Everyone is handling the weight of the coronavirus pandemic differently. Some adults have to put their health at risk daily, while others have the opportunity to stay home and protect themselves.
“Every day I go to work I think, ‘Please don’t let today be the day I bring COVID home to my family’,” says Lauren Savin, a Trader Joe’s employee. As the manager of her store, taking care of herself as well as making sure her employees are handling the situation well during this time adds a significant amount of pressure to the situation.
In late March, Savin was told that she would have to forfeit her two back-to-back days off. This meant she would have two singular days off spaced out through the week. This created a lot of stress and caused many sleepless nights. Savin and other managers felt it unfair for the managers to have to balance the weight of making sure customers and employees are safe. Managers of Trader Joe’s are now back to their normal days off, leaving room for some relief in the tiring lives of essential workers during the pandemic.
It can feel overwhelming knowing that her employees are extra reliant on her during the pandemic. Savin expressed that she’s opened up more with her employees and let them know that she’s struggling and that it’s okay to feel sadness right now.
“If you think about going into the public during the pandemic and what you need to do to keep yourself safe, multiply that by 125 people,” commented Savin. It’s hard for her and her employees not to be able to comfort one another. “It’s very stressful and sad to look into people’s eyes every day and see the panic and sadness that they’re experiencing. I think naturally I take a lot of that on because that’s the type of leader I am.
“Every day is different, it’s a new set of challenges. There’s been a lot of policies that weren’t in place prior to the pandemic that we’re trying to learn and execute for employee and community safety. We practice social distancing, only allow 35 customers to shop in the store at one time, wear masks and gloves, wash hands, sanitize after touching things and wipe things down nonstop from open to close. It’s just been a huge wakeup call.” Employees protect customers by wearing masks and gloves to prevent the possible spread of the virus from the employees to customers, so when they see some customers not taking that extra precaution to protect the people around them, it can be frustrating.
Robert Howell, another essential worker, deals with taking care of his son and managing a store in Washington State. “I’ve got to be at work if I’m on the schedule because we don’t run with extra people, only what we need. There are very few options for taking care of my son. I’ve had to use younger family members to watch him, but there’s no structured schedule.”
The unknown future for both Howell and Savin can be disconcerting because of the implications of the virus on businesses around the country. Trying to stay safe by taking time off of work can also be nerve-racking, for fear of unemployment.
Melinda MacDonald, who also works at a Trader Joe’s, is currently staying home because the virus causes a greater risk towards older people such as her. “This whole situation is completely unprecedented and it’s equal parts surreal, scary and anxiety causing. The difference in my life between now and six weeks ago is unbelievable.”
MacDonald never imagined she’d be staying home for over two months because of a pandemic. The future of her job has caused her anxiety, as she doesn’t know if she will be able to keep her position.
Everyone is facing different challenges during the coronavirus pandemic, as this is something that will have an effect on people’s lives for a while. Many jobs have been lost and many others are high stress right now. “It’s important to stay positive and be optimistic towards the future ahead,” says MacDonald.