In March of 2020, my department was removed from our office location and sent home to work there permanently. It wasn’t meant to be permanent but quickly transitioned into working at home forever.
This was met with varying degrees of happiness by the staff members.
Some were ecstatic because they loved the idea of never needing to drive to work again nor see everyone’s faces. These were the reclusive of the group.
Others were very upset because they desired the ability to see everyone in person and enjoyed the interactions with others; plus they got out of the house.
I was somewhere in between.
As the first week turned into the first month and more time went by, I fell into a depression I did not expect. I never really messaged people much while I was at the office and that did not increase much once we were home. Eventually I got used to it, but it was rough, and I felt very much alone.
As everyone on planet Earth knows, 2020 was not the best year on record for personal development and it’s hard to come across someone who does not say they had a hard time.
For me, it was met with depression, the possibility of losing our house, learning of my inability to wear a mask, being refused service at restaurants, and picking up groceries in a parking lot. Far worse than any of that, I also had a family member stuck in a hospital and rehab for 2 ½ months over Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and a birthday.
Here comes the controversy involving the Covid-19 craziness and my job.
I was told to go into our old office in September of 2020 to pick up my office equipment (laptop, etc) and was instructed to wear a mask. When I told my boss I could not do that, HR became involved and insisted I wear one anyway. I nearly passed out in front of the IT guy who was there to set up my equipment. Honestly, he showed more sympathy than anyone else at that time.
You see, they did not believe me nor care why I could not wear a mask. My boss was later heard to tell a co-worker that she felt I was not wearing one for some other reason (what reason, I can only imagine).
Time went by and nothing more happened because I, along with all of the department, was working from home and not in physical contact with any of them. There were no plans that we would ever meet in person again other than a possible future gathering that was not a guarantee nor on company property.
Then, in April of 2021, my supervisor made a decision that each of us would need to go onto company property ONE day per month to do work at that location. I expressed to my boss my concern regarding masks and she was little help but said I needed to tell my supervisor.
The long and the short of this is that even after offering four different solutions to this problem wherein I said I would take on additional work for others, I was told I must be able to wear a mask and I must go to the property the ONE day a month.
Per my supervisor, boss, and human resources, there was no other way! They literally would not allow me to stay at home where no mask was required and do additional work. Basically, the company was purging any employee that would not fully comply regardless of reasoning.
Going back in time a bit, the head guy at the company told every employee that they would never require employees to take the Covid shot. Over and over again, they said these words.
In approximately July of 2021, they went back on their word. Now thousands of people must get the shot regardless of what they want. The company states a religious or medical exemption is allowed but getting those is next to impossible and rarely hold much water for very long.
Regardless of a person’s belief in this shot, being forced to inject yourself with something you do not want feels very much like an abusive relationship.
Listening to news reports today feels like a slap on the face for many people. They chastise anyone without the shot saying they are to blame for hospitals being overrun.
Well, I would like to point out that the local hospital here has lost many employees due to their new policy and that has a great impact on the number of patients they can effectively help.
This is not the fault of the unvaccinated.
We have forgotten who is truly to blame for this and are now attacking the innocent individuals who were simply living their lives back in 2019. Working, playing, enjoying life.
Today I can’t go to the store without seeing someone truly scared to death as they drive alone in their car with the windows up and a mask on their face.
This post was originally seen on Alexandria (aleksandreia.com).
