whats happening in your job with this pandemic?

Iceman29

Hi guys

As the title suggests, how has this virus affected your income or job opportunities ? we were told that our jobs are at major risk, even though it seemed very safe a few weeks ago.

I work in a global company who will be hit by the pending recession it looks like.

surely I'm not the only one in this boat?

Was hoping we could share our experiences

Kamu

I work in the Civil Service, no danger of loosing my job but I was hoping for promotions to open up over the next year or two which is near definitely not going to happen now.

Hoping any employment/promotion freeze does not last as long as the previous one.

All in all, I'm in a good position thanks to job security, but I was looking to move from Public to Private employment over the next two years, which is unlikely now.

I expect pay freezes/possible cuts over the next government cycle and with retirements the number of people employed by the state will decrease substantially I would imagine.

Jet Black

Had zero communication and I was told in March they won't be letting people go. Found out they have let at least 10% of people over the last few weeks. The last few weeks I'm getting texts from my boss on how to do parts of my job and how to fix things. Won't tell me what's going on but I know there's some staff back working. I honestly don't care what there doing but just a update once a month would be nice even if it's to say no news this month lads, hope your getting on ok.
Me and the missus work at the same place and she's worried about both of us having no job at the same time.

Iceman29

Kamu wrote: »

I work in the Civil Service, no danger of loosing my job but I was hoping for promotions to open up over the next year or two which is near definitely not going to happen now.

Hoping any employment/promotion freeze does not last as long as the previous one.

All in all, I'm in a good position thanks to job security, but I was looking to move from Public to Private employment over the next two years, which is unlikely now.

I expect pay freezes/possible cuts over the next government cycle and with retirements the number of people employed by the state will decrease substantially I would imagine.

Would you think? i would have thought with the public and civil service would be safe from any of that this time considering the amount of hard work they have done throughout this pandemic. Would seem very unreasonable to cut the wages of doctors, nurses, firefighters etc etc

thebourke

15 percent paycut since may...they will review the situation then......

thomasdylan

Iceman29 wrote: »

Would you think? i would have thought with the public and civil service would be safe from any of that this time considering the amount of hard work they have done throughout this pandemic. Would seem very unreasonable to cut the wages of doctors, nurses, firefighters etc etc

Doctors, nurses and firefighters are only a small proportion of the PS.

The difficulty with PS pay is that you can't cut pay from some areas and spare the rest. Because the unions will go mental. The areas that haven't had to risk themselves during this expect to be treated the same as those who have.

Badly Drunk Boy

I work in the private sector (manufacturing an alleged critical product or whatever the term was) so I've been working all the time, except for a couple of days holidays that I used. The main difference is that I can do some work from home, although it's usually half of the day at home and half in work, rather than one day in work and the next at home. If I had a big commute, that wouldn't be great, but I live about 2km from work so it's handy enough.

Some people were working from home all of the time but some of my work is physical so I have to go in for a while. The other differences are the changes to the actual workplace. Social distancing, obviously, with reduced numbers allowed in the canteen, extra hand sanitisers, the wearing of masks, having our temperature read before we start our shift, and probably other stuff.

Iceman29

4 friends now have lost their jobs. a few more seem to be put on protective notice also.

Are things really that bad or is it just my groups of mates

Wanderer78

I think some industries are gonna be okay, and some completely wrecked, best of luck out there folks, scary times ahead

Lundstram

Mine wasn't affected at all. We all worked through it, we have got nothing extra not even a thanks. People looking for pay rises now but of course they're playing the poor mouth. Half the staff on a go slow so there will be ructions down the line with management. Greedy assholes.

Beechwoodspark

I am a travelling salesman. Convenience stores mainly.

I was working away quite effectively from home during the lockdown (keeping in contact with clients via phone and email). This was my arrangement from around Easter.

It was working well but my manager just was not happy until he had me back in the car physically driving around doing my rounds.

He could not leave it be. The way I describe it is he was like a wasp buzzing in a jar in my ear.

I think he was imagining me drinking all day and sleeping in bed all day when the reality was quite different.

I was getting near daily calls from the company asking when I was going back to pre lockdown routine - Including quite rude calls.

Part of this is from a row last year when I straight up told him cold calling into potential new customers simply does not work and American style gimmicky hard sales techniques DO NOT work in rural Ireland. He is not long working in Ireland and does not get certain cultural things.

anyway I cracked last wkend and said ok yes.

Guess what - I am back driving my circuit collecting travel expenses and mileage etc.

The orders for the last week have actually dropped compared to the weeks I was working from home !!

The chan chan man

30% paycuts, working from home, busier than ever, motivation at an all time low, new perspective on life making me realise that work isn’t actually important. Enjoying the lack of a commute and more time with family.

silverharp

The company I work for is making more money, turnover hasn't dropped but travel and staff related costs which are significant have dropped through the floor. It will be interesting what lessons are learned going forward

biko

People laid off.
It's scary cause it could be anyone next.

ExMachina1000

Worked all the way through as we were considered essential services. Flat out busy at the moment.
Been into business who have just reopened after months. Staff are very skittish and unsure in some places.
Traveled to a business in Clare during the week with a co worker. Manager in the business was making comments about us working closely together despite us travelling down in the same vehicle.
As I said to him after one comment too many. Here buddy we have been working every day throughout the pandemic while you were at home scratching and watching day time tv.
Wasn't a peep out of him afterwards

Edgware

The chan chan man wrote: »

30% paycuts, working from home, busier than ever, motivation at an all time low, new perspective on life making me realise that work isn’t actually important. Enjoying the lack of a commute and more time with family.

Working from home is going very well.
Having spent a week watching how the wife was running the household I was able to initiate immense improvements leading to greater efficienycand cost savings.
I have now introduced a triple cleaning system in the form of a daily cleaning routine, weekly routine and a once a month deep clean routine.
I also have introduced a significant saving on grocery shopping. The wife now does 80% of the shopping at Lidl/Aldi including all meats/vegetables/ cleaning products.
That has made enough savings to ensure she can buy better quality meats for me at the artisan butchery and we upgraded her bicycle which now has a front and rear basket for carrying groceries.
All thats left to address is the "no sex" rules she unilaterally introduced in the last few weeks.
I may need to compromise on the "no heating during the day except in my office" rule

arybvtcw0eolkf

I'm in the defense forces. We were very busy in support of the HSE, Dept of Health, NAS etc, moral was actually very high and we were mostly proud to put our shoulders to the wheel.

Now I'm expecting pay cuts (my pay hasn't yet been restored since 2007) so I'm expecting we'll be very hard hit, we're also the lowest paid of the PS and only have presentation and no union to fight for our rights, pay restoration etc.

With that I expect a freeze on promotions and less recruiting. Considering I haven't had pay restoration since 2007 if we're hit I'll likely retire and go into the private sector, my skills carry over and I'm in a position to earn considerably more than I'm receiving as a soldier. However I've hung on because I love my job, since I was a child I've always wanted to be a soldier but I've had enough of being taken for a willing donkey to be flogged.

But I remind myself that there are people way worse off than me, Debenham workers come to mind (and others like them).

donspeekinglesh

I work in IT in a Pharma company. We've been very lucky, the plant is as busy as ever. Got our annual bonus/payrise in mid March, just after shutdown started. Since then got a smaller bonus as a thank you for being an onsite worker during the shutdown. I was onsite every day for the first few weeks setting up as many office-based people to work from home as possible. And since then I've done 2 days in the office and 3 WFH a week.
I didn't have much of a commute (20/25 minutes), but I'm really enjoying the extra time with my family, especially breakfast/lunch times.

Blush_01

My tea is always hot now.

The unpaid extra hours are not so hot.

s1ippy

Edgware wrote: »

Working from home is going very well.
Having spent a week watching how the wife was running the household I was able to initiate immense improvements leading to greater efficienycand cost savings.
I have now introduced a triple cleaning system in the form of a daily cleaning routine, weekly routine and a once a month deep clean routine.
I also have introduced a significant saving on grocery shopping. The wife now does 80% of the shopping at Lidl/Aldi including all meats/vegetables/ cleaning products.
That has made enough savings to ensure she can buy better quality meats for me at the artisan butchery and we upgraded her bicycle which now has a front and rear basket for carrying groceries.
All thats left to address is the "no sex" rules she unilaterally introduced in the last few weeks.
I may need to compromise on the "no heating during the day except in my office" rule

Maybe if you clean really hard she'll be impressed and jump on ya. Wear slutty outfits too, I always find that gets the blood up. Although if you've the heating off you might want to keep the windows closed with the sh!te weather.

I wfh in two positions, both are much easier online. I got a significant performance-based promotion in one the other week. Working at home is a huge motivator for me, because at the office there are a tonne of distractions and I just can't get things done as efficiently. I put off tasks that I could more easily do at home and people are constantly interrupting me for the bants. It looks like I'll only have to go into the office a handful of times a year now, so I'm absolutely thrilled about that.

My third job is in the community and I've cut back my hours dramatically due to the demands being decreased. I'm now earning about 1/3 more overall due to the promotion in my other job so looking at either changing my role in this organisation or maybe leaving in the next while so I can devote more time to the other work. I'm taking my AL from Monday though so I'm really enjoying doing absolutely f all for the next few weeks.

I can understand the huge levels of anxiety people are having due to work being unstable, for years I was on casual contracts and having to go over and above the usually required workload was a common feature of my days. Especially with this unprecedented frightening virus, the horrible employers are really going to be pulling out all the stops to dominate and control their workforces, I can only assume to compensate for their own lives being completely miserable and worthless.

What I would say as advice is to make yourself absolutely indispensable in your field and beyond. Dig in your roots and play to your strengths, upskill and learn cross-industry techniques and have an arsenal of transferable efficiency strategies which make doing your job easier.

But also, keep watching the jobs market and regularly interview for better positions. Companies who are downsizing will want to keep the talent that is coveted by many others. Be approachable, appealing to your colleagues but calculated and firm in your decision-making. If people like you as a person, be as upfront as you can get away with without seeming cheeky or above your station - typically one values a person if they know where they stand with them.

If anyone wants advice about career direction PM me with a bit of background and I'll see if I have any tips for you. I've variously worked in sectors such as retail, hospitality, IT and most recently health, education, music, training and management.

My work is fine, I'm pretty sure my job is safe. The company only has a small presence in Ireland, and because of the nature of the work, we can't really log-in from off-site. I answer a few emails in the morning, and we do some zoomies to keep-up with things; in the intervening time I walk the dogs and play with the baby. Feel a bit guilty for saying this, but I wish life was like this all the time.

r93kaey5p2izun

I'm self employed in an extremely niche area that was always considered an essential service. I voluntarily stopped working for my own safety. I am back working for the past fortnight. I have obviously lost a lot of money over the past 3 months, but it's fine. My work is not affected by social distancing rules or anything and is probably as low risk as possible anyway except that I can't work from home. I am not concerned about my job, just about my health. So many reckless people from what I see and I have dropped a client because of her careless attitude to the virus and selfish reckless behaviour.

I also work a very small contract teaching one evening a week (90 mins) so was paid for that throughout and continued working from home. I'm thinking I will drop this and the voluntary teaching I do for safety reasons in September.

JupiterKid

I lecture at a university and - for now - my job is pretty safe. Been working from home since the lockdown, delivering my classes via Zoom. Was a nightmare to set up initially in early April on my old desktop PC from my home office/spare bedroom where, before the lockdown, I was working from two days a week on the days I wasn’t in the college teaching. Since then it’s working fine, with a few glitches now and then.

I’m pretty happy with the arrangements but I do miss the social aspects of working in the college and meeting and chatting with my colleagues. Also, I feel that teaching online is no proper substitute for actually being in the class and meeting my students face to face.

I feel fortunate to still have work and an income as there are many in the retail sector, aviation and hospitality who have either lost their jobs or are facing a very uncertain future.

El Gato De Negocios

Should be ok I think. Work for a global insurance company with a large presence in Ireland and im the only person in the country doing the job im doing. Nobody has lost their job with us at this point. Got a payrise and bonus in March but not expecting to get one next year. My job is not related to sales so even if there is a significant economic downturn and resultant drop in policies sold there will still be a requirement for my role (I hope).

Ultrflat

I started my new job 4 weeks ago tomorrow, I haven't meet my boss's in person or my director, They send me work I get it done the second I receive it. I'm delighted to be working again.

The future for us looks like Hot desking and working from home. I'm ok with that. I like to think I've done a good job over the past few weeks. It's hard getting trained in from home. But I found it so easy and relaxed there training and course's that they will send me on.

My day involved getting up at 6 doing 45 minutes of yoga followed by a shower and logging on to my virtual desk top Im delighted Im getting time to my self in the morning.

Jayesdiem

Cards on the table, I was as anti-lockdown as it is possible to be. I thought it was a ludicrous idea and I know I was in a very small minority. A good portion of the population not only accepted the reasons for the lockdown but actually relished it. An endless summer holiday. I do wonder what percentage of those who also now face redundancy still feel it was a great idea. Anyone here? Just curious.

padd b1975

International truck driver.

Business as usual along with the increased hygiene etc.
Single occupancy cabins on the ferries is an unexpected plus to be honest.

DubDani

I work for a multinational and have been working from home full time for several years now, so no big change for me, except having kids at home as well as wife working from home.

My employer has been handling this exceptionally well so far. Bonus was paid in April, Holiday arrangements have been altered by HR so that we can carry over more days then usual into 2021 and we have been given extra days off for the good work we have done in difficult circumstances in the last 3 months. Financially the company seems to be doing well, but who really knows. We will find out with the next Bonus.

A big challenge for companies will be the demand from employees to now permanently work from home, as a lot of people now realise how well it works for them. I know of many people who are thinking about it as it will alow them to move into cheaper areas, closer to families etc.,especialy with offices often based in local High cost centres. It might actually change or at least influence the way people work in the future.

JoeExotic81

Statutory Ape wrote: »

Should be ok I think. Work for a global insurance company with a large presence in Ireland and im the only person in the country doing the job im doing. Nobody has lost their job with us at this point. Got a payrise and bonus in March but not expecting to get one next year. My job is not related to sales so even if there is a significant economic downturn and resultant drop in policies sold there will still be a requirement for my role (I hope).

Tough times for many. Stay strong brother!!

s1ippy

Jayesdiem wrote: »

Cards on the table, I was as anti-lockdown as it is possible to be. I thought it was a ludicrous idea and I know I was in a very small minority. A good portion of the population not only accepted the reasons for the lockdown but actually relished it. An endless summer holiday. I do wonder what percentage of those who also now face redundancy still feel it was a great idea. Anyone here? Just curious.

I suspect I can see the "trap" you're trying to lead people into here. My partner lost their job, we're going to be pretty badly financially hit this year because of that but we'll soldier on. I won't be able to take a career break and get the Masters I needed, our mortgage approval is gone, our standard of living has taken a hit.

In Ireland, we impeded the spread of an unprecedented virus quite quickly with minimal deaths, so in the scheme of things a lifestyle adjustment is a small sacrifice to make.

Outkast_IRE

Global Engineering Consultancy. Pay Freeze and no profit share / bonus and they wouldnt be top payers as it is.

Still as busy as ever but its very hard to see too far ahead. No redundancies or anything like that to date, but a hiring freeze alright.

Its the uncertainty which is causing issues.

rainbow kirby

I'm actually starting a new job on Monday. Mid-level Java dev, working remotely at first until it is safe for the whole office to return to work.

I've taken a small pay cut to move, there has been some serious nonsense going on in the last 6-8 months there and was being targeted by one particular toxic individual in a high management position. I was also completely screwed over on sick pay, the company has historically paid sick leave but changed their sick pay policy as an executive from my company arrived home from his ski trip to northern Italy with it and did not quarantine. They clawed back the "overpayment" in April leaving me with about £800 to cover the month of May.

It turned out I dodged a bullet, almost everyone furloughed was made redundant on Friday. I had been 1 year and 11 months there so would not have been eligible for a redundancy payment.

Jayesdiem

s1ippy wrote: »

I suspect I can see the "trap" you're trying to lead people into here. My partner lost their job, we're going to be pretty badly financially hit this year because of that but we'll soldier on. I won't be able to take a career break and get the Masters I needed, our mortgage approval is gone, our standard of living has taken a hit.

In Ireland, we impeded the spread of an unprecedented virus quite quickly with minimal deaths, so in the scheme of things a lifestyle adjustment is a small sacrifice to make.

Not a trap but there would be a clear division between you and I on your second point regarding the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the lockdown. I ask the question because flat out, I believe the damage done to people like yourself was in no way worth it in the long term and I am taken aback by how easily most have accepted that. We’ve really rolled over. Your life has been profoundly affected by this, and the knock on effects are potentially very serious. There are possibly hundreds of thousands in your position. My life, is as yet unaffected, other than to have suffered boredom and irritation due to zealous social distancing in shops etc, but may not remain that way.

Rubberchikken

We're an essential service so work never stopped.
No layoffs nor will there be.

We use ppe all the time so nothing new there.

SteadyNed

Multi-national construction engineering Consultancy, busy at the moment but mainly with projects which were commissioned before the lockdown.

No change so far, apart from those at Director level getting a 20% haircut. Th rest of us down the food chain have been treated surprisingly well so far, but I do fear what lies ahead.

s1ippy

Jayesdiem wrote: »

Not a trap but there would be a clear division between you and I on your second point regarding the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the lockdown. I ask the question because flat out, I believe the damage done to people like yourself was in no way worth it in the long term and I am taken aback by how easily most have accepted that. We’ve really rolled over. Your life has been profoundly affected by this, and the knock on effects are potentially very serious. There are possibly hundreds of thousands in your position. My life, is as yet unaffected, other than to have suffered boredom and irritation due to zealous social distancing in shops etc, but may not remain that way.

We don't need any misplaced sympathies, we're going to be fine. We'll have to postpone life plans we had, that's manageable. What isn't manageable is a friend of mine who woke up from two weeks in an induced coma on a ventilator, finding out that his mother, who'd been recovering when he went under, had died of covid. I don't accept your point that the lockdown has not been effective because it flies in the face of all evidence and I suspect you are either trolling or a fomenter.

ofcork

Cleaner in a pharma factory worked all through more work no extra pay even though the pharma employees got nearly 2k bonus for coming to work!!

Ipso

Jayesdiem wrote: »

Cards on the table, I was as anti-lockdown as it is possible to be. I thought it was a ludicrous idea and I know I was in a very small minority. A good portion of the population not only accepted the reasons for the lockdown but actually relished it. An endless summer holiday. I do wonder what percentage of those who also now face redundancy still feel it was a great idea. Anyone here? Just curious.

You think there would have been a functioning economy in a Full blown pandemic?

BattleCorp

I work in health and safety in the private sector in a business that is considered essential. Working from home since St. Patrick's Day. Busier than ever actually but the business I work for has been hit so I'm not expecting to get my bonus this year as overall the company will be down.

To be honest, I'm just glad I have a job in an essential service that will probably survive the coming recession/depression (fingers crossed).

Jenneke87

Work in transportation. People with a permanent contract will stay with the company or be trained for a new role if their current one ceases to excist. So it's wait and are really

Jayesdiem

Ipso wrote: »

You think there would have been a functioning economy in a Full blown pandemic?

I’m not sure how you define “full blown pandemic” but what you’ve just witnessed is a non-functioning economy, regardless of how you would classify the virus spread. I think you are implying that the lockdown saved the economy in some way? On that I can only disagree. It destroyed the economy, it didn’t save it. On the relative merits of lockdown? As I said in the post you quoted, I think the lockdown was a gargantuan error but the question still stands: I’m in a depressingly small minority of people who were/are allergic to the lockdown. I’ve hated and resented every-single-minute of it with every fibre of my body. Conversely,I sensed that most people supported it, even enjoyed it. What I’m trying to determine is did those people who enjoyed it expect what is now happening? Or did they foresee continuous pay to work/be at home?

spiritcrusher

Rehabbing elderly people in one of the big hospitals. Lot of people post-COVID with numerous complications. Busier than winter at the moment. Job is secure though, I guess. Haven't really given that side of things much thought really.

Ubbquittious

Mad busy altogether. Place closed down mostly for about a week at the start of the lock down but flat out ever since. No working from home either