Jealous of Furloughed Co-workers

[RollercoasterRita]

70% of my company have been furloughed, on 95% pay ( 80% from the government and 15% from our company) I have been sitting at home, working all day for 3 weeks now, for 5% more pay. It's hard and I haven't been able to spend hardly any time with my children. Whenever I look on social media, all I can see are my furloughed co-workers having fun with their children, sunbathing in their gardens, catching up with chores. AIBU to feel so jealous, given that when this is all over, hopefully my job will be safe?

@ VideographybyLouBloom yup

@VideographybyLouBloom
Thanks for your aggressive reply. You are right, no guarantees for anyone. How we choose to furlough is no concern of yours but makes sense to keep your most reliable and trusted staff doesn't it and that's what we have done. Thanks again.....🖕

@Bojheybuddy LOL. I felt a bit better after reading it though. Way more honest than the HR spiel

@Nodancingshoes hardly an aggressive reply, just an honest response to a thoroughly sweeping and twatish post in the first place.
Good luck to you as the economy unravels over the next 18 months. I really hope you aren’t made to eat your words.

I'm WFH in a critical role
Husband was WFH in a non critical role then he got furloughed. I'm working twice my normal hours and he is still keeping in touch and doing work (of his own volition, not requested by the office) and not stepping up and keeping the kids out the way so I can work. Because of this they're in school part time due to my keyworker status and it makes me feel so worried. He gets his 80% pay and could be homeschooling/ playing/ whatever but won't. When I'm not on a call, I'm trying to print activities and keep the kids occupied. I know hubby feels he needs to protect himself from redundancy and he is the main earner by a huge factor but even so at this point I feel the kids are priority, and my job because it is especially needed during the pandemic. The whole thing is rubbish for everyone.
The other thing that worries me is that with no childcare costs and me earning overtime our tax credits will be overpaid and we'll be stuck paying it back at some point. There are no winners at all in the whole situation.

Boheyjbuddy. Haven't had an email but so many colleagues off either sick or shielding. Know that the shifts won't be covered.
On the subject of childcare keyworkers are having to do that aswell. Dont want to send daughter to school to reduce risk. Started out feeling sorry for everyone as we all have our own stresses However I feel that nhs workers are risking their lives every day. Let's start a campaign for health professionals to be given basic human rights ie food drink and fresh air when working.

Seems to me that everyone thinks there are only 2 groups of people in this crisis - the NHS and key workers who have to go out and risk their lives and those that are at home doing arts and crafts and having quality family time. There's a third group who are also working hard at home and neglecting their kids to keep companies and jobs going. I'm jealous of those at home who don't have to work some days, but other days I'm glad I've got my job at home to keep me sane!

It's really hard. Over half my colleagues have been furloughed on 100% of pay. I'm not being furloughed at all because what I do is very technical. However I've lost all my supporting colleagues so now completely working in a vacuum and having to cover other people's work. I have two school age kids and husband in a very similar situation to me. I have found it hard to swallow but keep trying to think/hope at least my job won't be in the firing line. But it is hard when a furloughed colleague starting talking about the holiday they were accruing whilst not working. I'm not on the bread line and everyone is happy (ish) and healthy so I'm trying not to be too annoyed, but I'm shattered and worried about kids schooling and elderly relatives who seem to think neither me nor my husband are doing anything other than sat at home. Nobody's having much fun are they? 🙂

Depends on your job? My company has been struggling financially so furloughed workers have bigger chance to be made redundant. If you work in retail, your job probably returned after the lockdown?

so many people saying "furloughed on 80%" but you do realise that this up to £2500 unless your employer is topping you up. I am a school teacher and even our cleaning staff earn more than that and so they are furloughed on 80% of their wage for teaching staff that means below 50% of their wage especially once teachers pensions are removed from that as we pay a HUGE percentage of our pay into pensions. So, I am furloughed, and after paying NI, tax and pension will receive less than £1000 for the month because I need to look after my 3 children and cannot complete 30+ hours of live teaching per week. yes I am a teacher but cannot have places in school for my boys as they are limited and understandably teachers are lower priority than NHS and food suppliers.
Life on furlough is not shiny and happy and 80% pay for most workers.

Your cleaners earn £30,000 a year????

I didn't know cleaning staff earn more than £2500 a month.

My colleague is furloughed on full wages. I'm now doing her job snd mine. She's posting pix of herself gardening and sitting in her hot tub. I'm not impressed

surely if we all go back to work mid May the difference between furloughed and non furloughed will be a lot less than if this carries on til say September. If you're still at work (and we still have anything of an economy left) and been managing an extra % workload competently for 5 months, giving 100% and delivering then you are becoming more and more valuable- this doesn't necessarily mean that others will be made redundant but it surely gives you an opportunity to seek promotion/ salary negotiations etc.

and I'd love to earn £2500 as a clear where do I apply please?

I'm wfh doing at least 45 hours a week whilst 80% of my colleagues are at home with no laptops on full pay not furloughed. My team is frontline therefore we were first to get laptops and we have had the worst 3 weeks of my 20 year career, the abuse we have taken from professionals and the public because we are not operating as normal is unbelievable and my staff are dropping like flies with stress. I'd be happy to sit in my garden and see my children other than sitting in my kitchen 9 hours a day. Yanbu I'm jealous too.

Totally get it. Completely know I am unreasonable for it and don’t vocalise it but am jealous of all the people furloughed, or in my case working in similar gov depts but doing very little work as they can’t do much from home. I’m working almost double hours as part of a gov dept providing essential services and even when I’m not logged on, constantly worrying about what I’ve got to do the next day.

I’m reminding myself that I am privileged to be at home, safe - when other are front line workers in the emergency services, care and food sectors etc. And also that my colleagues in other depts of my own gov dept and other places may end up redeployed into other gov departments to pick up their extra COVID work. At least I get to stay where I am familiar.

From a purely professional and ambitious standpoint (and possibly might get judgement!) I am also reminding myself that I am working above my grade and very hard - and will be a valuable experience for career progression later on.

Grass is always greener though, isnt it?

I've been working from home with the children since before lockdown because both were ill with communicable diseases prior to schools being closed

It was fucking hard, I wont lie. However now I find myself in the position of being furloughed, even one being topped up to 100% I find myself in the precarious position of knowing the business sees my work as non-essential at times of crisis.

In the grand scheme of things it makes sense, however when they look back over 2020 and what was achieved/delivered and it turns out that my non-essential job really can be done on an ad hoc basis by contractors if necessary then I could find myself jobless.

Whilst I have skills, they're a nice to have rather than a must have so my sector will probably take a battering in general over the next 24 months as the economy rebalances.

Short term, I'm relieved to have some breathing space with my children. Long term I hope they look back on this time with me as being worthwhile because I have a feeling we'll have to substantially change our lives without my higher income.

I have no idea how many staff have been furloughed at my uni, but some are going to be redeployed as my dept are heavy with work and we also have 3 people leaving by the end of the month

I don't think being furloughed necessarily means you're more likely to be made redundant. I work in marketing for an organisation that does projects for businesses. I've been furloughed, and most of the people who work on customer projects haven't been. This makes sense because we're still working on current projects but nobody is planning new projects so we're not trying to get new business. Post-lockdown, if projects start drying up, marketing will be needed more than ever whereas the people who work on projects are more likely to be redundant. It really depends on your role.

I can understand this must be difficult for people.

I’m sitting at home on 100% pay while others are working but I’m sure the ones who earn the least were chosen to be furloughed and we’re the least important too.

The furlough thing is interesting, it was not designed with a viral pandemic in mind. This is new territory. This virus will be endemic until a vaccine is available, it could take around 12-18 months.
Im not sure that many companies can keep loaning money from the Gov to pay 18 months salary for people to do nothing. Companies will have to restructure to stay afloat, any previously marginal ones will fold.
It is probably wise to keep working if you can, this will prove you are able and flexible.
Just seen a Porton Down research spokesman speaking in terms of the country releasing younger people up to 30 years old back into employment first.
Many changes will come from this, previous logic may not be able to be applied.

I’ve been furloughed and I am gutted and very aware that it means I may not have a job in the future. I love my job and its makes you feel worthless. My husband’s business has had to temporarily close so we are trying to get by on 30% of our income. I am getting 80% of a minimum wage job and we have to last on this until June at the earliest. We had to self isolate as I was ill and we are still waiting for the Employment Support Allowance that was four weeks ago on Tuesday. So with SSP our income will be even less in April. It took 2.5 days to get through on the phone lines. We have had to cancel everything non essential. Universal credit, you can’t get through for the ID checks. We’ve thought about getting alternative jobs but I am tied to my contact and my husband has an injury to it’s very limited what he can do. Plus he is still working from home just doing it as good will with the hope paying clients will return at some point in the future. He has worked so hard for 20 years and loves what he does. But we all have to do the right thing. So behind every smiling furloughed face on social media they are most likely putting on a brave face and making the most of it. Trying to reassure themselves it’s going to be okay. I am jealous of people who are able to work at home on full pay and have enough money to buy their child a birthday present.

I think it’s hard regardless of what situation your in. I’m a key-worker and my husband Is did 12 hours yesterday. Felt absolutely shattered then you hear someone saying that there house is neat as pin , batch cooking odd jobs done. I did put out to people that you can volunteer with the local authorities or the nhs even if it’s just to phone a few people up a week who have no one. I don’t know I feel that it’s frustrating when you go to the shops and there’s not much in when.
I think you can’t judge people but perhaps there should be a bit of sensitivity for the people who have to work.

Might I say...
I don’t think furlough = redundant

It will depend of your job and the need of the company there and then.

OP I understand it is just too much for everyone and as much as we like working in specific difficult scenario in exchange of a specific pay...atm noone has what they agreed at first. Meh it is a wordly pandemic so all in all the UK are doing great and the government really pulled off a great scheme which isn’t happening everywhere which will give significant extra chances for everyone at the end.
But for now it s.... for everyone. And especially those who lost their job with very little or no warning and have los to feed.

Everyone take care. Stay home.