Really frustrated that my employer isn't doing this. I convinced my immediate manager to give everyone approval to WFH, but I cannot fathom why the whole company isn't. I don't know whether it's an issue of priorities, foresight, or capabilities.
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I think one reason companies are reluctant to start WFH is that it's unclear when you'd stop. You'd have to have a reason to stop, and it could easily be like six months from now before there's a defensible one.
Sounds okay to me. My employer and my wife's employer's stance is presently indefensible.
Our local health authorities (Seattle) appear to have a clear-eyed picture that things are going to get worse, and that social-distancing measures will be required, yet they prefer to wait and play the game on hard-mode.
It is hard to see why waiting to implement school closures and work holidays is going to be a net benefit.
If the schools close and you have kids, you're not going to be working either way.
And wait, isn't Seattle hosting a 100k attendee international ComicCon in ten days? How can you argue that's more responsible than your employer is being?
Oh! Maybe your "they" refers to Seattle, not your employer in contrast to Seattle. Confused.
I would think the main trigger to stop would be once the uncertainty is resolved. If we know it's less deadly than feared, or if we know how big the outbreak is, or if we know how effectively we can control it. If we don't see exponentially rising hospitalizations and deaths in the next few weeks, then relaxing it should be fine.
We already have WFH days, like once in a week. Tried to convince the manager to expand this to general WFH for all employees if possible. His statement: Not yet. He will do so as soon as our government (Swiss) suggests it.
I can't blame him and think that our government does not take it serious enough. I just went to work by train from Switzerland to Germany and it's business as usual. The general consensus of all people around me is "Meh, don't panic" while I watch the exponential curve of new cases going up an see neighbouring countries like Italy and France doing damage control.
All larger events with more than 1000 people were disallowed by our government, including carneval. But many people disregarded this and still gathered. But in Germany carneval is still allowed.
I believe, we'll have a huge wake-up-call in the next 2 weeks here in Europe. But what do I know. Maybe I'm just freaking out too much? We'll see. I'm not in the risk group but am worried about older people and people with other illnesses like diabetes. I feel sorry for them.
> I believe, we'll have a huge wake-up-call in the next 2 weeks here in Europe.
I would have thought the situation in Italy qualifies as a wake up call.
Herd mentality, the inability to cope with exponential growth and a fundamental sense of optimism and faith in our leaders and institutions overshadows everything what happens in Italy.
We're so fundamentally used to "We'll be fine" and most of us never experienced any kind of societal and economic hardship.
I really hope, that in the aftermath we'll learn from our mistakes.