How Is Your Job Being Impacted By The Current Crisis?

[BV3273]

It’s funny to me how my management team is approaching this. We all work from home - field sales - yet they keep telling us how we should work from home.

Sales are finally starting to tank. Should be in for a few interesting weeks of uncertainty. I’m not looking forward to it.

OP, Do you think sales are tanking because of no elective surgeries?

I don’t think that. It’s a fact. I have accounts that have cancelled every elective procedure possible and others that are only handling highly suspicious cases. They are lucky to have even of those patients actually show for their procedures. My sales hit the breaks on March 15th. My numbers are down about 70-80% each day since.

[Pullupking214]

Cost Accountant in the Medical Device Industry

Not currently drastically affected by the Covid-19 situation. Company is experiencing sales slowdowns for this month, Q, and 2020 CY. But has yet to trickle down demand decrease to front line staff. Most contractors not assigned to engineering projects have been let go however. I'm currently WFM till May 1st at the minimum. Workload is decreasing and stress levels are more manageable. But looking forward to having an office to go to at the end of the day

[jb1]

Threads like this remind me why it’s important to invest and have other sources of income

[AlphaLess]

The key is to re-organize, re-tool parts of the economy to keep as many people employed as possible.

[JAZZISCOOL]

Interesting list the Wall Street Journal put out today showing which companies are hiring/laying off and reducing/changing benefits (e.g. 401k suspensions) recently:

https://www.wsj.com/graphics/whos-hirin ... cle_inline

Another article on startups:

"Start-Ups Are Pummeled in the ‘Great Unwinding’"

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/tech ... e=Homepage

[bubbadog]

Physician looking at a 30% pay cut for the foreseeable future. My office appointments have dropped off considerably and most of those have, when possible, been changed to virtual visits. I work for the largest health care system in my state and this is effecting nearly all of the non ER/ICU docs.

I have started working at our drive up testing centers seeing patients while they sit in their car. I am grateful to still have a job and I am also grateful to be able to contribute. The guidelines for testing are changing day by day. Please hurry up with more tests!

[LadyGeek]

Several off-topic posts related to the coronavirus have been removed. Please stay on-topic, which is about impacts to your job.

See: Please read before posting on coronavirus/COVID-19

[Gooch1226]

I am an essential employee for the state but my wife works at a chiropractor office and has not worked in a few weeks . We are down to a single income . We qualify for the CARE relief and have two young children so that will get us by for a while . Looking forward to her getting back to work and a normal life .

[novemberrain]

I work in travel related industry. Layoffs are a highly likely possibility in the next couple of months.

[RJC]

I work in travel related industry. Layoffs are a highly likely possibility in the next couple of months.

My spouse works in the hospitality industry and it's a blood bath. Hope it's not as bad for you.

[LadyGeek]

My employer is open for business, but it's a small building with no windows in the room I work. Everyone is spaced 6' apart and diligently cleans their cubicle, but that's not adequate protection when you consider that you pass your coworkers in narrow hallways with little ventilation. One of my coworkers has a relative in the hospital on a ventilator. Another coworker just tested positive at one of our facilities in the Washington DC area.

That's more than enough for me, as the virus is now very up close and personal in the Philadelphia area. I don't feel comfortable working there and have just started one month of unpaid leave to stay at home until this resolves. I can't work remotely and have no vacation time remaining.

Not mentioned to anyone at work, but this is the start of my glidepath to retirement. (See: Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2020!)

I have every intention of returning to work - then retire at some later time in the year. If the virus takes as long as expected, I'll be out a lot longer than 30 days. I'll let the company decide how long they want to keep me around before they decide to terminate me. I'm fully prepared to FIRE now and have no concerns.

As for medical benefits, I pay my share of the premium for the first 30 days. After that, COBRA kicks in.

Update: Clarified that the building has windows.

[JDCarpenter]

...

As for medical benefits, I pay my share of the premium for the first 30 days. After that, COBRA kicks in.

LadyGeek, have you investigated alternatives to COBRA? We went that route for the first 18 months of retirement and it was a mistake (for us). We would have been better off (both mid-50s, healthy, no chronic conditions) with the non-qualified farm bureau plans that we eventually obtained. YMMV.

Glad you are in a position to wave goodbye.

[LadyGeek]

^^^ Yes, I consider myself very lucky to be able to FIRE now.

As for alternatives, I'm working with a medical insurance broker (not a single company agent). This guy is very experienced and he helped my parents several years ago. I explained my situation to him and he immediately said "COBRA". Why?

Employer premiums are based on the average age of the workforce. As an "older person", it will be cheaper to use the employer's insurance because the premiums will be lower than the marketplace. He sent me a rate sheet which breaks everything down by age. Comparing my age to someone at 35, I'd be paying double (I'm not twice the age... that's the premium cost difference ). COBRA costs will be my cost share + employer's cost share + 2% administrative fee.

COBRA kicks in for two conditions: (1) loss of employment and (2) loss of insurance coverage due to reduced work hours. My leave of absence is for (2) unless I leave the company. My broker is a phone call away if the situation changes.

[kjvmartin]

I am an essential employee for the state but my wife works at a chiropractor office and has not worked in a few weeks . We are down to a single income . We qualify for the CARE relief and have two young children so that will get us by for a while . Looking forward to her getting back to work and a normal life .

Have you been able to access any of the CARE relief yet in your state? My state's unemployment website has said it would be ready in the coming days for several days now.

[Rayd8tr]

Healthcare leadership. I am now working nearly 24/7.

Are you an healthcare executive/non-clinical personnel?

[Rayd8tr]

My employer is open for business, but it's a small building with no windows. Everyone is spaced 6' apart and diligently cleans their cubicle, but that's not adequate protection when you consider that you pass your coworkers in narrow hallways with little ventilation. One of my coworkers has a relative in the hospital on a ventilator. Another coworker just tested positive at one of our facilities in the Washington DC area.

That's more than enough for me, as the virus is now very up close and personal in the Philadelphia area. I don't feel comfortable working there and have just started one month of unpaid leave to stay at home until this resolves. I can't work remotely and have no vacation time remaining.

Not mentioned to anyone at work, but this is the start of my glidepath to retirement. (See: Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2020!)

I have every intention of returning to work - then retire at some later time in the year. If the virus takes as long as expected, I'll be out a lot longer than 30 days. I'll let the company decide how long they want to keep me around before they decide to terminate me. I'm fully prepared to FIRE now and have no concerns.

As for medical benefits, I pay my share of the premium for the first 30 days. After that, COBRA kicks in.

small office with no windows? ummm, that doesn't sound too good. In fact it sounds a bit dangerous

[SmileyFace]

How is your job being impacted by the coronavirus and the falling market?

My spouse is saying that they are pushing for 20% reduction in hours (off once a week) for workers. Are similar cuts coming to your industry?

My company just took this step - announced for April and May with a note that we will "Evaluate" from there (so expectation is this could stretch on).
Maybe your spouse and I work for the same company.
I think some companies, such as mine, need to do this since revenue will start tanking but they also know they can get away with it temporarily as all of our competitors likely have hiring freezes in place since they are in similar situations.

A lot of people think that companies either lay employees off or keep them on. They don't realize there is a huge spot in between whereby wages are simply being cut or hours reduced. I think that will happen more and more over the next month or two.

[runner3081]

Healthcare leadership. I am now working nearly 24/7.

Are you an healthcare executive/non-clinical personnel?

Yes, I fall into that bucket.

[LadyGeek]

small office with no windows? ummm, that doesn't sound too good. In fact it sounds a bit dangerous

Sorry, I clarified my post. The room I work in has no windows. The office spaces on the building exterior walls have windows - but they're not opened very often, if at all, especially not with cold weather.

[Ron Swanson]

I work in power plant operations. There have been some schedule changes within my team (moved to a week on/week off schedule), but luckily we've had no reduction in hours or pay. However, all personal time off has been cancelled, our spring maintenance outage is at risk of being cancelled, and our management and maintenance teams are working from home as much as possible.

Fortunately, this is a period of low electrical demand in New England so our plant isn't generating for the time being.

[Rayd8tr]

Healthcare leadership. I am now working nearly 24/7.

Are you an healthcare executive/non-clinical personnel?

Yes, I fall into that bucket.

never understood why non-MDs are in managerial positions at the health care facilities...just doesn't make any sense

[ConcreteMan]

Laid off-mining industry.

[runner3081]

Healthcare leadership. I am now working nearly 24/7.

Are you an healthcare executive/non-clinical personnel?

Yes, I fall into that bucket.

never understood why non-MDs are in managerial positions at the health care facilities...just doesn't make any sense

You need both, trust me, you need both. Physician is the overall leader in the org, but admin leaders are needed.

[stoptothink]

Healthcare leadership. I am now working nearly 24/7.

Are you an healthcare executive/non-clinical personnel?

Yes, I fall into that bucket.

never understood why non-MDs are in managerial positions at the health care facilities...just doesn't make any sense

You need both, trust me, you need both. Physician is the overall leader in the org, but admin leaders are needed.

And, physicians (like everybody else) tend to be experts in a limited field. Based on my experience working in the health sphere where a large percentage of my colleagues are physicians, that expertise does not spill over into business.

[fresh_boglehead]

I work for one of the big online grocery delivery companies in the Tri-State. My role requires me to be on site but I've got it down to 3x/wk on site and supporting from home 2x/wk. Everyone on the corporate side is WFH. While business is good now, we're seeing more and more call-outs every day and struggling to keep up with demand - though they have been good about taking less orders to at least maintain some level of service. I'm concerned about long-term after we get past this when people stop ordering online being that I'd consider us a more premium service.

[HEDGEFUNDIE]

I work in power plant operations. There have been some schedule changes within my team (moved to a week on/week off schedule), but luckily we've had no reduction in hours or pay. However, all personal time off has been cancelled, our spring maintenance outage is at risk of being cancelled, and our management and maintenance teams are working from home as much as possible.

Fortunately, this is a period of low electrical demand in New England so our plant isn't generating for the time being.

Good to hear Homer Simpson is safe

[JD2775]

I work in power plant operations. There have been some schedule changes within my team (moved to a week on/week off schedule), but luckily we've had no reduction in hours or pay. However, all personal time off has been cancelled, our spring maintenance outage is at risk of being cancelled, and our management and maintenance teams are working from home as much as possible.

Fortunately, this is a period of low electrical demand in New England so our plant isn't generating for the time being.

I thought you worked in Parks and Rec?

[WJW]

General Contractor here, business is on hold, negative income now. DW just got laid off from travel media job. We have some savings and rental income so hopefully we can weather this storm.

[Watty]

^^^ Yes, I consider myself very lucky to be able to FIRE now.

As for alternatives, I'm working with a medical insurance broker (not a single company agent). This guy is very experienced and he helped my parents several years ago. I explained my situation to him and he immediately said "COBRA". Why?

One big advantage of COBRA is that you will not need to change doctors. From what I have heard it sounds like many doctors offices are practically closed for non urgent care now so finding something like a new primary care doctor could be difficult.

Without COBRA would also need to start your 2020 deductible again.

[LadyGeek]

^^^ All good points, thanks.

[StevieG72]

I work in retail considered essential. Business is changing and we are adapting.

We have a stay at home order in my state, I can assure you, people are not staying at home.

[deserat]

First post on Bogleheads for me, although I've been following the advice of Bogle for 30+ years for now:

I work in Health IT - we are working *a lot* - with everything going virtual, the demands are much higher. The use of Telehealth is very much moving upward - issues are the balance between cybersecurity and access across different types of platforms. This COVID time is a large 'pilot' of all healthcare ideas virtual and will probably result in a large culling of the vendor herd in this part of the industry.

Am fortunate to be in this position, although I was semi-retired before I took this position and looking at my financials, I would be fine semi-retiring again.

I also consult in this area as a side hustle - a very specific aspect of Health IT - and that side hustle is a bit less now but I'm surprised it has been ongoing even during this 'move to the home' for all things.

[RJC]

First post on Bogleheads for me, although I've been following the advice of Bogle for 30+ years for now:

I work in Health IT - we are working *a lot* - with everything going virtual, the demands are much higher. The use of Telehealth is very much moving upward - issues are the balance between cybersecurity and access across different types of platforms. This COVID time is a large 'pilot' of all healthcare ideas virtual and will probably result in a large culling of the vendor herd in this part of the industry.

Am fortunate to be in this position, although I was semi-retired before I took this position and looking at my financials, I would be fine semi-retiring again.

I also consult in this area as a side hustle - a very specific aspect of Health IT - and that side hustle is a bit less now but I'm surprised it has been ongoing even during this 'move to the home' for all things.

Welcome to the forum!

[BV3273]

Update: Heard a number of medical device manufacturers are guaranteeing commissions for April and possibly May. My company hasn’t done anything yet. Although we have a call next Friday. I’m guessing they want to see how things are progressing before they pull the trigger on any type of guarantee.

Recruiters are actively recruiting for quite a few positions in NYC including in the diagnostics (Abbott, etc) and respiratory/patient care spaces (Medtronic, etc).

I’m sitting tight until I hear about guarantees from my current company. Most of these other companies have a 6 month guarantee on commissions when you are first hired. That’s kind of comforting incase things continue to slide.

[winterfan]

A mechanic in the bay area for a government agency. The longer this goes on the more likely there will be layoffs. I was hired January of 2007 and survived the last one. Hours cut from 80 to 56 for the pay period. I have seniority so my job is secure unless they eliminate the entire department. Police still need their cars fixed so not very likely. All departments have reduced hours. Until April 7th, our pay is guaranteed. After that I don't know. Luckily there has been a bunch of retirements, especially in the parks department.

On a side note, good time to buy stocks!

I would have thought this would be more secure. This was my husband's backup plan if he was laid off. Where we live, there has been a shortage of mechanics for a long time, but maybe this isn't true anymore.

[DonDraper]

I work in Finance for a large public utility. The entire finance operation is now working remotely until at least the first week of May. Fortunately the company has announced they do not plan to do any layoffs.

[CuriousJoe]

I am a civil service employee. Working from home. If city revenues go down, layoffs are not out of the question. I don't have seniority - recently joined.

[Rayd8tr]

Are you an healthcare executive/non-clinical personnel?

Yes, I fall into that bucket.

never understood why non-MDs are in managerial positions at the health care facilities...just doesn't make any sense

You need both, trust me, you need both. Physician is the overall leader in the org, but admin leaders are needed.

And, physicians (like everybody else) tend to be experts in a limited field. Based on my experience working in the health sphere where a large percentage of my colleagues are physicians, that expertise does not spill over into business.

MD or DO with a MHA vs just someone with a regular MHA. I think you get the idea.

[spae]

.....

[jayk238]

While I get to keep my great pay as an internal medicine and hospital trained doctor Im forced to work in the icu with Covid 19 patients. I say forced because Im mainly outpatient but everyone is sick. I hope people will stop finally griping about the work and pay for us here. Thanks.

[Valuethinker]

Healthcare leadership. I am now working nearly 24/7.

Are you an healthcare executive/non-clinical personnel?

Yes, I fall into that bucket.

never understood why non-MDs are in managerial positions at the health care facilities...just doesn't make any sense

You need both, trust me, you need both. Physician is the overall leader in the org, but admin leaders are needed.

You don't want to spend 10 years training someone to be a top class medical consultant and then give them a managerial job.

Huge waste of talent doing that. Most brilliant technical people are not great managers.

2 very different skill sets.

[Valuethinker]

While I get to keep my great pay as an internal medicine and hospital trained doctor Im forced to work in the icu with Covid 19 patients. I say forced because Im mainly outpatient but everyone is sick. I hope people will stop finally griping about the work and pay for us here. Thanks.

Here (UK) we have had 2 x 8pm cheers. Where we open our windows and front doors and cheer for the National Health Service.

Our doctors nurses porters cleaners caterers are literally risking infection and death every day in this war. They are the front line.

The new Nightingale hospital has been set up in the second largest convention centre. Like the Javits in New York. 4000 beds for the less sick will be staffed partly by army medical staff and reservists.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second will address the nation at 8pm tonight. She does so very rarely. The First Gulf War. The death of princess Diana.

There is the uncanny silence of a great city stilled. Few planes in the air. Traffic like some perpetual Bank Holiday. Working down the sidewalk trying to keep 6' apart.

It is a strange war. Deaths are rising by nearly 1000 a day. Yet it is silent. The dead die in isolation in ICU, without their families.

These are dark times. But we will get through them.

[Valuethinker]

I work for one of the big online grocery delivery companies in the Tri-State. My role requires me to be on site but I've got it down to 3x/wk on site and supporting from home 2x/wk. Everyone on the corporate side is WFH. While business is good now, we're seeing more and more call-outs every day and struggling to keep up with demand - though they have been good about taking less orders to at least maintain some level of service. I'm concerned about long-term after we get past this when people stop ordering online being that I'd consider us a more premium service.

Based on the UK experience I expect that once people have used online grocery ordering they will stick with it.

Both for retirees and time poor working couples. Also singles living in urban situations if there is some way for delivery to work.

[Valuethinker]

It was inevitable, but I hoped avoidable. I'm in the non-profit performing arts and, as of this morning, half the employees for the organization, and all the staff under me were laid off. The board waited for the details of the CARE act to become clear, and what became clear was that it would do little to effectuate enough cash flow to continue to pay employees. My position is covered by a CBA and therefore the discussions are more complicated, but I fully expect to be unemployed within a week or so.

I'll tell you something I learned today, it's very difficult to tell someone whose worked their entire life for an organization they believe in they're no longer considered essential.

Today will end with scotch.

I am sorry

+1

The life lesson, that you cannot trust any institution to look after you as an employee is a painful one.

My father worked for an electric utility fir 32 years. The lay off when it came, was emotionally very painful.

[MAandMEMom]

I work in public high education in IT and it has been crazy for the tech support side while the programming staff have been WFH for more than two weeks. Our college is paying everyone right now, even those whose jobs do not translate to WFH. I’m not sure how sustainable that is after April. Spouse also in private higher ed was furloughed on Friday. The middle of the road private colleges will feel the brunt if this crisis in my line of work.

[geerhardusvos]

Already working in IT from home before the crisis, so unaffected in the short term. Expecting long term impact to the IT job market across the board as consumers lose their jobs and there's less demand for.. pretty much everything causing corporations to do less IT spend.

Hang in there.

Depends on what you mean by IT... many areas of Saas, Cloud, Security, etc are blowing up and will remain top industries in this forced digital transformation

[HEDGEFUNDIE]

Already working in IT from home before the crisis, so unaffected in the short term. Expecting long term impact to the IT job market across the board as consumers lose their jobs and there's less demand for.. pretty much everything causing corporations to do less IT spend.

Hang in there.

Depends on what you mean by IT... many areas of Saas, Cloud, Security, etc are blowing up and will remain top industries in this forced digital transformation

If there is less economic activity overall, there will be less data generated and fewer workloads to deploy and secure.

The top selling point of AWS is being able to spin up or down your usage on a real time basis. Well, they’ll get to see the true downside of that flexibility now won’t they?

[takingcontrol]

Please see a couple articles about how COVID has thrown some municipal governments and hospitals/clinics for a loop, prompting layoffs/furloughs.

nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/politics/coronavirus-health-care-workers-layoffs.html
https://www.wlwt.com/article/cincinnati ... c/31981821

The problem is that there is too much going on at the same time. The CARES act/stimulus check and all the other stuff that the feds are doing take time and desperately need better coordination. Locally, bean counters have to act first because they can't exactly pay workers--especially medical--what they don't have.

It's going to be scary when certain localities don't have medical & ancillary staff because they let them all go; these places will become COVID hotspots where the virus will run unchecked I suspect.

The Bill de Blasio's of the world want healthcare workers to continue to volunteer and even suggested a draft to cover the problem areas. There are volunteers, but for most people who still have mouths to feed at home, there are also some very lucrative contract options available where you get paid multiples of what you usually would get paid. It's still a capitalist economy and healthcare staff that have been let go and need the cash are going to head there first.
Underserved areas that didn't have much medical infrastructure in the first place probably won't have the resources to offer these top-dollar gigs, there will only be so many medical volunteers, and many of these places don't even have proper ICU/isolation beds much less even a couple vents.
Public health might have been able to take care of some of this, but if municipalities feel the crunch and start doing like Cincinatti, good luck with that.

[ClevrChico]

Already working in IT from home before the crisis, so unaffected in the short term. Expecting long term impact to the IT job market across the board as consumers lose their jobs and there's less demand for.. pretty much everything causing corporations to do less IT spend.

Hang in there.

Depends on what you mean by IT... many areas of Saas, Cloud, Security, etc are blowing up and will remain top industries in this forced digital transformation

Recruiters on LinkedIn have been rabid the last few weeks for remote cloud workers. I'm not sure if they're getting desperate due to the hit to the economy and their commissions, or if there is a real demand. For those that are employed, I can't imagine changing jobs in the current environment.

[geerhardusvos]

Already working in IT from home before the crisis, so unaffected in the short term. Expecting long term impact to the IT job market across the board as consumers lose their jobs and there's less demand for.. pretty much everything causing corporations to do less IT spend.

Hang in there.

Depends on what you mean by IT... many areas of Saas, Cloud, Security, etc are blowing up and will remain top industries in this forced digital transformation

If there is less economic activity overall, there will be less data generated and fewer workloads to deploy and secure.

The top selling point of AWS is being able to spin up or down your usage on a real time basis. Well, they’ll get to see the true downside of that flexibility now won’t they?

I get what you’re saying. With the amount of on Prem that still needs to be abandoned, cloud growth has another 10 years of green pasture. The work remote and digital has legs in this economy, even with the overall slowdown