It's been three days since I've been back to work after a two-month personal leave of absence. Here are my thoughts about the safety conditions of working at a grocery store at this stage in the pandemic. Okay, so I would say that things are a little safer overall but not that much safer. Most of the customers are all wearing facemasks but there are always a few bad apples; eating, drinking, and talking. Management has called for a rule in the breakroom that only allows up to four people to be in there.
As for customers' wellbeing, there's always a courtesy clerk outside cleaning cart handles for each individual customer. I've actually never seen that kind of service at a grocery store and question if other grocery stores are as precise and on the ball as we are in regards to cleaning cart handles. We're doing it every hour for every customer. Many customers have told me that other stores aren't doing this and that's the reason why they come to my store.
But to the detriment of everybody's safety, there is no longer a limit on the number of customers that can be allowed to enter the store. So at any given time if the store happens to be busy, it's a zoo. Management is no longer limiting the number of customers, probably as a way to boost sales as they are way down. However, late at night, there aren't as many customers as two months ago, so there are times at night now that don't require a limit on customers in the store. But I would say, overall, that during the peak business hours in the morning and afternoon, it's a very unsafe working environment with too many people too close to each other. I only wish management would put the limit back in place in order to make us that much safer.
In terms of things that I do personally, one must be smarter than ever before in terms of safety. All the associates are wearing masks but unfortunately, most of my coworkers aren't wearing gloves. This is a grave mistake and management should step up the requirement of facemasks with the addition of gloves. The store has free disposable gloves but for some reason or other, most of the staff aren't wearing them. This is especially dangerous for the courtesy clerks cleaning the cart handles and doing carts. Personally, I wear thick latex gloves that I clean and sanitize every day. It's a hassle to wear them and my hands do get sweaty sometimes but it's worth it to be safer. Again, I wish management would step up and require gloves for the safety of everyone.
The morale of the workforce is at an all-time low. Some of the older employees as well as the young new hires have bad attitudes or they're just tired. Well, when you see that we're working for minimum wage with the addition of the company taking away our hazard bonus pay, you realize how demoralizing it really is. Again, I believe this is where management should step up and rally their workers into some sort of happy place or even just a slightly better place. They did this yesterday when management bought us all gourmet food from a high-end restaurant. It takes things like that in addition to personal talks with employees as well as general statements to the entire staff. I don't see that kind of leadership coming out of the store or the company. There's no mutual leadership to bring us together. Rather it is the employees themselves that rally together and brings the group together. Thank God!
It's safer for sure but it's going to take a much smarter individual to truly be safe. If somebody gets COVID and can't afford to take off work because of bills, is there any incentive to actually stay home? The fear is still there.
Let's hear it for all grocery store workers!
Hurrah!
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