Hopefully we will all get that chance one day, but I am thinking things are going to be real different in how we interact with each other. I for one will not be getting on a crowded elevator, and will be trying to skip any meetings over a few people in conference rooms. How will we get everyone up and down elevators in an orderly fashion if only two people at the max are allowed? Van pools and buses are not going to be much of an option either. Do we even have enough parking for everyone to drive their cars in? What about people with child care needs and homeschooling needs.? Will we need to get our temperature checked before getting on an elevator and heading up? I know there are no answers now, but I just don't see how we can get back to work in the office with all the stipulations that will be put in place. Maybe we can still work from home if we are keeping up with our work, but it really seems like a logistical nightmare. Plus, we have not even hit the apex in Texas yet.
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There are Oxy employees with CV19 who work in Greenway? How recent? I have been going into the office.
Very scary to go back since there were positive cases in greenway 5 and recently oxy employees.
Invoke the Stop Work authority. Tell em is not safe and they have to demonstrate otherwise. Would they ask you to go inside to clean tank or vessel Without proper PPE? They gave us hard hat, boots, coveralls, I guess the N95 mask is missing!
There's a huge faction of employees at Oxy who haven't done any work in a decade despite showing up to the office.
So not sure why rush. It isn't like the company is on the cutting edge of productivity anyway.
I am not going back to office on May 1st. Won’t risk my life
If they really plan on reopening on May 1st, I think wide spread revolt is required. I personally will not risk my life and the life of my loved ones when I can perform my job just fine from home.
Are they going to supply masks? How will social distancing be enforced? What scientific evidence led them to this conclusion? What contingency plans do they have in place.
I understand the need to “open the economy“ but until they prove to me this is a calculated decision and not just ignorant well wishing, I won’t accept their conditions. Especially after cutting 30% of my pay.
Unless Oxy is prepared to ensure our safety, please consider rejecting any proposal that is made on economic as opposed to safety conditions. We mean nothing to them, I gravely renounce utilitarian considerations such as this.
It would be so dumb for oxy to require employees to come back before at earliest June 1st. Everyone is going to get infected if we are required back any sooner.
@1iub+14rXC6xh You bring up some great points and you are right about the peak not being in Texas yet. I do think the childcare issue will cause a problem, but don't look for any sympathy from the Oxy leaders. They will just say find some help, take vacation, or unpaid leave. Many people will be in the same boat and have to make a decision on childcare, but we should not plan on being able to work from home, or bring the kids to the office. Having kids in the office is not an alternative at all.
I agree. I have heard several managers say that Oxy is still planning on being open for business on May 1. I think this is extremely naive for a few reasons.
- The vast majority of the "curve flattening" we are seeing for the US is from New York and the tri-state area alone. The vast majority of cases and fatalities so far have been from there. Most of the country hasn't even STARTED the curve, much less flattened it.
- Just because cases and deaths start declining, that doesn't mean the virus is gone. Cases and deaths are declining BECAUSE everyone is staying home. The minute things go back to normal, infections will skyrocket again.
- Texas is performing the fewest tests per capita of anywhere in the country. The numbers are completely meaningless, and far lower than the number of people actually sick.
- It takes 3-4 weeks for this virus to k–l people. The fatalities you see today are people who were infected 4-5 weeks ago (1 week incubation).
- It will hit different cities around the country in waves. Based on hospital and ICU activity, it looks like the wave in Houston is just now starting to ramp up.
- If schools, summer camps and daycare facilities remain closed, a huge chunk of the workforce won't be able to go to the office anyway (unless you want me bringing my kids too). Some states have already cancelled the remainder of the school year. There will be massive pressure to do the same here. I wouldn't be surprised if some daycares are already being driven out of business.
Ultimately, opening up is a political issue. If enough people want to return to normal life, it will happen, no matter how many people die. Obviously, you can't ignore the economy and all the suffering caused by job loss and collapse of businesses. But the idea that we can somehow resume normal life without seeing New York play out on a national scale is Fantasy Land.
The experts are saying a peak in Texas will be around May 1st. The ICU rooms are just now starting to fill up in Houston, and the peak again should be the first week of May. That is what the experts are saying in Washington and here. I would say mid-May to early-June would be more like it, and if people are doing their job well from home leave them there.
One option will be no pay leave after using all the vacations. Guess some function can not just quite as they have critical deadline over the time .
They are desperate to get us back to the office where they can control us. VH cant see you having sense of Urgency working from home. They need to provide a safe environment with less chances of encountering the virus: should give us masks, gel hand sanitizer, lysol spray. Nite cleaning crew should wear mask too and do proper cleaning. Take turns for elevators, no crowded meetings... but I am guessing they will push really hard for first week of May since we are part of one of the 16 critical categories. They will create so much stress it will make people quite. To me Oxy wants natural selection. The more sick and dead the less to fire and pay packages. There is no money left to pay if you ever win a lawsuit, I wouldn’t count on that.
I am so worried to get back to work. The virus is still around. And for the non-symptom carrier, it is more deadly to others who have weak immune system. For our working environment with endless meetings, it is so upsetting. It is hard decision, 100% lose my job or 50% lose my health/life.
Maybe they will let the people up north go work at The Woodlands campus if they need to have us in the office. If the space is there just make a bunch of cubicles and that might solve some of the commuting problems and parking.
OXY really needs to rethink how they do business. It is a decade behind most other companies, where employees are expected to come to the office every work day and keep their door open so the yes men middle managers can micromanage at every move. Very few companies are like OXY in this way, and at minimum most allow a few days a month where employees have the option to work from home. I think job satisfaction would greatly increase if the rule was changed where employees can work from home a few days a month. At this point, job satisfaction is almost negative so hopefully management is taking some of this advice to heart. It’s just sad that it takes a pandemic to force managements hand to finally let people work from home. Think of the childcare etc your employees could save money on if you had more remote work options.