Another Shift

Change in the workplace

Hey everyone, I’m Dom. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you are doing well. I’m good!…Thank you for asking! What times we live in. So many changes and adjustments. And a lot of time on our hands. Need to talk about it….me too. Let’s grab a snack, a cool drink, and chat. First up….

Story Time

In 2001, I was in the spare room of my parent’s home in a quiet neighborhood in the town I grew up in. I had stayed over the night before to study for an upcoming exam. As I turned on the tv, I rolled out of bed for my first class of the day. It was around half past seven in the morning. It was my junior year of college, and I had finally fallen into a routine. I watched the early morning broadcast of the “Today Show”. As my eyes lazily looked at the television, and my mind half focused on what was going on, I watched as a plane dipped toward the New York City skyline and collided with the first tower. As my attention focused, the thought entered my still half sleepy twenty-year-old brain… “this is a terrible movie trailer, they’re only giving people ideas.” Then the realization that I was still watching the “Today Show” washed over me. They were not at commercial break; I was not watching a movie trailer. This was live. Happening right now.

I realize now looking back, growing up in the United States in the 80’s and 90’s, I had never been placed in the position of even considering that something of that scale could happen on American soil. I had only experienced scenes like that on the news; happening in other places. Or in movies. Far from any place that felt real to me. I grew up during the era of watching news reports on “The Gulf War” and The Civil Wars in Africa. While those stories on the news always made me nervous or emotional, they still always felt far away. In a single event that all changed. Even though I had no previous experience having to process what was going on, I somehow knew things were going to be different. I do not remember walking down the stairs that morning, or even the drive to campus. What I remember next is everyone gathered around the televisions in the lounge area outside of the classrooms. Usually full of noise and chatter, silent. Everyone in disbelief, some in tears. No one said a word, but we all knew it would be different, and it was.

It has been almost twenty years since that devastating day, and once again we are making another shift. For me, this shift is about how I go about doing my job.

Another Shift

In 2018, after a myriad of jobs and career paths, I got my CDL and became a seasonal city bus driver. I had never done work like this before. Getting use to driving up to ten hours in a workday was difficult, but eventually I got to the point where there were days when I hardly noticed. Being a seasonal driver means that I was only under contract for a specific period; anywhere from six to eight months. After my contract ended, I was off looking for my next gig in a different city. Between seasons, I usually took a mini vacation to decompress, and start fresh on my next assignment.

In January/February of this year, news agencies began broadcasting news about a new virus. I was at work in the break room when I first began to hear more about what was happening. To be honest, I didn’t really know what to think at first. These stories were coming at a time where fear tactics and half-truths were, and are, rampant in the news. Where our government releases information that is changed or revealed as false the following day. So, I took it with a grain of salt. Then I realized how many of my co-workers had begun to get sick. How I had just gotten back to work after being out sick for a week with symptoms that almost sent me to the hospital. Then came more stories and reports.

In mid March, a local paper released news that there had been groups of tourists who had visited ski resorts over the winter and had gone home and been hospitalized for covid-19. Some unfortunately succumbed to the virus. Tourists from all over the world visit resort communities during a ski season, and many of them take public transportation to and from the mountain. I will not get into the specifics, but my co-workers and I had been exposed early.

Needless to say, ski resorts shutdown early last season. And transit companies all over the country did an overhaul of how operations would move forward amidst this pandemic. The way we worked would change. And it would be very visible to anyone who stepped onto a city bus post lock-down.

Pre-covid, I would arrive at work an hour before I was due to depart. That would give me time to place my belongings in my locker, pre-trip my bus, make a cup of coffee, and chat a little with the other drivers. It was a nice start to my day. Now, I arrive with just enough time to fill out a symptom sheet, and pre-trip before I head out on my route. Any drink, I bring along with me, and unnecessary chatter is kept to a minimum to reduce any possibility of infecting others if we are asymptomatic. Face masks must be worn at all times; in facility and during driving.

Passengers are also affected by new safety measures in place. Before, as a passenger boarded the bus, they were met with face to face interaction with the driver. These interactions allowed the driver to greet new passengers and say hello to the passengers we get to know. Fast forward from the beginning of the year. In my location, as passengers board the bus, for the moment, they must enter and exit through the rear door (until Plexiglas barriers are installed between the driver and passengers boarding), and face masks must be worn. Sanitizer is posted at the entrance/exit, and I personally spray and wipe down the hard surfaces in my assigned bus between loops. We also are currently only allowing fifteen passengers on at one time to comply with social distancing rules.

So much of this feels foreign. But I think what is most off-putting about it all for me is the lack of personal interaction. Not only for me, but with everyone. Not being able to greet someone face to face. Not being able to see a person’s facial expression, or follow through on a joke with a faraway smile. For anyone who follows visual social cues, facial expressions help drive a conversation. For me personally, there are days when I honestly do not see the point in looking at someone when they are speaking to me; because I can listen and respond without making eye contact. But I do… because manners. Such a strange mental state to drift into.

At the end of all of this. When a successful vaccine has been developed and given to the general population. When cases and fatalities have fallen significantly, and social distancing rules are relaxed, spending time with friends and family is at the top of my list of things to jump back into; as I am sure it is for most of us. But as far as work is concerned, what I am looking forward to seeing a bus full of people engaging in various topics of conversations. Randoms strangers brought together for minutes at a time laughing together. Or to greet someone getting onto my bus with a smile. That will be a joyfully treasured shift that is gratefully welcomed back.