What's it like if your work isn't affected by covid?

[ImInStealthMode]

Not sure whether this should be in here or chat really. Just a musing.

I work in the travel industry so every single day of work since March 2020 has revolved entirely around Covid. It's in every conversation we have, every communication we send, every thought, every sale, every amendment, every refund and so on. There is literally no escape at all in a working day. We are all just so desperately fatigued by it at this stage.

It only occurred to me yesterday that this doesn't actually apply to everyone. My DP for example works in IT. He is of course 'hands, face, space, mask as appropriate' at work as he is everywhere else, but the actual work he's doing is and never has been anything to do with Covid. He gets to think about something else for literal hours of his working day. I can't even imagine or remember what's that like; so people who do work in less affected industries, please tell me!

Ps.. This is NOT supposed to be a pity-party for me, I know very well that other sectors are equally or worse affected (healthcare, teaching, retail, hospitality and so on). I'm just a bit stunned that I'd assumed this was normal for everyone now, and then realised it's not.

I'm in guernsey. We have gone months (on and off) with no community spread of Covid. So we've had stretches of completely normal life between the odd lockdown/outbreak (EXCEPT living without travel) and personally I - not forget totally, but forget hour to hour, until it's in the news etc. We are opening up for travel so not sure how long we will be free of Covid in the community, all current guernsey cases (not Alderney) are from travel or at least not community spread.

I feel very sorry for you and others in England who have had to live with Covid being around for so long relentlessly.

Hi @Sausagis, I'm actually in Jersey! So we've had periods of relative normality in life too, but at work never a moments reprieve!

Watching to see how things work out for you guys now borders are open. Hoping things don't get out of control x

Oh dear, It's not looking good in Jersey. Are you doing ok? Lots of people in guernsey predicting "won't be long until we are where Jersey is now".

Well, I feel very fortunate. I have always worked from home, so no difference there. Our work has been affected by covid but in a positive way (there’s more of it). So I really feel for those who have not been so lucky. It has been an intense year and a half with lots on, but I will never lose sight of the fact that we are really, really lucky (and I hope that comes across in the right way).

@Sausagis Yes personally I'm doing fine. Just frustrated by the huge focus on case numbers when we know that the great majority of those are only mildly affected and our hospital numbers, relative to case numbers, are very low.

@takemetocedarpoint Don't worry; I completely get what you're saying!

I'm an accountant. My work has been dominated by covid. Whether it's advising clients about furloughing their staff and then making the claims every month, or advising them about SEISS and hand-holding them through the claims process every 3 months. Then now we're past the year ends, we're having to change accounts formats to show covid grants and ensure grants are shown in the right places on tax returns. All that, on top, of helping clients survive, by doing cash flow forecasts (to support loan applications), working out staff redundancies, and unfortunately, dealing with business closures, sales, and in a couple of cases, suicides of the business owners (due to lack of support, i.e. some of the excluded 3 million). It's been absolutely exhausting and full on for over a year, with virtually every meeting, phone call and email with clients dominated by covid.

Dh is hgv driver for a supermarket. The only things that have changed for him is that he has to wear a mask at stores and they are no longer allowed to use the canteen or staff waiting room. All waiting time is either to be spent in your car, your truck if allocated one or standing outside. Cabs always had to cleaned between drivers precovid.
Me, our work has got busier in that people suddenly want cleaners. But our methods of cleaning haven’t changed. We’ve always used disinfectants etc and misting. We don’t always have to wear masks either as a lot is lone working.
Neither of us have or have been offered covid tests, or been told to isolate when coworkers are of with covid.

My DSis works in travel OP and your experience sounds very similar to hers. It's shit.

Until recently I was working in an online retail business where sales rocketed up during lockdown. I had to go to the office every day throughout the whole thing, as there was a fulfilment team to supervise. Other than the covid-safe adjustments we made to working practices and the roads being much quieter on my commute, it was very much business as usual. I appreciate how fortunate I was.

Only difference is working from home and I actually moved house during it. I work in health and safety in a heavy industry. So occasionally I've gone on for a site walk down but literally maybe 3 times in the last 15 months.

They are talking about when we will be back working in offices but not until end of August at the earliest.

I work in furniture manufacturing. Business has boomed with everyone spending more time at home and not going on holiday. Obviously it's factory work so we have been going out to work as normal. Not much has changed.

I work in online retail and we've had such a strange year - very much feast and famine in terms of revenue and order numbers, from huge growth during the first lockdown to a slowdown later in the year and into this year.

Unfortunately customers have also become way more demanding and rude. At one point everyone seemed to be bored at home and just chasing their orders and expecting immediate delivery within a day or two of ordering (even at weekends).

Unfortunately customers have also become way more demanding and rude. At one point everyone seemed to be bored at home and just chasing their orders and expecting immediate delivery within a day or two of ordering (even at weekends).

Oh my god I hear this!! A lot of our customers have been lovely, really lovely, but some of them I just wonder why they've even attempted to travel during a pandemic when the slightest change to plans or restrictions is an affront to them personally. There seems to have been a big drop in people taking responsibility for themselves too; we provide all relevant information for the country they're going to but so many just seem to defiantly refuse to even try and understand it unless they're hand-held through it by a member of our (hugely stressed already) team.

I don't think a day will go by for the rest of my working days when the word Covid isn't mentioned, I'm in healthcare.

Rarely mentioned. Get the odd email from HR updating the procedure for going into the office but otherwise business as usual.