Virus Surge Disrupts Office-Return Plans

[LetMyPeopleVote]

We had a firm meeting by means of zoom and the firm is slowing down the plans to fully re-open the office. We are not alone
https://politicalwire.com/2021/07/24/virus-surge-disrupts-office-return-plans/

When companies began announcing tentative return-to-office plans this spring, there was a sense of optimism behind the messages. Covid cases were dwindling in the United States as the vaccine rollout picked up pace. Employers largely hoped their workers would get shots on their own, motivated by raffle tickets, paid time off and other perks, if not by the consensus of the medical community.”

“In recent days, that tone has suddenly shifted. The Delta variant, a more contagious version of the coronavirus, is sweeping through the country. Fewer than half of Americans are fully vaccinated, exacerbating the situation… It all adds up to a difficult calculation for America’s business leaders, who hoped the country would already be fully on a path to normalcy, with employees getting back to offices. Instead, individual companies are now being forced to make tough decisions that they had hoped could be avoided, such as whether to reverse reopening plans or institute vaccine mandates for employees.”

My firm keeps track of who has been vaccinated. We have two staff members who have not been vaccinated and they have to wear masks when they are in the public spaces in the office/ We were going to have everyone in the office five days a week by September. Currently my secretary is in the office 3 days a week and I have been going in a great deal more.

We discussed the plans to slow down at the meeting. We have canceled the annual firm dinner, a farewell lunch for a long time employee and the monthly cake day for birthdays. There was some good joking about cake day.

My son's firm is also slowing down full re-opening.

[Hugin]

1. There is a large segment of the workforce where I work...

Who have very young children at home. Well below the 12 yo cut off for the vaccines.

Those people are why this headlong rush to repopulate the offices are a negative with me. But, I'm a nobody of nobodies and the top are narcissists who need an audience. So, I will be SHOCKED if they change course to the cautious.

[DBoon]

2. Maybe this is why Fox News is changing its tune about vaccination?

When big business gets disrupted, it gets republican attention

[HipChick]

3. There was some talk about us returning to offices in Sept

It's all died down since the threat of Delta variant. I suspect nothing before Xmas now,,,

[tanyev]

4. Still no update on my company's training day scheduled for late September.

A save the date email came out in early July. Under normal circumstances we are in 6 different buildings and have lots of space to spread out, but the training day brings everyone into one location and we sit in close quarters for an 8 hour day. I told my immediate supervisor it was insane the day the email came out. This really surprised me, because they're usually quite sensible.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Office Culture War Escalates as Workers Balk at Return Mandates

Cooley is a good firm

Link to tweet

“Employees have gotten very comfortable as a whole working remotely. The experiment went better than expected,” said Cristina Portela Solomon, a labor and employment partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Houston, who represents employers. “There are employers that are eager to return to a new normal, but they can no longer knee jerk say no. It has definitely opened the door to activity that was once taboo.”

Civil rights groups have long urged companies to be more open to remote work where possible, arguing it can help tamp down on discrimination against those with disabilities, older workers, or caregivers.

As Covid-19 restrictions lift in many states, some major companies, including Citigroup Inc., UBS Group, Twitter Inc., and Facebook Inc., have said that full or hybrid telework will be a permanent option moving forward, as a perk to attract competitive workers.

Others, including Microsoft Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Goldman Sachs, remain resistant and still prefer harder-line approaches for office returns.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon previously told Bloomberg that the personal relationships that can build in-person and in offices remain critical. “There are huge weaknesses in a Zoom world,” he said.

[smirkymonkey]

6. I kind of have a feeling that we are going to backtrack on our plans to loosen up office

restrictions, return to the office. MA jumped from low risk at the beginning of July, to high risk a week ago, to very high risk a few days ago.

I went into the office with a number of other people on Thursday because we had a team meeting and we had to pack up our desks for an office move to another part of the building.

I woke up this morning feeling very congested, coughing, sore throat, etc, so I took some Benadryl and went back to sleep in the afternoon. I was worried I might be coming down w/ Covid, but my blood oxygen was normal and when I woke up from my nap later in the afternoon I felt better. It might have been from being outside yesterday and just allergies or a reaction to the bad air quality lately. At least I hope so. If I don't feel better in the morning, I will go get tested at MGH.

[LisaL]

7. Delta covid in vaxxed people could lead to symptoms similar to that of a cold.

So it's a good idea to get tested.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. The war has changed

This new variation is almost a new virus and is as contagious as chicken pox. I am older and have COPD and diabetes,

Link to tweet

The delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and spreads as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal federal health document that argues officials must “acknowledge the war has changed.”....

One of the slides states that there is a higher risk among older age groups for hospitalization and death relative to younger people, regardless of vaccination status. Another estimates that there are 35,000 symptomatic infections per week among 162 million vaccinated Americans......

The CDC’s revised mask guidance stops short of what the internal document calls for. “Given higher transmissibility and current vaccine coverage, universal masking is essential to reduce transmission of the Delta variant,” it states.

The document makes clear that vaccination provides substantial protection against the virus. But it also states that the CDC must “improve communications around individual risk among [the] vaccinated” because that risk depends on a host of factors, including age and whether someone has a compromised immune system.

The document includes CDC data from studies showing that the vaccines are not as effective in immunocompromised patients and nursing home residents, raising the possibility that some at-risk individuals will need an additional vaccine dose.

My son just joined the Pfzier booster trial and got his first shot on Monday. I intend to try to get a booster as soon as possible even if I have to convince a doctor to give me one "off-label". This new variation is scary

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. Due to the Delta Variant my office has gone back to requiring masks for everyone

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated staff have to wear masks while in the public areas of the office.

[Mad_Machine76]

10. We were ordered back at the start of the month

Not sure how long we’re going to stay in the office, maskless and being “encouraged” to be vaxxed. We had a case of Covid literally within the first week. I’m a State Employee in Indiana, which is a heavy MAGA Republican state. Our Governor (Republican, obviously) is extending the public health emergency without implementing any restrictions.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. My firm now requires masks in public parts of the office

We have been keeping track of staff who are not vaccinated. These staff members have to get tested each week. Now all persons vaccinated and unvaccinated have to wear masks in the public portions of the office space