This is the awful choice.

[onecaliberal]

I was ordered back into the office in June. We were told there will be no more working remotely. Even though I can easily do 99% of my duties remotely from home.

I have been exposed to the virus twice since June. I am always very very careful. I am always masked, although others are not.

Because my husband is disabled from a stroke, I have to work. My choices are leave to the workforce and lose everything we have most likely becoming homeless, or expose my entire family and possibly my immunocompromised husband to a deadly virus.
The daily anxiety is becoming unbearable.

[LizBeth]

1. I am sorry you are in that position. That is so hard. I am applying to get back into the

work force, in a job that does not expose me as much as the last job, but no luck. The upside is not having your concern right now.

And I am relieved about that. Bummed I can't find a job.

[EndlessWire]

2. Don't quit the work force.

Becoming homeless is not a viable choice.

Instead, return to the office with a smile on your face.
Do not wear a mask with a slogan on it. Do your job as well as you can. You might get sent home to work again. You never know.

Implement a regimen at your door for handling the virus. Disrobe in the garage. Shower the second you get home. Keep wiping stuff down. If you had to, you could create an isolation zone in your home. That would be better than becoming homeless.

You become homeless, and you have a greater chance of getting infected, plus you'll lose your job. Return to your job in the office and see what happens next.

Good luck!

[onecaliberal]

3. Thanks.

I can’t really isolate at home. My kids are all here. I do not have extra space. A few weeks ago my son was so worried he asked me to go stay somewhere else. 🤷?♀️

[EndlessWire]

5. Do what you have to do.

This isn't business as usual. Plus, if you pay the bills, you have the comm stick. Without getting into your social dynamics, which is not my purpose, you CAN do something positive for yourself.

You're in charge. You pick a spot, tell them it's yours and for them to stay out. Do you have a backyard? Modern tents are marvelous! There are shelters you can get from places like Ali Baba which are perfectly usable by people who need a place to stay! (Hint: It ain't you.) There is a solution for you.

I know you. You're the quiet person who pays the bills for everyone, until you are worn down and self miserable to the point where you want to die.

Well, look up! Think of this job as a place to go to get away from them all! Self isolate in your damned car! Go get that extra cup of coffee that they don't know about, and plot against them!

You only need one of them to help hubby while you are working away. Take over the space of the other one! I'm telling ya, stick up for yourself.

If you are the only one working, then you have all the power. Wield it wisely. Of course you love them--but these are unusual times, and you have to be tough.

Horse people know not to put their horses away wet. If you are the work horse, take care of yourself! People living off you will not be doing that for you (except your hubby would if he could.) I'll bet you cook them dinner, dontcha?

Your paycheck, your rules. Just sayin'.

[onecaliberal]

18. Thank you! I get where they are coming from but what the heck.

[DemUnleashed]

4. Very Sad To Hear

I am so, so sorry for your situation!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. It is so stupid that any company whose workers

can work from home don't actively encourage that these days. Yeah, I realize that people didn't buy or rent their current places expecting to have to work from home, but forcing people back into offices where people aren't masking properly is insane.

[JI7]

7. Any chance you can try looking for another similar job

where they will allow you to work from home ?

[onecaliberal]

9. Not one that offers a pension like the one I currently have.

I would also be giving up 13 years at this place. The sad thing is, it’s a great place for women to work.

[tblue37]

8. Some medical workers took to living in their garages or otherwise isolating from their

families to protect them from risk. My daughter, an ER doctor in Florida, went through a meticulous "decontamination" process in her garage when she got home, to avoid exposing her husband and 1-year-old daughter.

Obviously it's never perfect or guaranteed, but her careful procedure has kept them safe thus far.

Try to set up an isolated area where you can change clothes and use disinfectant wipes to clean your hands and face before coming in contact with your husband. And, of course, be as careful as you can at work.

Good luck. It's criminal that you are being put in this position, especially when there is no reason for it.

[onecaliberal]

10. I could easily live in my garage except it's 101 outside today. Still hot as hell here.

Maybe when I was younger but I can’t live in that kind of heat.

I do the decontamination ritual when I get home. We are meticulous about cleaning the heavily used services. Light switches and doorknobs are wiped down several times a day.

At work I don’t go into anyone’s cubicle and don’t allow anyone into my space either. I have walls on 3 sides, so that does help some. There is a vent to the left of me though.

[tblue37]

11. Sounds like you are doing everything you can to protect your family.

[onecaliberal]

12. Yeah I am definitely doing all I know to do.

[Sogo]

13. Could you install a window a/c unit in the garage?

Seems like a fairly inexpensive solution if it would allow you that space to isolate....

[onecaliberal]

14. Don't have a window in the garage but maybe a portable cooling system.

Assuming it doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars a

[Sogo]

15. You don't actually need a window.

They can cut a hole in the wall and install the unit in that.

[Ms. Toad]

17. The issue is less surfaces and what is on your clothes -

and more sharing air space.

Wear a mask at home - not just at work, and try to avoid sharing enclosed air space with your family.

For me, that means that when I have been exposed (or when my spouse has been exposed since she won't isolate) I sleep in the recliner in the living room. (I haven't gotten to wearing a mask at home since my exposure is pretty remote - one positive person who was in the building when I was, but not in the same room - and I did not enter the room he was in for more than 48 hours, and several students who had symptoms that kept them home but (as far as we know) did not ultimately turn out to be COVID 19)

Get a Honeywell TurboForce air circulator. I am pretty tolerant of temperature - BUT - this fan keeps me so cool, even in near 100 degree weather, that I sometimes need to put a sweater on - even on low speed. That might make it tolerable to sleep in the garage.

[onecaliberal]

19. Will definitely get the air circulator.

When I was exposed I did wear the mask 24/7. I also sept on the sofa. I was tested and it was negative. I can’t even tell you what the two days waiting for the rest was like.

[Ms. Toad]

21. I sleep in a separate room when there's been risky behavior -

in addition to potential exposure.

For example - my spouse insisted on going to a bridal shower (eating, unmasked, indoors. less than 6' from non-bubbled individuals). Two weeks on the recliner for me. Same when I had students stay home - even though they likely had something other than COVID - since the school doesn't require testing, I slept separate from a day after my last contact with them for 2 weeks.

[onecaliberal]

22. I don't engage in risky behavior. No one here does.

The risky behavior for me is going
To work. My twins are in college. The UC system is online still. We have groceries delivered. We do not go inside anywhere. We will not be going inside anywhere. The school district just applied for a waiver To bring back K-6 in person. For 5 minutes after we’re out of the completely horrendous phase of the virus. We’re going to bring groups of people together. Theaters opened yesterday. Restaurants opened indoor yesterday. We won’t be doing any of that. Maybe ever.

[Ms. Toad]

23. My spouse does. So to protect me from my spouse,

I sleep separate when SHE engages in the risky behavior I described.

[onecaliberal]

26. I'm sorry. There is zero chance I would risk the lives of anyone. Most of all my family.

[EndlessWire]

25. Another thing to think about

They make huge screen doors for garages which are very cheap. You might look around to see if there is one that will function just right for privacy but allow air to circulate.

You could transform that garage into your own personal paradise. Change the flooring, add some homey touches, put furniture in there, and there's your isolation space. Only let others in by appointment.

[Niagara]

16. I'm sorry to hear about your awful situation.

Your profile states that you live in California. I believe that the state of California offers protection for workers during this pandemic.



I found an article dated back from May that might be able to help you. https://time.com/5832140/going-back-to-work-coronavirus-rights/

[onecaliberal]

20. It would be career suicide to go to HR.

[LAS14]

24. If you can't get an N95 mask, get a KN95. Those are available...

...online. They are assumed to have the same 95% protection, but they conform to Chinese, rather than U.S. standards. Back in the spring some places authorized their use in medical settings. Anyway, they protect the wearer, not just other people. N95 are the kind they wear in ICUs.

There have been stories about fake KN95s. I'm sorry I can't give you advice about that.

BUT! If you're not in a high load setting, a mask of any sort that seals around the face is better protection than one that doesn't. And all those x95 masks seal around the face.