During this pandemic employees have two options, working remotely from home or staying on as an essential worker. I spoke with Dr. Stan Wallace, president and CEO of Global Scholars about how operations are run from home.
(Stan Wallace) “If you mean how I go about these changes. Same job, different ways I go about fulfilling those duties and the simple answer is more of the work is mediated as opposed to directed incarnational, in other words I’m using this type of technology that’s mediating interaction as opposed to sitting down with people here in my office or somewhere out on the road that I would go visit.”
Although there are challenges such as less face to face communication, there are also some positives that come about by being able to work from home.
(Wallace) “Beyond the obvious that there’s a considerable save of time and money that results from not having to travel somewhere, you know I’m a thirty second commute to my work space. Here I can turn off my phone, I can shut down my zoom and literally be, for an hour or for a day, however long I need be able to focus and concentrate on something, so it gives me more control of that than other people which is really helpful.”
Not only do positives occur for people remotely working, but there are some great recourses that certain companies are providing for essential workers.
(Trevor Winters) “Still earning money and working, that’s a good thing. It’s better than being laid off and not working. We put signage up in the stores so it explains why we are limiting people. It talks about if you want to wear a mask, you should wear a mask, if you need to sneeze or whatever. We have actually gone as far as roping off all of our drinking fountains. We have roped off all of the floors we want people to stay on”
Social distancing is recommended by the CDC while essential businesses are still up and running. Both remote workers and essential workers understand the dangers that can come from breaking these new social rules
(Wallance) “In a small number of cases we are the expert so we know the relevant data and can make an informed decision and the vast majority of cases we are not the expert. There are other who know more than we do, so we rely on their wisdom, their research, their data, their knowledge, their insights and it seems that the majority of those who got knowledge in the area say that it is a good idea. So I base my belief that it’s a good thing to do based on what’s called expert testimony. In the court of law right, brings whoever knows what they’re talking about if you’re a jury you say okay, sounds like your right.”
(Winters) “Keeping that distance is the biggest thing that the company and even the CDC say works the best. I mean there’s time and place for people to be closer when their talking about something, but when there’s something going on like this, that’s probably the most important thing.”
Reporting from the Campus Ledger, this has been Paige Winters.