584656193.pdf


Do you know if newspapers are prohibited from printing newspapers since printers are on the list of businesses which must close physical operations?

The list of which businesses must close makes no sense. Engine builders can still operate, but most other factories must close.

[Jim Becker]

Do you know if newspapers are prohibited from printing newspapers since printers are on the list of businesses which must close physical operations?

The list of which businesses must close makes no sense. Engine builders can still operate, but most other factories must close.

Top of page four...newspapers are included as essential businesses.

It seems that businesses that are involved in facilitating creating things involved transportation are able to continue, although vehicle sales organizations can't operate other than for service/parts. I think this was a very difficult thing to break out. The business types appear to be based on the categories used for assigning industry designations to corporations. Many business cross over, too.

Some of the professional type firms will likely continue to "do work" as long as it's folks working at home with no physical contact. What they are trying to crack down on is people being out and about without good reason, with good reason meaning obtaining food, medicine and health care or supporting businesses that provide the same. My older daughter is still working as her job is in a food market. My younger lost all of her front-of-house hours at the restaurant she is employed by but still has back-office accounting work a few hours a week which is hopefully transitioning to work-at-home, too. (they are open for takeout/delivery so there is still accounting work to do) I'm still doing some client work in my shop for odds and ends but with zero physical contact with the client...he's paying for shipping. My online presence at ETSY is still working (mailorder/online is allowed on the list), not that anyone is buying anything. LOL So I get to enjoy my shop for "me" projects!

[Joe Pelonio]

My office is normally about 500 people on 3 floors. It's been like a ghost town the last three weeks as most of us are working from home. We do handle legal documents so some have to stay in the office, but with much less risk now. We have hand sanitizer stations all over the place and a pump bottle on every desk. I have been working from home but have to go in a few days next week to train a new person, then when she's ready I'll work from home again and continue training using Skype or Teams.

[Kev Williams]

I'm surprised I haven't heard much of anything about the employees of the USPS, and all other shipping firms. It seems to me at least, their 'ground force' employees MUST be nearly as vulnerable to picking up this virus as hospital workers, since they 'pick up' everything else...

And secondary to them would be, US! --Are all of you sanitizing your mail and Amazon packages, your mailbox door handle, etc..? Or are you waiting beyond the estimated 24 hours time the virus will live on cardboard and (I assume) other paper products? Or--?

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I'm in Vancouver, Canada. We're also listening to the doctors and getting ready for a huge increase in cases. All the hospitals are closed except for emergency cases. Unfortunately my daughter was seriously injured at work 2 1/2 weeks ago, and my wife has been visiting every day. Tonight we were told the hospital is closed to all visitors.
I've long ago taken over shopping, and most outside activities. My eldest at-home son has a part time job that I drive him to - I don't want him risking the rest of us on public transit.
I'm in a service job that the Jewish community considers essential, so our Executives are giving us emergency travel documentation in case we have to travel, for law enforcement officers.
Still riding my motorcycle - hard to get Corona in the open air by myself.

[Curt Harms]

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Curt, is your particular work curtailed with less private travel?

Not so far. I was having to drive from home to New Castle DE. frequently the past couple weeks. Once the 'stay home' order came out the trip was shortened by 30 minutes or more. I did notice more state troopers on the Blue Route (I476) checking speeds though. Excess speed is not normally an issue on the Blue Route.:rolleyes: For those not familiar the Blue Route has been characterized as 'obsolete the day it opened' (lacking capacity).

[Jim Becker]

I'm surprised I haven't heard much of anything about the employees of the USPS, and all other shipping firms. It seems to me at least, their 'ground force' employees MUST be nearly as vulnerable to picking up this virus as hospital workers, since they 'pick up' everything else...

USPS workers are wearing gloves (and have been for a long time). Foiks who do actual delivery do the same but are out in the air and most often are not in contact with other people. (same for UPS, FedEX, etc) They are all reducing risk by using PPE for contact with their hands, etc. Probably the largest risk is in the distribution centers but that's largely automated.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jim, last night on the news was an item about UPS.

Theire drivers have no PPE, no hand sanitizer and are worried about their contacts during their day.

In Canada it looks like the company is all talk as their solution was that the drivers had access to washrooms at work with soap....Rod

[Jim Becker]

UPS guy who dropped off a package yesterday was wearing blue nitrile gloves, Rod.

[Edwin Santos]

UPS guy who dropped off a package yesterday was wearing blue nitrile gloves, Rod.

On a related note, have you changed your handling of packages and items you receive, even food deliveries? If so, how?

[Jim Becker]

On a related note, have you changed your handling of packages and items you receive, even food deliveries? If so, how?

I'm about to go drop off two packages at the UPS store to send back to a client since we mutually agreed that him picking up wasn't going to happen. He sent the boxes and paid for both directions. ;) Hand washing is constant here. The parade of folks delivering for Amazon is normal but there is almost never any physical presence with them. Many are wearing gloves to my observation. We are still shopping at local markets for food and taking appropriate precautions. Our older daughter works in a market, so quick pickups happen there. We live in a more rural area so food delivery is more spotty relative to availability. One thing that may change is that normally we shop for food together, but may have to start making it a one person trip. That's relatively easy if I'm the one to go since I do the majority of the cooking and our daughter can purchase her specific needs at the market she works in. (She lives with us but buys some of her own food)

So...hand washing, minimal contact with delivery people, minimizing trips and keeping them fast and focused, etc.

[Rod Sheridan]

Good to hear Jim, keep safe...........Rod.

[Dave Anderson NH]

My wife is the office manager of a MA company which is exempt from the MA state order to close businesses. They distribute plastics and are a custom maker of plastic parts doing over 50% military business and a good chunk of medical instrument parts too. This makes them critical infrastructure. Unfortunately she cannot telecommute so she has to go in every day. The office layout allows wide spaces between workers and they have plenty of cleaning supplies. No office visitors are allowed, and customers must have their product shipped, not picked up. The only thing which makes her happy right now is the lack of traffic on the commute. Her hours are actually worse due to increased demand.

[Kev Williams]

On a related note, have you changed your handling of packages and items you receive, even food deliveries? If so, how?

Whenever I leave the house I take a small bottle of sanitizer with and wear nitrile gloves. Yesterday I dropped off several packages to the post office, before I went in I rubbed some sani over the gloves, then went in and and set my packages on the end of the counter as usual. Workers were wearing gloves, but not masks. On the floor they have yellow tape spaced 6' apart in the waiting-line area. They may have customers stand back from the counters farther now, but for the few seconds I was there, no one was at the counter, just one person waiting for a worker... Once I got out I sanitized again, then went to the dollar store. Sanitized me and the cart once I got in...Picked up some pretzels, some paper plates, magic erasers, and a few boxes of stretch leftover covers. When I left I sanitized again. (nitrile gloves sanitize great btw, a tiny bit smears the entire gloves, and my hands don't suffer) From there I headed to Walmart to pick up some dog treats and some smelly wax bars for the wife. Parking lot looked like December 26th. Just drove back out and headed home.

Once home I took the dollar store items into my garage shop, where a have a table with a sheet of thin copper on it-- copper, because it deactivates viruses in 4 hours or less. I laid everything on the copper sheet, and the wife misted it all with Lysol, I turned everything over and she misted it again. I sani'd the gloves again, took 'em off, then sani'd my hands. The stuff is still in the garage, and I'm 99% certain now that IF there was a virus hanging out on that stuff it's now compromised...