The work undone is something I have long campaigned and thought about. Disabled, elderly and carers all have need for input of attention, ideas, personal intervention and advocacy. Teachers can coach from home. Exercise coaches can usefully drag their attention from the already fit to the least fit. Unemployed bar or casino staff can either sit staring at the wall demanding money from the taxpurse, or go and shadow any useful job which makes lives better, not worse, for the recipient.
The concept of 'shadowing' is the same as 'work experience', 'internship' or 'sit by Nellie'. Get the measure of a job by watching and learning, and in a small way assisting. People go into houses as well as other care and health settings, to help people who need all manner of help. A hard pressed care professional may be frantically trying to complete everything from personal care, preparing food and assisting the person eating it, racing round to do essential housework, ensuring medicine is taken on time, and filling in a lot of paperwork. Being busily furloughed as an actor or cabin crew or clerical assistant may be less satisfying than doing something life enhancing.
Those who are vulnerable if they leave home can work from home. If their former job no longer exists, even temporarily, they can change to one that does. If even they can't, they can earn their dole
(fancifully renamed 'furlough' or not) and their self respect at the same time as making themselves employable by learning something new, or by teaching something. Making friends with another person online or on the phone means taking time to comprehend what that person needs, such as help to order online, or someone to act as a personal advocate in place of a non-existent supportive relative . Advocates are desperately needed, especially for isolated people, to fight their corner with everything from trying to get an appointment, or get to it, or trying to get a mystery bill re-assessed, or talking through some techno problem, or a personal disaster, when the person has nowhere to turn for support and no relative to fight on their behalf.
While Rishi is bunging money at harmful, life destroying activities like alcohol and gambling, not a penny goes to social care.
The point about c.c.t.v. recording and preventing abuse is that whistle blowers, journalists, activists, concerned relatives or activists may detect or prevent only a miniscule percentage. There are not enough cameras and not enough people to view the hours of footage. This was first an idea regarding employment or soul-mending opportunity for disabled people to do something useful in the world, even from their beds. With Covid, there is a vast increase in untapped resource of surplus effort and available hours.
The prevention is the main thing. You will not go and kick people or animals, even on night shift, when you know without doubt that the c.c.t.v. footage of your shift will be reviewed. Someone, somewhere in the country, will get an hour of it to scan. Someone else will get another. If either of them is uneasy about something they see, or hear, they will flag an alert and an extra few chunks will go to other people to view. You won't get away with threatening, bullying or abuse, of those in your power, or (also importantly) of your colleagues. Nobody needs to whistle blow or snitch. It's out of their hands. You will be caught, and the evidence will be there, so you just know you dare not do it.
Over and again, scandals happen because fellow workers dare not report, or because managers don't investigate, or because there is no independent, unarguable, c.c.t.v. sound and filmed proof of bullying and power abuse. (Or wrong medical or restraint practices) Good, caring staff are forced to leave because they cannot stand by while helpless to prevent what is wrong. The health and care services are riddled with monstrous practices, continuing for decades, because nobody dares protest. C.C.T.V., viewed by independent witnesses, would prevent a lot of harm. (Someone who wants to report but not report, can find pretexts to be 'accidentally' revealing while on the phone or chatting to another of the innocent colleagues)
C.C.T.V is compulsory in slaughterhouses (but will any staff believe it will be viewed?), but it is not even compulsory, let alone viewed, in care homes. Unemployed people, retired people, caring people and disabled people can all view footage from home