To think furloughed is NOT a synonym for feckless?

[GinDaddyRedux]

During this unprecedented, horrible period of time for everyone, one of the most dismaying things I've read about has been the vilification of workers who through no fault of their own, have been furloughed by their employer and paid 80% of their wages according to the Government scheme.

I have read on websites (not this one, have only recently returned) and heard friends say the following kind of things:

"Some of us are still working while others are getting a paid holiday at home. End this and get people back to work".

"The longer you pay people to sit at home, the longer they resist going back to work".

"Another furlough scheme will mean the sponging dossers will sit it out for as long as they can lying in bed and watching This Morning".

For God's sake, what is it about this country that means despite a life-threatening crisis, people instead turn on each other and blame people who have been forced home from their jobs?

I am not furloughed thank God, but my wife is. She has worked for 22 years in various professions with children and she certainly is not "feckless". She would love to get back to work but recognises the importance of the scheme.

Why are these people vilified? Why do we always do this, instead of constructive conversation about when furloughing can be lifted and what to do?

AIBU here?

I agree with PP that it's envy/jealousy that someone else is perceived as having it easier (which is often not the case or at least not as easier as you think).

But since when were envy and jealousy emotions that should be encouraged? Lots of people say 'im allowed to feel jealous'. Which is fine. But people are also allowed to point out that it's a completely pointless feeling, and it is wrong to allow that to spill over into treating or speaking about other people like shit just because you're jealous of them (and I really wouldn't be jealous of most furloughed employees anyway!).

It's classic case of the grass always being greener.

I'm furloughed and I couldn't care less what anyone thinks.
Why would I care, why the angst?
Just get on with it.

I'm furloughed and I couldn't care less what anyone thinks

You wouldn't care if your colleagues resented you for being furloughed through no choice of your own? I would.

There's still a couple of people working at my company. I'm good friends with one of them. If I thought she was sat resenting me, telling people I was sat on my arse all day playing video games, I'd hate it.

I largely agree with you OP, although perhaps now more people have a sense of sympathy with the majority of those on benefits, who have had this sort of treatment for a long time.

I think that one thing that contributes to this is that the government screwed up some key areas in the scheme, one of which has been that furloughed workers can receive 80% of their pay and then go and work somewhere else as well! Where that has happened it has caused untold trouble amongst those still in work, to see colleagues getting what is, effectively, more money than them having to go into their normal job. The furlough rules should have either prevented this.

My mum was nearly in tears when she was furloughed. Partly because of the financial worry, partly because she is so close to her team and knew the 25% of members still working would struggle and partly because she has worked for 40 odd years (minus 2x maternity) and doesn't know what to do with herself.

Anyone calling her "feckless" or a "scrounger" is ignorant, cruel and idiotic

I'm furloughed.
DH isn't, cause he can work from home.

I know who's working harder out of us both.

I also know I'm Loving this. Absolutely fucking loving it.

Because im choosing to see this as a "free" holiday.

I'm getting extra time with my kids. I'm getting to see them progress with their education. I've managed to get my youngest to learn her timestables and fall in love with reading. I'm taking them on a bike ride every day. I've also identified that I'm certain the youngest has dyslexia.

Im also preparing triple the amount of meals, normally the au pair does breakfast, school lunch and me dinner. But now I'm all three. I'm doing more cleaning.

I'm actively choosing to love this, and see it as a free holiday because if I didn't I'd be a wreck by now.

I'm furloughed because I'm fairly sure my job of visiting in excess of 40 different supermarkets everyweek and traveling over 500 miles a week, wouldn't be great for keeping the virus at bay, same as my hundreds of colleagues.

I'll also have a job to go back to! Shock horror.

Not feckless, or lazy, or anything like that. But I sure as hell am going to capitalise on this and make the best of a bad situation.

As a furloughed person what exactly am I expected to do? There's nowhere to go and nothing to do outside the home. The boredom is crushing and the days are just endless. I don't want to be sat here, I want to be at work but I have no choice so how am I "feckless"?

There are too many people who are happy to have very little, as long as they can look down on other people who have less. The current situation is a logical consequence of the 'strivers vs skivers' narrative so beloved of George Osborne. People have swallowed it whole and are now applying it more widely. It's so sad to see people enjoying the misery of others and wallowing in envy.

I'm not furloughed, I'm NHS, working from home and doing longer hours than ever because we have to keep things going. I worry about those among my friends who've had to take a 20% pay cut when the bills just keep coming in - and has anyone noticed the rise in food prices? Those of us who are still working are the lucky ones.

As a furloughed person what exactly am I expected to do?

Someone will be along soon to tell you to go pick fruit I imagine.

I was really annoyed yesterday at the poster that pretty much said "All these people will have reasons for not returning to work because it's not safe but how many of them are queuing at B&Q?". What an absolute twat that poster is. How on earth does she know if even one person on furlough will 'protest' at going back? Apparently no one on that thread was calling furloughed workers lazy and scroungers. I read differently. Considering I've worked for 15 years and never claimed a benefit in my life, my 6-8 weeks on furlough on £148 a week is probably more than covered by my contributions 👍

Yes this entire situation shows us just how many petty, resentful, small minded and hard of thinking people there are in society peoplewhoannoyyou being a prime example. There’s actually been loads of it on MN.

Employees are not to blame for being furloughed and they don’t have to spend their days being miserable to appease life's begrudgers - even in a fucking global pandemic these types find a way to wail waaah, it’s not fair on meeeee, other people need to be more miserable so I can feel better about my own circumstances.

The only thing that could satisfy some of these people would be to look in their neighbours bowl and see that it’s empty. Pathetic.

My friend who is furloughed worries about being seen out and about. Like when you are off sick and have to go out for milk and see someone from work?

I do see where you are coming from, but some people/employers are really taking the piss out of the scheme.

A friend has ben furloughed along with pretty much the whole workforce of her company in the full knowledge that the business isn't going to survive the pandemic, hence there won't be jobs for her and her colleagues to go back to.

The whole purpose of the scheme is to protect jobs, not to be used as some form of additional unemployment benefit.

My DC's generation is going to suffer for their entire working lives to pay for this scheme, probably never having a retirement.

I can understand people being bit resentful tbh.

I blame the redtop and tackier media, always stirring up synthetic outrage and setting one group against another. Nobody chose to be furloughed. Nobody picked their job with a pandemic in mind, oddly!

I'm retired with my own business which has stopped temporarily because, like others, it involved travelling between multiple settings which themselves have been closed down and working towards events that have been cancelled. (yes, I'm talking about schools.)

I can't and wouldn't claim anything from government because it's not my main income and I pay myself in occasional dividends anyway. I don't employ anyone else, fortunately. I can weather the drop in income because I mostly spend it on travel, which is off the radar at the moment, so... 🤷🏼‍♀️

Good luck to all who are furloughed and I hope your job is there when this is all over. If you can make good use of the time with your children or spouse or in the house or garden, that's a bonus. As a taxpayer (still!) of 40+ years, you're more than welcome to my share of what it costs. We all put in when we can and take out when needs must.

Gripers and spite mongers need to be ignored.

@peoplewhoannoyyou are you being sarcastic or serious?

My husband has been furloughed, because the government said his workplace had to shut. What else is he supposed to do? Its been made clear that if he seeks employment (short term) elsewhere he will no longer be employed where he currently is. He's not sitting home playing on his xbox though... Nope, he's struggling with being in the house and out of work, struggling with the knowledge that we can barely afford to pay our rent and bills. Plenty of people are buying new stuff for their children for their gardens or things to keep them occupied, we can't because that would then mean we can't afford food/gas/electric. We managed on his wage, but the 20% loss on a minimum wage job is quite substantial.

People have been furloughed through no fault of theor own. Not one that i know of, is feckless and they are all itching to get back to work as soon as it is safe to do so.

"There are too many people who are happy to have very little, as long as they can look down on other people who have less."

This is the actual heart of it!! Amen

Threads on MN will have you believe that every single person furloughed will lose their job at the end of it. Some people would love that.
🤷‍♀️

@peoplewhoannoyyou - you again. What a nasty spiteful view of the world you have. And tell us, how is the view from you Ivory Tower?

YANBU.

They're ignoring the fact that millions of people have no choice. If you work, for example, in hospitality or clothing retail, what else are you supposed to do? Go to work and stand in a closed shop all week?

Yep, there's loads of it on MN.

My workplace has had to close so we're all furloughed, so at least me and my colleagues are all in the same boat.

I'm not doing much sitting around though being a single parent of a young child. And losing 20% of my income has taken my pay down to less than minimum wage.

"So it grates a little that the feckless furloughers are sitting on their arses all day playing video games"

Jealousy is a sin you know!

DH, who has been furloughed whilst about half his work colleagues were not has gone back to work this week. He will work for 3 weeks then go back on furlough. His company are rotating the furlough, keeping everyone in some work, which helps keep their time sensitive work certs/approvals alive without questions or iritation for trhe customers.

Some of his colleagues have been moaning, they have, apparently, been keeping the company afloat. They, the factory, should be rewarded. Oddly, now they have finished the order the were working on and don't have any more work coming in, they aren't backing off, seeming not to notice that DHs side of things (site work and installations) is now bringing on the cash.

I think some people just don't see some things from wider view than the end of their nose. Makes them a little bit insular, out of step, plain odd!

I hate hearing people say that those still in work are picking up the work of those furloughed. I'm furloughed because my industry is not allowed to operate during this time. My work is largely in person so no, none of the colleagues with other jobs who are still in work (a vast minority of my company) are doing my job.

@NikeDeLaSwoosh

The government didn't introduce stricter segmenting or means testing because of the costs and time implications. So if the company is eligible for it despite having a dodgy balance sheet, then they're eligible. It's not a case that they should go bust and turf their employees onto the benefits just because "furloughing costs" right?

This is the same sort of argument we see with tax.

People (perhaps morally correctly) getting angry with large companies such as Amazon not paying enough tax. Yet are companies really expected to treat taxation like the collection plate at church; "please give generously?"

It's patently absurd to think that any company won't just adhere to the obligations it has under law. That's why Ernst and Young, KPMG etc exist.

If people don't like furloughing, let the Government know. But don't expect companies (except those like V.Beckham or Spurs that can be publicly shamed) to suddenly do what's best for the taxpayer over self preservation.

Of course it's jealousy but an understandable one for many people. People are jealous and envious of what others have they wish they had themselves. It's part of our society.

What's annoying are the lucky ones rubbing it other people's faces, or those who criticise others for envying them but are the first to shout outcry when it is suddenly them losing out.