March 12, 2020

[Rainger99]

It was five years ago today that our company told us that we were to start working from home tomorrow. We were told that it was to “flatten the curve” and that we would be back in the office in two weeks.

I did not realize it at the time but I would never return to the office. I moved to the Villages in 2021 (we were still working remotely when I moved) and I retired later that year. I have been back to the office a few times since I retired but the office still works remotely 2 days a week so there are some colleagues that I have not seen since Covid.

[manaboutown]

I had an AA flight scheduled that day and wanted to cancel it. At the last moment AA offered full reimbursement due to the virus and I took it. A very scary time. I knew several who died from the virus.

[Taltarzac725]

I had a cousin who died from COVID after he got the disease while in a hospital near Captiva Island. He had gone into the hospital because of a broken leg.

[thelegges]

My spouse and 9 colleagues retired two weeks earlier. I was in TV, facility was up north. They all returned to give as many moms with young kids time off to keep them safe. While they took their chances reusing PPOs for weeks.
It’s harder to miss a spouse than office friends, it was the right thing to do

[Dotneko]

I judge horse shows all over the country. In Massachusetts, where we lived in early 2020, horse shows were banned due to Covid (remember, the riders and judges are a good 20 ft minimum apart and are outside mostly) but you could go into a casino. Inside. Tell me that money was not a factor.

[CarlR33]

And for several years later the debate on working remote and how often we needed to go into the office began. I just read an article last night that said the older more established companies will have people come back into work more often while the newer companies with younger employees will embrace more remote work. I know there are a ton more job postings now in my profession that are remote. Go figure.

[Bay Kid]

It was like being in the Twilight Zone. I had to protect my 2 elderly parents. Thankfully they were with me and not in a nursing home.

[manaboutown]

Among other things I did not get a haircut for nine months as I tried to keep myself isolated from people as much as possible. When I finally went to the barbershop it turned out every one of the barbers had contracted Covid (and were over it). The oldest one had lost a kidney and a half from it but was still cutting hair. He still does even today.

[Stu from NYC]

Had to go food shopping by myself as my wife unconsciously touches everything for reasons that defy my understanding.

[Bill14564]

We were at Disney when the parks shut down, at the hotel when they shut down, ordered a meal at WoB before the kitchen shut down, and hightailed it back to MD in fear that the state borders would shut down. We were fortunate to be able to retire in late 2020 and got back in time for the pools and the squares to reopen.

Interesting times.

[rsmurano]

My last 10 years in the high tech industry, I worked at home in my pajamas, no driving, no trains/subways. I could have gone into the office a few miles away if I wanted to which I never did. My boss was 1500 miles away, we would meet at computer shows or would have department get together meetings a couple times a year. It was Fortune 500 company and they didn’t care where I lived as long as I had good internet and was fairly close to an airport.

What’s important is to find a company that doesn’t micro manage their people so you have the flexibility of working at home. The employee also has to produce work so they don’t have to be micro managed. I was upfront with my bosses and they were upfront with me in this arrangement: they knew I waterskied for 2.5 hours everyday during my lunch hour and I knew they could call me at all hours with questions or they could tell me I would have to jump on a plane next week to Germany/China/NYC to talk to customers or give a presentation at a high tech show. Give and take on both sides and it worked out.

[Cuervo]

I'm not sure if the focus of this is Covid or working from home. If it is Covid I personally will take any shot, they will give me, with the possibility of death I believe it's a no brainer.

If it is working from home, if there is a good monitoring system that the employee is putting the time required and is producing what is requested of them, I believe it is a win, win. A company can reduce it workspace and employee can reduce or eliminates unnecessary travel time. Money saved for both sides.

[La lamy]

I'm SO GRATEFUL I was freshly retired when that all went down.

[westernrider75]

It was five years ago today that our company told us that we were to start working from home tomorrow. We were told that it was to “flatten the curve” and that we would be back in the office in two weeks.

I did not realize it at the time but I would never return to the office. I moved to the Villages in 2021 (we were still working remotely when I moved) and I retired later that year. I have been back to the office a few times since I retired but the office still works remotely 2 days a week so there are some colleagues that I have not seen since Covid.

We were on a cruise, which eventually got extended by 2 days when San Juan, Puerto Rico refused to let us disembark there as planned. We went on to Miami where we arrived 2 days later and flew home from there. I have to say that Royal Caribbean was a rock star in how everything was handled.

When I got home it was back to work as usual as I was employed in a retail pharmacy. Not one day off.

[Miboater]

We were also on a cruise. We left March 9th and everything was normal and returned March 16th and the world changed. EU passengers had to disembark in Mexico as the USA was closed to EU travelers but the English passengers were ok. Tampa traffic which is usually a nightmare was a ghost town. It was like the Twilight Zone!

[JimmyDebbie]

I had submitted my resignation letter in January 2020 before Covid really hit. I retired May 1 of that year. I was a nurse, working in the Quality Dept, sometimes working remotely, but more so in the months after Covid started. I still retired as planned (thankfully) and also had a full-blown case of Covid about 5 months later. I quickly developed Covid antibodies as confirmed by my physician. In early 2021, I was contacted by a “headhunter” firm on behalf of my former health system about a temporary remote job doing the exact same thing I was doing before I retired. When it came time for me to be officially hired for this temporary remote position, I was asked to submit my vaccination information. Since I had strong antibodies against Covid, I had made the decision for no vaccine. The hospital system insisted that I have the vaccine in order to be hired. And for a remote position 600 miles away and no patient contact. 🤦🏻*♀️ Needless to say, I declined the job.

[Switter]

It was five years ago today that our company told us that we were to start working from home tomorrow. We were told that it was to “flatten the curve” and that we would be back in the office in two weeks.

I did not realize it at the time but I would never return to the office. I moved to the Villages in 2021 (we were still working remotely when I moved) and I retired later that year. I have been back to the office a few times since I retired but the office still works remotely 2 days a week so there are some colleagues that I have not seen since Covid.


Basically the same story for me. Our department went full-time, permanent remote and I moved to the villages from Minnesota. Putting aside the death toll and the major economic impact, the pandemic was the best thing that ever happened to me. I do kind of miss in person contact with my coworkers though, great bunch of people.

I still have not gotten Covid, or at least don't think I have.

[DPWM21]

I was out of country and came back early in early March. I worried about virus being ‘novel’ which I believed meant extra caution as it could mutate and was unknown. I had already learned many countries mask for pollution and even to protect skin from sun damage in areas where unblemished light skin is considered essential to outer beauty. In August, when a store reopened, I was in line to return an item the man behind me had a (mandatory) mask which said ‘Masks are stupid’. I said ‘dude, you oughta try a bra in August’…and we both laughed…
Everyone is so serious about their opinion being right…not much thought to welfare of others in a period of ‘novel’ challenge and of stress to medical personnel. My son got Covid when removing a unmasked man on a stretcher.

[Heytubes]

I’d suggest if the workers ordered back to the office took a pay cut to work remotely, it would be a win for both.

[Bill14564]

The moderators appear to be trying to keep this from becoming yet another COVID-denial/anti-vax thread. Please let's not work to get the thread shut down.

[richdell]

We went to The Villages in early March 2020, prior to the restrictions, to check out the area and take the 3 different trolley tours. Had we known then what was about to happen, we would have seen a movie at the Brownwood Theater. Too late now. We moved down in November 2020.

[TheWatcher]

Just another example of the ill-conceived response to the pandemic. More and More I've become a fan of the Swedish response---do nothing, mortality rate the same.

As you obviously know, many management techniques were trialed in the past with varied results depending on the disease being managed. Doing 'nothing' was one of them and it worked in some pandemic outbreaks. The statistics for morbidity and mortality (not to mention business and economy) need to be weighed and a cogent decision needs to be implemented. There is a long history of us trying to figure it out. Check out this book for an interesting history of "Medicine" trying to do that:

John M. Barry
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

Many of the scenarios will be far too familiar. We never learn.

My wife and I were in Disney in late Jan 2020 and were already aware of reports of illness in China. We both got sick on Jan 31st with me having shaking chills and fever to 103. We are suspicious that this was COVID-19 in hindsight. In March the office I worked in shut down and individually the staff went in to bring computers home. I have been home since working remotely.

My wife's colleague went home to visit family at the same time in Jan 2020. I remember debating them if she should go. The relatives lived in Wuhan. They decided to go anyway and were quarantined there for 6 months having missed the last 2 planes the US consolate set up to evacuate since the Chinese government shut down ground transportation (she and her daughter were US citizens).

[Moderator]

The moderators appear to be trying to keep this from becoming yet another COVID-denial/anti-vax thread. Please let's not work to get the thread shut down.

Yes we are, thank you!

Please try to stay with your impact on the first day of shutdown.

[jimjamuser]

My last 10 years in the high tech industry, I worked at home in my pajamas, no driving, no trains/subways. I could have gone into the office a few miles away if I wanted to which I never did. My boss was 1500 miles away, we would meet at computer shows or would have department get together meetings a couple times a year. It was Fortune 500 company and they didn’t care where I lived as long as I had good internet and was fairly close to an airport.

What’s important is to find a company that doesn’t micro manage their people so you have the flexibility of working at home. The employee also has to produce work so they don’t have to be micro managed. I was upfront with my bosses and they were upfront with me in this arrangement: they knew I waterskied for 2.5 hours everyday during my lunch hour and I knew they could call me at all hours with questions or they could tell me I would have to jump on a plane next week to Germany/China/NYC to talk to customers or give a presentation at a high tech show. Give and take on both sides and it worked out.
That's a lot of water skiing. I skied about once per week for a few years when I was young. I believe that it can be hard on the knees. I thought about going over a jump, but gave up on the idea.

[jimjamuser]

I'm not sure if the focus of this is Covid or working from home. If it is Covid I personally will take any shot, they will give me, with the possibility of death I believe it's a no brainer.

If it is working from home, if there is a good monitoring system that the employee is putting the time required and is producing what is requested of them, I believe it is a win, win. A company can reduce it workspace and employee can reduce or eliminates unnecessary travel time. Money saved for both sides.
And automobile travel can be dangerous. it helps everyone when one less car is on the road.

[SoCalGal]

they knew I waterskied for 2.5 hours every day during my lunch hour ...

Kinda negates the existence of a lunch "hour."

[Topspinmo]

The moderators appear to be trying to keep this from becoming yet another COVID-denial/anti-vax thread. Please let's not work to get the thread shut down.

So, as long as we all agree about Covid the thread can continue. Why is that so important?

[Michael 61]

It was five years ago today that our company told us that we were to start working from home tomorrow. We were told that it was to “flatten the curve” and that we would be back in the office in two weeks.

I did not realize it at the time but I would never return to the office. I moved to the Villages in 2021 (we were still working remotely when I moved) and I retired later that year. I have been back to the office a few times since I retired but the office still works remotely 2 days a week so there are some colleagues that I have not seen since Covid.

Yep - we were all notified too on March 12, 2020, that the following day (the13th) would be our last day in the office. The company sent all employees (over 5000) home to work for “two weeks” until the curve was flattened. No one has ever returned to the office, and those buildings continue to sit unoccupied to this day. In April 2021, the company offered a very generous “early retirement” to any employee over the age of 55 and with a minimum of 10 years of service (2 years salary plus medical paid until the age of 65). I had just turned 59, and jumped on the buy out. Was able to retire five years ahead of schedule. Moved from Colorado to The Villages the following year (2022). Life has been great ever since. I feel truly blessed.

[CFrance]

So, as long as we all agree about Covid the thread can continue. Why is that so important?
I imagine they don't want the thread to devolve into a fight as so many prior Covid threads have. Just want people to stick to the topic.

We had plans to go to France for the spring/summer. Our dog was old, the vet okayed him for one more trip but we promised to stay over there for the rest of his life. We were to leave here end of March.

Our family (strewn over three continents) decided to stage a family reunion in Austin, TX. We delayed our trip a week to go to Austin. Not only did the EU close its borders during that week, the flights to Austin were canceled due to Covid. So no reunion.

That's why we ended up spending Covid here, but we lucked out, since France's restrictions were much more stringent than ours here in FL. You couldn't be off your property more than a kilometer. Only one of you was allowed in the grocery store, and only so many people allowed in at a time. There was a curfew. You couldn't have more than six people in one place at one time. (My mah jongg group had very clever workarounds for this.) Every time you went out, you had to print out a paper stating when you left, where you were going, and you had to be back within an hour. Or fill out a form on your phone. Fines were something like 750 euros.

I think we only had three cases of Covid in our little village of 500 souls, but probably because a lot of us expats weren't there.