To think there is a divide forming between furloughed and non furloughed workers

[FuckingFu]

I've heard so many people talking about how they are jealous of their furloughed colleagues. I've a friend who is furious because her company is making up the 20% and so her colleagues are 'sat at home doing nothing' and getting full pay whilst she's still working.

Whilst I do understand the jealousy and even frustration, I really am starting to hate the way it's being spoken about.

There seems to be a lot of talk about 'they'. They are sitting at home doing nothing, we'll be paying higher tax to cover their wages as if furloughed employees are some form sort of seperate, less superior group and a burden on the rest of us.

Personally, whilst I understand those feelings, I have had to say to myself well what would I prefer? I don't want my colleagues, friends and family being made redundant if that can be avoided. And if my company can afford to top up wages to 100% then good, I don't want people suffering financial hardship when it's unnecessary just so I don't have to feel jealous about it.

I want to say to my friend does she not realise that it could have been (and still could be) her being furloughed and not the person at the next desk over. This is something completely out of people's control, no one wants this (perhaps a minority are okay with being furloughed) but certainly no one chose it.

It's as if people think furloughed staff are all lazy bums who want to sit about and have everyone else fork out higher tax to cover them.

I don't want to pay higher tax either but if the alternative is thousands of unnecessary redundancies then what choice do we have.

Just seems to be a very them and us situation going on.

BUT..... What does piss me off is when certain furloughed friends sit moaning and twining about how bored they are and how shit this is.

FFS you are literally being paid to sit at home! Get a grip.

This is what is causing the bad feeling between DH’s colleagues. A couple of the furloughed ones are constantly whinging about being bored, and one in particular keeps going on about how he’s fed up of being stuck home with the kids.

He’s stuck home with his kids on 80% pay while DH is working double his usual hours for 75% pay. Luckily DH is working at home, but a couple of others are out and about and basically risking their families for 5% less pay than the ones whinging.

It’s showing a real lack of judging the mood on the part of some of them.
One even forgot he had colleagues as Facebook friends and laughed at how “some idiots are still working for 5% less than I’m getting for nowt” and is now huffing that they all deleted him because apparently he was being funny.

The only correlation will be if employers have used a skills matrix to decide who is furloughed

Many of them will have done this, it’s just common sense.

@SpudsAreLife84

The situation you describe sounds like the uniformed staff are likely to be required for other duties though, potentially at a moments notice. Prison service? Their pay scales may be higher too.

It's difficult. It's always going to be difficult when you know your company is doing something fantastic for one group, and you want to applaud it, but the consequence is that it makes your life harder because you're not in that group. Humans aren't built to not react to things like that. So, whilst I know it's unreasonable, I'm irrationally cross that whilst none of us at my place have been furloughed, parents are being advised to work whatever hours they can and work will credit the rest to the full working week. Naturally, that means non-parents are doing the additional hours.

I haven't, and won't, say anything - it's a fantastic move particularly for women at work, and to get cross about it is petty and mean, because it's not like anyone is enjoying parenting and working at once. I can just remind myself to be grateful I'm WFH on full pay. But does it irritate me? Sure. I'm human. As long as I don't say it aloud.

I agree, though, on the TV/radio ads going on about how much time we now have, and how we should be treating this like a holiday. They are absolutely maddening and should be stopped.

Any legally safe resulting consultation on redundancies post lockdown will not favour non-furloughed staff. The only correlation will be if employers have used a skills matrix to decide who is furloughed.

Er... pretty much all companies that have furloughed some staff but not others will have used this kind of matrix to decide who to furlough, factoring in business need and likely activity levels. Those factors aren't going to magically disappear post-lockdown - there is likely to be a recession, and each business will identify certain core skills as more needed than others.

There will be exceptions (those with health conditions), but no sensible company will have just furloughed people at random.

And I have full sympathy with those furloughed. Someone who normally works hard but has been told not to work (and if they do work they are breaching the government's conditions of the scheme) is NOT a lazy scrounger.

My company hasn't furloughed anyone as yet, but I'm worried about what the future may bring as we are likely to see difficult conditions across many sectors.

And I'm also infuriated by the constant ads / articles etc. about how we all have so much spare time right now! It's just not bloody true.

There have been moments when I have been a bit jealous of those furloughed, but now many of them are being made redundant I'm incredibly grateful that I am still working and have a job.

I'm irrationally cross that whilst none of us at my place have been furloughed, parents are being advised to work whatever hours they can and work will credit the rest to the full working week. Naturally, that means non-parents are doing the additional hours.
does it irritate me? Sure. I'm human.

My work are also doing this and it genuinely hadn't occurred to me to get annoyed by it. Tbh, I hadn't even thought of it like that at all.

Thinking about other people's circumstances will make you miserable because you only see part of the picture. There will also be many things about their position that you won't see that make this harder for them. Just focus on making the most of your own life.

I am working from home, as is DH. With a toddler around. It is exhausting and I'm not giving even 50% to work or to parenting, so really wish I could be furlough so I could at least focus on doing one thing right. As much as I am "jealous" of those furlough, I'm only really jealous of those without kids who can lounge about all day, as any parent knows full well that parenting all day is just as tough as working all day!

I am slightly jealous of those people who are furloughed as I work in retail, in a store where we have stayed open throughout all this, yet I have had my days at work cut from 3 to 2, so I am effectively earning 66% of my original wage so 80% would be a dream at the moment. Also work is twice as busy, as we are doing online orders now as well. Social distancing is a joke as there are 4 staff in a small shop constantly passing each other. My husband is NHS so still working full time. I would love us both to be furloughed and get to sit in the garden in the sunshine!

DH has been furloughed for 4 weeks now, the reduce wage is really stressful and we don't know how long it will go on for. He would love to be working, even offered a pay cut to keep working as the company is still going in some aspects. We have 2 children at home so plenty to do with home schooling but mentally not working and money worries is so very exhausting.
I'm a key worker and still working but less hours (school so rota'd) and I look forward to going in!

I don't know what the answer is and I don't blame the people furloughed, but I am annoyed that there are people making more than I am sitting at home doing nothing while I'm working harder than ever for low pay. I had to delete social media because I was sick to death of seeing those furloughed enjoying the sun and long walks with family while I'm working. And yes that is completely irrational in every way. If I were them I would be doing exactly the same. But I'm not and I don't enjoy my job so I'm annoyed.

@ReceptacleForTheRespectable Fully accept you're a better person than me.

I resent a lot of people who are furloughed. Because they are all over Facebook telling us about the brilliant time they're having with their kids and learning new things.
We are both working ft from home, struggling not to fall apart while DS1 is being emailed schoolwork and being told to stop falling behind. A friend of mine died at the weekend.
I am livid that, at a time when everyone is "in this together" that those having a great time have no fucking empathy for those who are not.

I really love those of you non-furloughed telling the rest of us 'underclass' how hard you're working. Because in my experience, those people who moan the loudest, quite often could spend less time moaning and more time working. Efficiency.

It's that horrible attitude that made people be so vile about "teachers", only looking at the holidays they have and ignoring absolutely everything else.

Of course it would be lovely to chill and not have to work full time, and home school the kids at the same time. It's exhausting. But on the other hand, being paid in full and having a more secure job is nothing
You see the current chilling out, you forget about stress about finance and job security.

Workers currently furlough would be stupid not to make the most of this time, they only have 1 life too! They don't have to hide or be patronising to others who are still working.

Stop comparing yourself with everybody else, it's true it's harder to work AND homeschool. It's not impossible, just do it differently. Most of us don't work 7 days a week...

I couldn't care less who is wfh, or furloughed. It's none of my business and I don't compare myself to others, what a boring life you must have to get wrapped up in envy, jealousy and bitterness.
I like seeing people enjoying themselves on social media, even if I don't post the same type of things.
Concentrate on your own lives, put your own house in order, and enjoy the time you have. life is too short for negativity.

Workers currently furlough would be stupid not to make the most of this time, they only have 1 life too!

No they should sit in a room with all the lights turned out, only eating bread and water as not to upset their working colleagues by having a BBQ in their garden, ensuring they are as miserable as possible during this time.

If your boss offers to top up your wage to 100% you should should shout NO THANK YOU SIR without hesitation, down the phone despite it being the difference between paying your mortgage on time or not.

If you dare to take a break from worrying about your job security or financial future to laugh or enjoy yourself just slightly you are SCUM I tell you!

@LittleMcJiggle you have made me laugh

I agree part of the problem are the downright stupid social media posts along the lines of “ooooh got so much done today. Cleared out dcs wardrobe put loads of stuff for sale on eBay and sold the lot! Made such a profit. I’ve also decorated my entire upstairs whilst being paid not to go into work!
Would never have had the time otherwise. Now going to chill in the garden in the sunshine with a glass of g & t. Dh has been painting the shed and redoing all the decking. Loving this so much.”
I know this people are the same people who post endless messages about how great their dh is, when we all know he’s been shagging Sue from up the road.

@Devlesko absolutely!

I am livid that, at a time when everyone is "in this together" that those having a great time have no fucking empathy for those who are not.

I am not having a great time at all, but I am earning my usual salary and saving an absolute fortune every month (commute, child care, kids related expenses, holidays...). It doesn't mean I have no empathy for the ones whose finances are getting worst and worst, but it would be stupid, ridiculous and unhelpful to deny that's it's a very positive thing for my own family.

If you start being livid at everyone else, you are only making yourself miserable.

I know my job is more secure - it’s a fact yes there maybe redundancies if we stay in lockdown longer than September - but I know I will be one of the last to go as in in finance/payroll so will be needed until the end.

I hope there isn’t an end for me and my colleagues.

I know this people are the same people who post endless messages about how great their dh is, when we all know he’s been shagging Sue from up the road

If you know these people are the types to post endless annoying things on SM, why are you surprised now?

I find Facebook posts tiresome in normal times, I'm not surprised by the amount of 'bragging' on there now. It's not new, people have been doing it since the thing launched. Social media is very rarely a true insight into someone's life, more often than not it's used to make themselves feel better about what's really going on.

I.e. annoying Facebook woman probably knows about Sue up the road and is using social media as a way to cover it up, ensuring that the world thinks she has a perfect marriage.