When Your Boss Thinks COVID is a Hoax

[RockyTopVol]

I lost my job in June (because of COVID) and was without good work for several months. Luckily, I was able to start a new position a few weeks ago. I was thrilled to get the job because it's a financial lifesaver just in time for Christmas. Also, they gave me a big title so it could be a great resume builder. 

I should have known something was fishy when I showed up for my interview, and the COO referenced "the China virus" three times, and he wasn't wearing a mask. Now I'm in the thick of things, and we'll sometimes have as many as 60 people in a small room for a weekly meeting, and only one other person (besides me) wears a mask. I tried to bring it up to the HR person, and she laughed me off. She said, "you can wear one of those if you want to, I guess." I then slid it into a conversation with the CEO and he said, "we believe that GOD will protect us. That's why we pray together in all of our meetings." The prayers are another uncomfortable thing. This is a company that has nothing to do with religion...or politics. Still, my first week was just after Biden had given his acceptance speech, so the joint company prayer touched on the election. The prayer actually included, "please be with President Trump and help them as they continue to look for evidence of voter fraud this week." The one other guy that wears a mask stood up to add something to the prayer request last week, and the COO laughed and said, "I just can't take you seriously when you're wearing that thing." 

My mother has Lupus and I have to see her because she watches my baby two days a week. I don't want to get black-balled at this company so early in my tenure, but the way the office is run really makes me uncomfortable. Still, being unemployed makes me even more uncomfortable. 

Just wondering if anyone else had experienced a workplace setting like this. 

[Paa Langfart]

I feel for you.  I would be looking very hard for other employment were I you.

[Anybodyhome]

I would have been canned within a week.

Your situation, I sincerely hope, is not normal corporate America. If it is, we're all fugged. 

[Ja Rhule]

27 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

I would have been canned within a week.

Your situation, I sincerely hope, is not normal corporate America. If it is, we're all fugged. 

Sounds like a small private company with ignorant CEO.  Also likely does not have infrastructure for employees to work remotely.

[RockyTopVol]

It is a big real estate company with over 40 agents. They serve a good portion of East Tennessee. 
To illustrate how stressed out I have been, the Friday of my very first week there I gave myself an ocular migraine. Thought I was having a stroke. 
They hired me to handle all of their marketing but I can already tell they won’t like some of my suggestions. They want me to shoot video of the Christmas party next week and share it to “humanize” the company. Marketing and PR wise, that is a bad idea right now. Very tone deaf considering the current climate. 

[LinvilleGorge]

Sucks. You're obviously a bad cultural fit. Wear an N95 keep job searching as if you were currently unemployed. In the meantime, just keep your head down and keep quiet. You're not going to change them.

[LinvilleGorge]

Most importantly, if they demand to do stuff that is tone deaf and will hurt them please oblige them. Stupidity should be financially painful.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

8 hours ago, Ja Rhule said:

Sounds like a small private company with ignorant CEO.  Also likely does not have infrastructure for employees to work remotely.

what infrastructure would that be? having internet access? lol

[Inimicus]

1 hour ago, R0CKnR0LLA said:

what infrastructure would that be? having internet access? lol

Not that Im anxious to be on the same side of an argument as Ja but there's a little bit more to enabling a remote workforce than that.

 

 

 

 

[R0CKnR0LLA]

3 minutes ago, Inimicus said:

Not that Im anxious to be on the same side of an argument as Ja but there's a little bit more to enabling a remote workforce than that.

 

 

 

 

depends on the business i guess. I use remote workers in my business with nothing more than them having internet and a PC

[Inimicus]

1 minute ago, R0CKnR0LLA said:

depends on the business i guess. I use remote workers in my business with nothing more than them having internet and a PC

Not doubting your circumstances or second guessing your methods at all.

 

My experience as a CTO/CIO over my last two gigs has made me put a lot of effort into things a simple as enforcing password requirements and endpoint hardening for machines that don't belong to the AD but connect to the VPN.  When you get into collaboration platforms, cloud based file sharing within the org and with clients, and DevOps pipelines/workflows it gets a lot deeper than just making sure everyone has broadband.

[cookinwithgas]

Just you wearing a mask is only half as effective as you and the person next to you wearing a mask. If you are in contact with your mother it is not worth the risk. I have friends that are completely woke on the subject and wear masks all the time, but occasionally go out, and got it anyways. Its worse now than it's ever been. These people are crazy and dumb.

[LinvilleGorge]

20 minutes ago, cookinwithgas said:

Just you wearing a mask is only half as effective as you and the person next to you wearing a mask. If you are in contact with your mother it is not worth the risk. I have friends that are completely woke on the subject and wear masks all the time, but occasionally go out, and got it anyways. Its worse now than it's ever been. These people are crazy and dumb.

That's easy to say in a vacuum. But without knowing someone's situation it's impossible to say. There are a lot of people in desperate financial situations right now.

[RockyTopVol]

1 hour ago, LinvilleGorge said:

That's easy to say in a vacuum. But without knowing someone's situation it's impossible to say. There are a lot of people in desperate financial situations right now.

Exactly! That is what makes this so difficult. I am grateful for the work, and the job itself isn’t bad. I just wish the atmosphere was different. I do wear a mask and stay away from my mother when I drop the baby off, but who really knows how effective we are being…