I've decided to write a perfunctory post about what it's been like working retail at a grocery store during the corona virus pandemic in early 2021. If you haven't been up to date with my blog, I've been documenting everything since the day before the pandemic began, when I went to a punk rock show at the Sugar Mill Saloon. You can find all that information here.
First of all, the pandemic has been tough for retail workers, especially at the grocery store I work at. The employees are dead tired and more of them are catching the virus. They don't have the energy to really put in quality care and work ethic, so in many respects, the store manager gets what they get. Most, almost all of the emergency new hire employees have quit. The ones that have stayed are very part time workers.
There's been a few more cases at my store but all in all not that many. We have window barriers in front of the cash register to help enforce social distancing. We are no longer limiting the numbers that can come into the store, exchanging safety for more sales, unfortunately.
There's very little cleaning if there is any that takes place. In the beginning of the pandemic the cleaning was nonstop. At this current juncture, cleaning is a mere afterthought. The cleaning people that come to clean at night don't do a very good job. Instead of cleaning surfaces, they instead focus on waxing the floor mostly.
Middle management is stressed to breaking points sometimes because of how short staffed we are at night. Upper management seems to be oblivious to middle and lower management needs. The grunt workers have never been at a more all time low morale. Most people don't like to work retail, but you know, if you actually put in a little time, effort, and care into the work, you will be awarded and appreciated by management, coworkers, and customers.
I've moved into a strictly cashiering role at the moment which makes my job a lot easier because I don't have to clean, take out the trash, or push carts, all of which involves touching surfaces that could've been tainted by covid, who knows? My hours have been all over the place. I've been switched from my usual closing shifts at 1 am to instead mid shifts and mornings. It's quite a change for a night owl. The one thing that is unfortunate about it is that sometimes there are many more customers in the store in the earlier parts of the day, which makes masking up and gloves and social distancing much more important than working the closing shift.
Now that Biden is President the world has calmed down some. The death of George Floyd brought about a new class consciousness. People my age aren't doing that great in life but now that there's true leadership in office, perhaps the young can get back on the right track, getting back to work, finding housing and moving out of their parents, getting married, starting families, having goals and dreams being fulfilled within the vicissitudes of the worldhood of the world. Things always seem bleak at the darkest hour. The truth is that covid will get a lot worse before it gets better and perhaps it will get a lot worse working at the market within the next few months, but its better not to think about that too much, for in the end, I've still got a job and I'm still making money while others are out of work and stuck relying on their parents and unemployment.
The workers really deserve that $2 return to hero pay!
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