I'm working at a place where, according to a very credible and personally-detailed report, has had a known positive Covid-19 case. It was later denied. It seems pretty clear what's going on.
I'm now seeing my teammates become sick, and still it has been decided that we must not work from home, despite that being possible.
It's hard to understand why critical human resources are being put at risk.
It's hard to understand why I'm putting up with this.
It's hard to understand why I feel like I'm cannot share more details about the situation.
I really feel like I need to talk with someone about it.
Anyone else?
Thank you.
edit: Turning this approach 180 degrees, have the employees ask the people with power to change the policy what do they think the legal liability is in the case any of the employees or any of their family members dies?
I realize this is a low-signal post, but I'm still here, unable to sleep, feeling utterly disrespected as a cysec professional.
A few days ago I was a valued member of the team, now upper management is using fear and intimidation to keep a semblance of normality for as long as possible: You want to go home? We won't have you back. I would walk away gladly if I could do it without affecting my team and my employer.
We have all the conditions required for secure remote work, in fact it would be a tighter environment in many ways. Apparently it's too difficult to manage the outsourced resources.
This is why we need the state of emergency declared. To keep people like those from putting more people are risk.
Is there anyone else going through something like this?
Your workplace should be quarantined and sanitized, this is a major risk to public health. Best of luck.
But also keep in mind that unless you hear a real confirmation, the case you know may actually be a third-party rumor, so... don't panic yet.
Anecdotally, a lot of people have started coughing around me (in Auckland) since Friday. At work, with the homestay family, at church, on the bus - every group had at least one person with a dry cough. "No fever, so the doctors said it's OK."
Unfortunately, tests here in New Zealand cost 3000 NZD, and only people who have travelled recently AND show symptoms are allowed to be tested. Even then it takes hours on the phone to a helpline to join the queue. So far only about 500 people have been tested.
I found an old N95 mask in the bottom of my bag that I used for air pollution in Taiwan. I've been wearing it in public since yesterday, and in the office today. I've been going for walks down by the river to get lots of fresh air, and sunbathing to get more UV. I bought 4 bottles of tonic water today, to share with all these people around. (Yes, I know the quinine concentration is too low to matter, but things like masks are sold out and the US/Europe need them more... I feel like I have to try something).
My symptoms are barely noticeable (is that joint pain or RSI? shortness of breath or am I panicking?), but only when I started wearing a mask did other people take it seriously. The recorded cases in the country just jumped from 6 to 12 to 20 in the last few days. Exaggerate your own symptoms if you have to, instead of blaming someone else, and ask for personal permission to take sick leave. Take a week off for your wee cough.
We've just been granted permission to work from home until the end of the week. Perhaps it'll be longer.
Wash your hands, get a mask and wear it, drink tonic water and share it with everyone, try to take sick leave.
I would love to see a web app where anecdata like this could be shared on a map (checkboxes of symptoms, severity, locations, number of people in groups).
Start looking for a job asap, don't go in, play out your cards. You can say the things you want. You can say you are sick, you can say you are horrified, but you must start playing the game.
For naive people with good moral in general it's hard. You are not your environment. If you feel they are not doing the right thing accept for yourself that you can't too. If a persen attacks you on street and threatens your life and you can't escape, sometimes you must fight back. That's really sad, but true.
Be smart. Do your best. Don't be a fool.
Many similar posts/problems will come in next weeks/months.
Documentation and evidence is now power for you.
Going through the same thing and the excuses to block work from home are comical.
1) It goes against GPDR policy to allow employees to have access to such data at home.
2) How do we ensure the employees are actually working on what we need them to do?
3) How do we ensure they are putting in a full work day?
4) Why should we allow working from home to social distance without knowing if they do the same in their personal time?
Several of these are actually issues they suffer with physical workers because they micro manage and are paranoid that all employees are against management.
If they would realize that if you let good people do what you hire them for you will realize most are very loyal and focused on doing the best for the company.
This is not a video-game where you can restart everything when you died, this is real. You, all of us, only have one life to live.
b) country is more important than EU region. Each country enacted their own rules wether you can decide for yourself to work from home is there is a possibility (Portugal for example both employee and employer can do it unilaterally)