Should I return to work?

[Sunny_Daze]

@bobot

Can’t edit- pardon my hasty typing and subsequent misspellings, I haven’t had a beer yet.

A valid point.

OP - I’d check with your doctor and be very specific about your question - is it safe to go to work before a vaccine and testing are available? If not, then stay home. You have healthcare and economic provisions from the government if you need them. After this is over, I would think you could just say that your job was cut due to COVID-19, and leave it at that. Your health issues are none of their business and I don’t think you need mention them.

[brainstall]

@Eva_Luna

And to this I would add - what does “in manufacturing” mean? Is your job one that can be done remotely, even part of the time?

The company I work for is a manufacturer. I work in the office, rather than the plant where the items we make are built. My job cannot be done from home.

[brainstall]

Is anyone else facing this kind of decision/pressure to return to work? How are you handling it?

[bobot]

I’d rather stay home, to be honest. If I could afford it. Lock the doors for a few weeks, then peek out and see what the world looks like. But I can’t afford it, so I go to work, and I understand that I should be grateful to have a job to go to, and I kind of am, but not entirely. The blatant political conservative at work, for example, who refuses to respect social distancing. If I make it out of this without hurting him in a bad way, consider that a miracle.

[Magiver]

@brainstall

Currently, EI benefits do not require a doctor’s note or medical documentation.

I suspect the reason for the lack of specific time limit from my doctor is because nobody really knows how long this is going to last, or how long the vulnerable should self-isolate.

I lost a job at age 50 during the previous economic turmoil. I couldn’t get arrested. it took 6 years of crappy jobs to get back to something tolerable that paid the bills. In 6 years I worked up to 3 part time jobs at once. I started with a year’s salary in the bank and was debt free. In 6 years I went through all the cash plus another year’s salary in debt plus some retirement money.

If you can retire early that’s one thing. Getting a job at 55 in a bad economy depends on whether or not you can be replaced by someone who is 21 years old.

If you’re worried about getting the virus then take every precaution you can at work until you can find a better job. Take your temperature every day and wear an N-95 mask.

[elfkin477]

@Ashtura

If you are laid off due to Coronavirus, and can’t get another job until there’s a vaccine because you’re at-risk, how are you going to explain that gap when the vaccine does appear? Just say, hey, it’s the coronavirus, a new great depression, whatayagonna do? Obviously saying you couldn’t work because you were at risk health-wise is a no-go.

Employment advice guru Alison Green (Ask a Manager) has already advised that you won’t need to explain your current work gap.

[Sunny_Daze]

Bobot - maybe you could use a squirt bottle with your co-worker?