Please can we now ban the phrase -'key worker'

[Hoppybunny]

Way back in March it was relevant and distinguishing, but now the economy is creeping back to life why does every other post on mumsnet need to mention that they are a key worker! Surely every worker needs childcare provisions/access to shops etc and this badge of honour needs to end?

I'm not a hero, nor should I be treated as such. I worry that the hero mantra detracts from the reality that we are normal people, who require safe working conditions (ie PPE, psychological support, decent working conditions

If I was cynical I'd say that the elevation of doctors and nurses to hero status was to detract from the fact that in the UK in 2020 we were in a position where the basics of being able to do their jobs safely ie PPE were not available.

It seemed a case of shut up and don't complain about this because you've got free food and claps.

'Frontline' staff is not a new term. It has long been used to distinguish those doing direct service provision from those doing jobs to support direct service provision. We could think of another term if it offends people?

Just pre covid I moved from a 'frontline' job to one that supports the work from a distance. And don't I bloody know the difference! I feel like I dodged a bullet, but even without covid my stress levels and mental wellbeing are much improved.

I think the problem comes because we are now 3 months into schools being closed, shops are opening back in and people are being told they must go to work.
Those people being told that are at risk of losing their jobs if they don’t go to work because they don’t have childcare.
Their job is key to them and their family and they may end up losing their homes

Meanwhile there are also a fair few people playing the keyworker schooling system. I know of at least 5 who only have one keyworker with another parent working at home or easily able to change change hours etc. Another who is one of three key holders who is on rota to open up and stay on site at building which holds a key service - he doesn’t work for the service at all - he only opens up 2 days a week but still takes up a full time school place for his 3 children. He says it’s because he needs to work the other days. Yes he does, in his entirely non keyworker related role)

The government has decided shops can open and in a couple of weeks bars and restaurants and possibly gyms will open. More employers will be telling their staff they have to come back to work. It’s disgraceful this is happening without schools being fully open.

This is bound to increase the growing animosity between those who can access school/childcare and those who cannot.

"in an ideal world we would all have stayed home, not gone to supermarkets at all and been delivered our goods"

Unworkable prospect....

Who would have processed the orders, done the packing, delivered the goods to the distribution centre, packed them up, managed the fleet of delivery people and vehicles, driven the delivery vehicles - and how would THEY have all travelled to work for food production, packing and logistics jobs that cannot be done at home.

Who would have Maintained the massive fleet of additional vehicles, maintained the roads. What would happen if your kids spilled all the milk the day it was delivered -- do you just have to wait until the next allocated delivery slot before you're allowed any more milk? What if your fridge went on the blink and most the remaining food was spoilt, would you have a system of emergency same-day deliveries and everyone just make do eating stuff like dry porridge all day until the fresh food arrived?

I thought there was a small % of people in UK who cannot get any kind of credit; they struggle to manage money well but do better with weekly cash -- anyway, might not be able to order things at all ever.

Where's the appreciation for supermarket staff who had to keep working in massively busy areas with pretty much 0 PPE. I've never understood why teacher unions kicked up more of a fuss than theirs

I think that's probably to do with the fact that only a small proportion of staff in retail are union members compared to teachers.

In the public sector, TU membership generally runs at over 50%, so untions reperesent a good chunk of the workforce. In retail, it's much lower (it was in 1/8 at one time), so the unions are far less powerful.

In retail, it's much easier to shit on staff from a great height, especially with so many on ZHCs.

@itbemay because we have no choice, but also partly that working gives us something concrete when we have nothing else. I'll tell you what, a world without school is bleak. They pretend they're there but they're not. Work gives us something to do, somewhere to be, even if just virtually. It means we have the money for the £1200 needed so our children have some activities within the 6 month period without school and we're helping colleagues, clients and people through our work.

So what do we do? Stick the TV on, stick the computer on, get out the snacks and Lego and then go upstairs to work and ignore the kids for the day. It's horrible but it's all we can do. We're just very lucky that they get on so well. They're infant school age so at least less worry about accidents etc. The kids have adapted too and I think schools will get a shock because the kids aren't stupid and know the door has been closed to them but not their friends. How will that play out? It's all shit.

Who are the back line key workers?

I would say mainly those who don't have F2F contact with clients/patients/service users etc when working normally but do things that are essential. People like DP (payroll manager) because people need to be paid so they can eat, DWP staff invovled in paying benefits and pensions, IT support which keeps the rest of us WFH and essential systems running, and things like admin staff in the judicial system so that urgent cases can be heard. So I get that (most) banking staff are essential, because we need to be able to access our money.

Three of my colleagues are in this position, and not one of them has sent their kids to school, they've all managed to WFH and look after their kids. Two of them have partners who can't WFH, so they haven't been able to tag team, either.

Good for them, but I don't begrudge key workers who can WFH but still send their kids to school. If it's a truly critical job then it needs to be done properly. You don't know their full circumstances - with younger children or additional needs it can be impossible to work while caring for them, especially if both parents need to be available during office hours or without being able to schedule chunks of time (or even if you could, they might be too tired to manage it for 6 months).

Yanbu. Tired of it now.

@Stuckforthefourthtime I begrudge them. The system isn't based on what jobs really need that level of support and concentration. I provide data that is used to support vulnerable kids, it broke this week and I had to try and fix it with my 4 year old in the room. My husband works in safety engineering making sure massive equipment can be signed off and processes that save lives are followed. There's nowhere our kids can go.

Trouble with splitting it between frontline and non front line is that the front line staff risk spreading it around to the non front line staff. They'll be sharing buildings, offices, canteens, toilets, touching files/paperwork etc.

In the early stages, covid was rampaging through hospital wards, spread by the staff. There were in patients who caught it whilst in the hospital. It's been mentioned many times that NHS workers weren't social distancing or taking other precautions between themselves and that they were wearing PPE etc to protect themselves, not the patients nor other staff.

The only "safe" non front line workers would be those in completely separate buildings with very little face to face with the front line workers.

Wow I posted to say that DH had 3 colleagues he personally knew who had died and scrolling through not a single person has even acknowledged that.

Looks like people really are fucked off with people in roles designated as 'key' by the government at the beginning of this.

I'm still a little taken aback though.

And those saying well death is a normal part of life, the job. Not that many colleagues when you work in sodding TFL it isn't. I'll tell him that though so I.

I mean MN can be pretty awful when people get their teeth into something on a thread but that's pretty extreme even by usual standards.

Tired of it now

I begrudge them

I mean listen to yourselves

I've got a FT full on job which I'm doing from home. I've got kids. I didn't take a key worker school place as we don't NEED the place. I am here, albeit working. Not so for a single parent.

He's out on doing his thing, working his shifts, seeing how badly hit his employer is and having colleagues he knows die.

For fucks sake.

*I don't understand why the term would, what, annoy?

I mean why really do you care? Is it a feeling that it's a term that makes people 'special' and get don't deserve it? That's pretty childish.*

As many people have said on here, it's the not term itself but how some seem to be using it as a badge of honour and superiority and using it to take the piss

Key workers not only using the discounts already available to them but being CF and asking for more, thinking they deserve free stuff because they are key workers, thinking because they are 'key' they have the right to tell people what to do. Again this is some, not all, not even most, but the loud piss talking majority tend to always ruin things for everyone else (and I think this applies to life in general).
@PumbaasCucumbas has got it I think

To me keyworker isn’t a title or badge but just a means to an end, so that necessary stuff gets done

Being defined as a key worker means the allowances and provisions are there so you can get the job done, not to make you special.

My husband and I have not used any 'discounts' I don't even know what they are

Our supermaket lets NHS workers jump the queue and that's fine by me.

Still no comment on the deaths. Even after presumably having read the posts.

Not even a 2 sec to write 'sorry to hear about DH colleagues that must be hard for him'.

Nope, anger over whatever discounts may be available to him that we don't even know about.

shiny yes, many people seem downright unpleasant here, and only hearing what they want.

Companies offering nhs discounts are just doing so for marketing, and it's usually just a repackaging of their current offer. It's nothing to be worked up about, especially given the much bigger issues of staff dying.

@shinyfootball I am really sorry to hear about your husband's colleagues, I didn't see it further up the thread and it's horrible but must be really scary for him and for you with him working for tfl. I don't have a problem with key workers, I think they do so much for all of us which should be valued and recognised. But not all of the current definition of key workers are in that position.

I also think when it comes to education can I really say that your children deserve an education more than my child or any other child based solely on your occupation. That's where I draw the line and that's the problem we have now. Maybe I don't so much begrudge the parents, even the ones playing the system but I begrudge the school for having the stupid us and them policy that they have and maybe if they'd given all kids the chance to at least say goodbye to their teachers and classmates for the year that would have helped.

@shinyfootball

I’m really sorry (genuinely!) about your Dh’s colleagues.

I’m not too bothered with the phrase, what grinds my gears more is the use of “vulnerable” or “shielding” they’re all over the Facebook posts by any supermarket. Eg if Asda put up a post like “Staff at our x branch, made sure regular customer Elsie had a great 100th birthday” then cue a barrage of comments from some vulnerable and shielding moany twats complaining they can’t get a delivery slot. 🙄

@yearinyearout

I know someone who runs a craft/support group once a week for people with MH issues. Whilst it's very worthwhile, it doesn't warrant her banging on about being a keyworker on Facebook every day. She refers to herself as "someone who works on the front line" 🙄

Lmao!

My husband and I have not used any 'discounts' I don't even know what they are

But surely you see that its actually a few who are begruding such discounts and that to start with? Its more the pisstaking and almost sneering from some 'keyworkers' thats been (rightly) ripped apart on here. If you haven't been expecting free stuff, then most posts are not about you.

I do think the posts kicking off about keyworkers kids going to school are anger directed at the wrong place though. Its the government who need the blame there. Keyworkers did not say you had to go back to work while schools and childcare settings were closed to you and I am sure if they could change things for you they would!

Even the 'one parent is a keyworker, other is WFH and the kids are at school'..I understand the frustration, but not the anger directed at the people who are making the best of the situation they have been given.

I don't really know what you expected said about the deaths your husband has witnessed in reality. Of course its desperately sad that so many have lost their lives but..it seems you want people specifically to comment on your post? Most know peple who have died or been very ill throughout this. Some will know even more who they work with who have died or became very ill. The situation should not have happened, and I 100% blame the ridiculous PPE situation for it. Some would still have died, yeah, but nowhere near as many. It is vile to expect people to continue their jobs, however essential while you are sending them out into danger ith no thought for their health. Its not good enough, it has not been good enough, its STILL not good enough and it makes me fucking mad tbh. I am sure I am not alone in that. I have yet to see anyone defend the ridiculous PPE/deaths situation.

So yeah, long post really saying not much. Just that angr is clearly being directed in the wrong place. I get the rage from those who have been told to work but can't as childcare, as they are in a nowin situation. But blaming that on other parents who are trying to make the best of their own situation is not right really. Everyone stopping blaming each other and focussing on the government, who seem to think its fine to open up all businesses while disallowing school or childcare for many many pupils..would maybe pressure them into some realistic plan. As 'go to work, but don't send your child to school, look after them and omeschool, but go to work, dont leave them at grandparents, but no school, and no childcare, but back to work, and deal with it somehow' is really not acceptable to me, and shouldn't be to anyone!

Nope, anger over whatever discounts may be available to him that we don't even know about.

There was absolutely none of this in my post. My annoyance is directed towards CF asking for and expecting extra freebies. What discounts companies choose to give out is up to them and I don't resent that. I do resent selling a phone for ~£300 and a keyworker coming along going I can only pay £150 but I'm a keyworker and I would love to have it, followed by sad eyes. And I've seen the same with headphones and sofas or key workers posting to have their lawn mown or car washed.

I am sorry about any deaths, every single death is awful and the preventable ones a whole new level of horrific. But I have plenty of my own deaths to deal with and the colleagues of the spouse of someone posting on the internet (whilst not any less tragic) just can't get my full attention whilst I am focused on making an entirely separate point. This thread has hundreds of post and people respond to the ones relevant to them, if we all tried to respond to every post then every post would be a small essay.

I am just seen someone pleading for a free washing machine for their “essential worker” daughter.
I think those that have been made redundant are probably more in need of a freebie.

BatShite this is the op:

' 09:48Hoppybunny

Way back in March it was relevant and distinguishing, but now the economy is creeping back to life why does every other post on mumsnet need to mention that they are a key worker! Surely every worker needs childcare provisions/access to shops etc and this badge of honour needs to end?'

Not much nuance in there, is there. And they want the term banned which is a bit odd. You can't ban words!

'I don't really know what you expected said about the deaths your husband has witnessed in reality.'

Well he does witness deaths in reality in his job. He has to go to RTA and stabbings and stuff. He often gets there before they have got everything taken away. The other day he turned up and someone had been decapitated in a crash. He's very squeamish. He was very upset. It's a part of his job but he's just deciding where the buses go.

The deaths he has experienced due to covid are people he knew from work. Different.

Anyway I get that people don't know what to say etc so I'll leave that there.

Sorry don't know what they are 'expected' to say.