Dear business owners and managers: Don’t be a jerk. This coronavirus stuff is serious
You might know I like to joke about calling pieces of journalism important. It’s not that I don’t believe journalism can be important. It often is. But the term has been stretched so far it’s become the butt of its own joke.
You might also know that I tend to “stick to sports,” as it’s become known, and there are a million reasons for this that we can get into some other time.
The spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak into a global pandemic has pushed a lot of us sportswriters beyond games and strategy, and so it is that I am about to break two of my own personal rules in one sentence.
Because this is important: If you own a business or manage an office, you should not only allow your employees to stay home but encourage it when possible.
Way too many of you — some know exactly who you are and others, I suspect, are oblivious — are acting like the rules don’t apply. You’re acting like your business is more important than health and, more to the point, like your employees don’t matter. You are making one of the most selfish and nasty choices imaginable.
The last few weeks have pushed us all into new places. That is likely as true in your job as it is in mine. The open secret of the sportswriting industry is that most of it entails people writing, so the change hasn’t been as drastic as you might think.
It’s been a privilege, really. I’ve written about a high school basketball team’s graceful handling of its championship push being deleted, the angels helping our most vulnerable, a Kansas City couple’s “trip from hell” on the Grand Princess and about those stuck in the middle between essential and not. We listed 56 unforgettable games you can relive right now. We even started a new podcast.
Some of the stories you’ve told me in return have moved my soul. A few have made my blood boil, and that’s the purpose of this column.
I’ve lost track of how many people have described how they or a loved one are being directly forced or feel indirectly threatened to continue to come into an office and work closely alongside others.
This is stupid, arrogant and harmful behavior by bosses and managers all over the KC Metro area.
So far, at least, nobody is willing to go on the record. That’s why this column hasn’t already been written. But after hearing a father tell me through tears that he believes his daughter contracted COVID-19 while working a public facing job after the shelter-in-place order was issued, this needs to be written now.
His daughter, like everyone else in the office, has been told she’d need to use sick time or vacation days in order to stay home. She needs the job, especially now, so she kept going to work.
Until last week, when she caught a fever and started dry-coughing.
The particulars of this case are stomach-turning on their own, but especially so because they’re not unique.
A paragraph of disclaimer: Most businesses act in good faith. Employees treated well by their bosses and told to stay home if they’re concerned are less likely to reach out to the local newspaper. And even then, I’ve heard from plenty.
But the exceptions are worth mentioning, worth discussing and worth calling out by name the moment anyone is willing to go on the record.
Because I’ve heard from people in businesses that could not possibly be deemed essential, and from offices that are literally in the business of keeping people safe. They tell eerily similar stories of bosses who don’t listen to the health experts and/or don’t value the health of their employees.
I’ve heard from (or about) several of these employees who are home right now, forced to take sick leave with symptoms their doctors say align with COVID-19 but don’t yet qualify for testing.
In some professions, risk is inherent. Doctors, nurses and anyone supporting healthcare have little choice. Same with police and public works and many others. They can take certain precautions, and the rest of us do what we can to help, but the risk will remain in some form.
But what about ... well, I’m not going to name the specific businesses or even the field, because these people are afraid of losing their jobs. Just know that I’m not talking about the many businesses that could reasonably be considered on either side of the fuzzy line separating the officially essential and not.
I’m talking about the type of work that can be done at home with an Internet connection and the types of businesses that do not involve health, safety, food, drink, clothing, public information or anything else that even the most generous reading of the order would deem essential.
These people are afraid that if they speak out by name — or if their bosses can trace it back to them — they’ll be fired. Some need the money, some the benefits, and all understand now’s not the time to be looking for work.
An awful form of leverage to do an awful thing.
Many businesses are hurting. There has to be sympathy for that, and those of us who can should help support them: Vote with your wallet for local businesses you want to remain open, and if you get takeout, tip like you’re eating in — maybe even a little more. As much as anything, stay out of the way.
The stress of survival can force all of us into difficult situations, sometimes choosing between two bad options, but “pressure employees to come to work against clear public guidelines, safety and common sense” is never the correct choice.
If you own or manage one of these businesses, think about what you’re doing to your employees. Think about whether you’re doing your part to slow a pandemic’s spread. If self-interest guides you, think about what your employees are telling others who might be looking for work, or what they’ll be motivated to do the second another job is available.
Think about how productive someone will be if they feel unsafe, and resent you.
We are one work week into our new reality under Kansas City’s shelter-in-place order. There are few certainties, lots of guesses, and the worries of what this is doing to our economy are real.
But if you are a boss or manager, all of that is happening whether your particular business stays open or not. Your decision could, however, determine whether your employees stay healthy and are able to help others do the same.
It’s a hard thing to do. But it should be an easy choice to make. Important, too. Do it before one of your employees turns you in, or worse.