Those of us who were ‘cannon fodder’- how do you feel?

[Onandoff]

I went to a gathering the other day with people who were privileged enough to still be working from home in highly paid city jobs. Their experiences were a stark contrast with mine. It was interesting to hear how protected they’d been, many still getting shopping delivered and only just resuming socialising. They hadn’t been on public transport at all. There was a general air of resentment at being asked to go back to offices and commute. They’d all saved money and were very worried about covid exposure despite being vaccinated. Apparently many workers have completely refused to return.

DH and I were the only key workers there and it brought home how exposed we’d been. Literally all of our family and colleagues caught it and some died or were left disabled. My mum died. In the hospital where I work 80% caught it in the first wave alone.

It’s been interesting to see through this that the jobs essential to society are (generally, appreciate some exceptions like medics) the worst paid. If we’d refused to go in or been redeployed we’d have been sacked. While the privileged middle class are still being pandered to despite vaccination.

I feel that those who went out to work should be financially compensated for the risk we took. At the very least we should be given tax breaks and not be expected to cough up for furlough costs.

I am retired, and have felt extremely grateful for our key workers who have worked so unstintingly through this crisis, particularly the NHS workers. I thought that the silver lining in all this was that it had highlighted the workers who were important to our lives, and when the clapping for NHS workers started, I felt, although it was rather condescending, it might be a sign that practical steps would be taken to improve pay and conditions. Obviously I was wrong, nothing has changed, the great divide is to be perpetuated. It is so depressing.

@Endlesscleaning

I feel that those who went out to work should be financially compensated for the risk we took

We’re you not paid?

I think the point the OP is making is that the overwhelming majority of people who had to go out to work throughout the pandemic are on the lower end of the income bracket, and many are on minimum wage. Supermarket checkout staff, for instance, among many others.

I am not a medic or hospital worker but I worked all through the lockdowns as my job in a school involved the children of key workers and disadvantaged children so I was on site every day. Both my children (who were living with me during the pandemic) are engineers and out on site every day working with hundreds of people. I don't feel that the Government threw us under a bus. What alternative is there is you can't do your job at home. The wheels if the country have to turn from farmers, delivery drivers, shop workers, refuse collectors, transport workers, school staff, police, firemen, engineers etc.... Whilst hospital workers had the highest contact and dangers, a lot of us also had to man up and get on with it...

I quit working clinically in NHS because of covid. A free pizza and a 1% payrise, along with virtue signalling clapping that I should have been oh so grateful for was a massive slap in the face, actually.

@Onandoff - how can us who work in offices possibly give you money in compensation?! Shall I go speak to the director of the large c global company I work for, that I’ve never spoken too in my life and ask him to personally take me money out of all our wages to pass to the NHS? Somehow, I don’t think he’ll listen to me or anyone else.

We aren’t the bad guys, we aren't villains. We sit at a computer doing a 9-5 pencil pushing job. How many of us have any say in our wages or spending of a corporate company?! Direct your anger at the CEO’s maybe.

We aren’t all complaining about going back to work, I’ve skipped back happily this month. If you socialise with those who are complaining, that’s not everyone else’s fault. Maybe switch off mumsnet. We are now hybrid workers which again, isn’t my choice. I like it, it helps balance my time with my children but it’s not something I asked for. Again, it’s come from the CEO. I’m just lucky that I happen to work in a job where it is possible. Again, just the way life has fallen. I used to teach. I quit.

Valid point the OP makes, but in terms of salary for those concerned, do you really expect that to change with any government of the Conservative Party?

I have worked throughout in a supermarket, l had my shifts change overnight from 9.00 am start to 2.00am, for most of it, as l am an online picker, (for social distancing reasons), so that was like working nights.
I have read the posts on coronavirus with some scepticism.
I don't know why but l have never felt any fear or anxiety 're going to work in the pandemic.
Maybe it's because l am a lone widowed parent, l just get on with it. Bills need to be paid.
I have found the hysteria of not being able to have a holiday amusing, l don't live in that kind of world and glad not to if that's the consequence of not being able to travell abroad for a few months.
One thing l have learnt from all this is that you see human nature at its absolute worst, mostly by people who have been very well looked after throughout the pandemic, pointing fingers at those brave enough to go about their business, moaning and resenting going back to work
. My whole street was all still fast asleep when l was leaving the house for work, and leaving two teenagers asleep in bed. I go into work now and get hostile , cold stares from the fearful customers, leaping out of the way should l contaminate them.
That's the thanks we supermarket workers for for keeping calm and carrying on.
There's no way l would ever do it again.
.

*I want us to get compensation. I suspect in the years to come when there has been a review and the governments inaction condemned we will receive this.

I also want the privileged to at the least be quiet or even better acknowledge the protection they received throughout this.*

You sound, bluntly, just not very bright. Which is a shame, but not something governments can offer tax relief on.

Definitely they're all entitled w*ers, double standard, happy to send their DC to crowded classrooms yet jump up in the air about going back to to their offices 😡

Yes I think you should have had extra substantial pay for putting yourself at risk. I had hoped that people/society would realise finally which jobs really matter.

I also think the white-collar workers should have worked from home where possible to limit the spread.

I like working from home. That does not make me a bad person.

I do the job I'm paid to do, I do the job I choose to do.

You do the job you're paid to do, and the job you choose to do.

I was not furloughed, yeah I looked at those sitting in the sunshine and felt a bit green, but on the other hand, I was grateful I still had a job, and was able to pay my mortgage and feed my family.

What she is “going on about” is that it wasn’t only you (and people like you) that had it tough during lockdown.

Are you always this blinkered? Do you think this is some kind of competition?

Totally agree OP
I know lots of people had very different and difficult experiences of lockdown, especially the first one. I think we were all shocked at what was happening and that what the government were suggesting - shut everything down - was actually real. A friend told me how terrified she was in those initial weeks, until we adjusted to situation. It really struck a cord with me, as in addition to all the horror stories we were being fed by the media - don’t go out the front door or you will die/kill your loved ones/everyone - some of us were also told to get our arses into work.
I work in the public sector (not NHS) we were initially told that it was impossible for us to wfh. A lot of us went off (some under slightly dubious circumstance) and there were a lot of fb comments about the ‘lovely extended holidays’ they were having - it was hard not to be A lot of support systems were put in place for those off - for us still going in, nothing. It all breeds resentment.
My ‘main’ gripe - comments from a former friend, also terrified in initial stages (as was I) found out she was being furloughed,. Told me how fabulous it was, she had so much extra time to pursue her hobbies and just do whatever she wanted. I was still less than happy, still going to work, self-employed dh who had no access to financial support, two homeschooling gcse children, elderly parent to try and care for (whilst not killing) - she told me I was being too dramatic for her, goodbye and good luck. That, after 45 years of friendship.
I think it would be nice for employers to acknowledge those who went in, who kept things running so the world didn’t descend into utter chaos. Working for the government, that will never happen those I suppose.
Onandoff thank you for all your work and everything that you did. Good luck to you on your next adventure

@DiscoDown21 thank you.

It's interesting that people are justifying fears of going back to work etc, and saying they're entitled to feel that way while simultaneously shooting down the OP for her frustration and fears and saying she's in the wrong job and should change jobs because her attitude is wrong and she's not entitled to feel that way.

Is this where we are as a society? Knowing what the people who had to carry on working have had to face, the effects on their mental and physical health for many years to come, the people leaving because they can't take anymore and haven't been supported, are vilified and told to leave their profession rather than understanding and compassion that they're human and they've been under immense strain? And while they might be unreasonable on some points to others there's no empathy or understanding of why that might be the case.

Be careful what you wish for because if everyone in these jobs who feels the same walks then who's going to keep the show on the road? People willing to give up their wfh or office jobs to retrain, get into debt and face that then? Or do it for minimum wage?
Or is it ok to expect others to do it, as long as you don't actually have to be involved and as long as the services you want and need are still available to you at someone else's expense?

Also, this idea we all earn a fortune in office jobs. I started on £16,000. I quit a teaching job of £33,000 for it. I have worked my way up & now earn mid £30’s but it took 4 years of hard work & 2x promotions. My OH earns less. I manage a team, the lower earners are on £18,000 and the upper earners £24,000. Pretty sure the NHS & teaching pays far better!

i agree with every word you have written op , i work for boots , as of course more or less every store had a pharmacy including my store we had to stay open otherwise all our customers who need their regular medicication , including me lol wouldnt have been able to get it . my companys stance was unless you are cev and have the relevent letter from the doctors in which case you were placed on furlough you had to come into work , if you were that anxious about covid you could take weeks off , but you wouldnt be paid for it , but this abscence wouldnt be couldnt on your sick record . it was all fair enough really .
i took 4 weeks off unpaid at the start of it and then went back , and have worked all the way through

i get so pissed off every time a thread comes up by somebody whinging about their office is now wanting them back in and they want to stay working at home , its not fair blah blah blah etc
theres normally a bit thrown in about how much they can get done in the house , spend time with their pets , do more gardening etc as well

it incenses me , it really does , your company want you back , get your backside out of the house and go ! id like to have more time doing my rather large garden , fussing my house rabbits ,cats , decluttering the house , but i cant because i physically have to be in work .
if the commute is over an hour and costs too much why dont they get a job closer to where they live for gods sake !

its not the fact that white collor workers were placed on furlough that annoys me , its not the fact they had to work from home that annoys me . its the fucking moaning about they dont want to have to have to go back to normal working in their offices when they are asked to that makes me angry .

like they are so much more bloody precious than the likes of us retail staff , nhs ,teachers etc , who just had to get out our houses each day ,take that risk and get on with it

and im very sorry about your mum op . that must have been so difficult and painfull , im sure it still is xx

@Whinge

My friends who worked safely from home were all vaccinated before I was.

Same here.

Are they older than you then? It was decided that it was more important to protect older people first and the vaccinations were done according to age, with some health boards being in advance of others.

Yes, the main way people reduced their risk was by passing it onto someone else.

I stayed at home and WFH. DH was a key worker so didn't. We've both faced challenges, he definitely faced more physical danger, as it were. I have a huge amount of sympathy and gratitude for those who continued to go out and work.

I'm not sure I should be penalised for staying at home, though. Nor am I sure DH should be recompensed for not staying at home, because it would be nigh-on impossible to sort out who should get that, and where the money would come from.

I'm not about to whine at a key worker about returning to the office. Well, I do moan a bit to DH but that's because our childcare is fucked and our DD has had a mental collapse and it's limiting our options so we are terrified about how we are going to manage. But I'm not moaning to any other key workers, I promise; and I agree it would be insensitive to do so.

OP i feel exactly the same. Not a nhs worker and i totally respect that they were by far most at risk but i work in early years. We were looking after key workers children, going to work during a pandemic while our own children were at home, home schooling themselves. We got no recognition, not from the government or from people in general. We are already expected to do an incredibly difficult job, for a ridiculously low pay and for anyone thinking that us early years practitioners just play all day come and give it a try.

Meanwhile i am now listening to people gloating that they can stay home saving fuel etc etc

Yes we should be given a tax rebate and should not need to pick up the furlough bill but then neither should our children who will be paying this debt off for decades to come.

@Mochaberoca

Not everyone who worked from home is high paid or enjoyed it or saved money, I think it's a bit of an unfair generalisation.

Totally.

Its interesting, as a key worker myself I actually felt incredibly lucky during the strict lockdown that I was able to get out, see colleagues, and have some semblance of normality. Not to mention being in a secure job with little to no redundancy risk or reliance on 80% furlough payment. I think it helped that for some reason I never had much personal anxiety about covid. I'm over 50 but very fit and well with no vulnerable family members so I felt my risk to be minimal and going into work with that risk was very much the lesser of the two evils of being shut in at home. I also feel it helped build resilience so the return to normality is not a source if anxiety for me and I'm happily embracing freedom. I also benefitted from being in the first cohort to be jabbed. So personally I think I have been more fortunate than many and certainly not a hero. Though I accept that if people were scared but did it anyway that was brave of them.

Are they older than you then? It was decided that it was more important to protect older people first and the vaccinations were done according to age, with some health boards being in advance of others

Some were older, and others who were WFH were able to schedule appointments which wouldn't have been possible for me due to my working hours.

@Effybriest

I kind of get what you are saying. I'm a key worker and was on the frontline til dec. Work in ICU and caught Covid, now long covid, will be going onto half pay next month. It's part and parcel of the job being exposed to viruses/ antibiotic resistant bacteria so I expected to catch Covid at some point tbh. I did resent the posts on here banging on about how amazing WFH was, baking, gardening, etc. What is ironic is that the many people enjoying lockdown are now the ones wanting 'to get on with it' and 'get our lives back', refusing to wear masks and generally mocking those of us who did catch it and are still suffering.

I’m a bit surprised at this unless you work in the private sector? NHS have had different sick policy applied to Covid and you wouldn’t be classed as ‘regular sick’ and it doesn’t count, or at least that’s the case in my Trust. We have people off with long covid, and full pay applies. Same for anyone who had to isolate, not counted as anything other than covid-related absence, which is paid.

surely mumsnet is anonymous and people who dont want to physically go back to the office should be allowed to rant here
you may find it insensitive but you dont have to take part in the thread