China Coronavirus

[J70]

Because we have to get back to normal. Why should shopkeepers, nurses, doctors & teachers have to go to work but you lazy feckers don't? People are happy to send their kids into packed schools but daren't dream about returning to their own workplaces. Scandalous. I thought we were all in this together. You are taking advantage of a global pandemic to suit your own lazy little needs. You should be ashamed.


Or at least, that's the type of shite other people had thrown at them when they raised back to work concerns.

That's an unbelievable statement. Who are the lazy feckers you're referring to?  There's any amount of evidence to demonstrate that people wfh are now more productive than when they were office based. What evidence do you have to support the lazy feckers argument?  What do you work at? Are you working from home? Are you a lazy fecker?

I thought you had turned a corner with the "late night" posts. Read the last line again. It may indicate that I don't actually believe the other stuff I wrote but was simply pointing out what bollix people were throwing about when others raised any concerns about returning to their workplaces.

im torn on the WFH thing, I've worked from home a few days the last few years and its never caused me a problem, in fact, an awful lot of jobs can be done from home with a phone and a laptop no bother, cuts down on a lot of headaches for parents with regards dropping kids to school etc in the mornings, throw them round to school and you're still ready to rock at the computer before 9. I think the issue is the knock on effect, the WFH works well for those who can, but what im seeing and hearing is big companies are planning to let people work from home, run down current leases on expensive city centre offices and going smaller, fair enough. the knock on of that is small shops, coffee shops etc who rely totally on the footfall then have their customer base wiped out. I dunno what the answer is but there's gonna be collateral damage after this and I just hope people who have to shut up shop are able to get jobs elsewhere.

It's also going to have a knock-on effect for workers themselves. Good luck as a young person starting out trying to make work connections and friends, and trying to impress the boss via email and Zoom. The in-person aspect of work life matters when it comes to careers and even social lives.

[imtommygunn]

On a different but kind of related note I often wonder how it is being single these days. I would imagine tinder/ grinder or whatever you are into doesn't work so well these days.

We have onboarded a few remotely and you have to feel for them that they will miss the social interactions. Actually met a guy who'd worked in the company 6 months when we went for a few, responsibly socially distanced obviously, pints the other week. Strange times.

[GetOverTheBar]

On a different but kind of related note I often wonder how it is being single these days. I would imagine tinder/ grinder or whatever you are into doesn't work so well these days.

We have onboarded a few remotely and you have to feel for them that they will miss the social interactions. Actually met a guy who'd worked in the company 6 months when we went for a few, responsibly socially distanced obviously, pints the other week. Strange times.

People adapt I suppose. I know a few fellas my own age that have picked themselves up women in the middle of this all...how that happened is a cause for speculation I suppose. I think we are being naive if we think closing the bars stopped that kind of thing.

On the working from home thing, I have been in the office the whole time myself but others I know that have been working from home have definitely changed, not in a positive way. Some of them I would worry about what goes on in their minds right now. Worrying times.

[tintin25]

I would say a lot of the sandwich shops will end up going. Coffee shops maybe too. West was the best place in Belfast city centre and is already gone which is a real pity. You'd have to imagine public transport will take a big hit too - sure who will go on a bus these days. It definitely will have a knock on but I guess more scope for other businesses elsewhere. I would say it will allow people to live in remoter areas rather than needing to live in a city too which would be a good thing.

I think places on the outskirts of Belfast can benefit, particularly those towns where a lot of people would have commuted from.  Why not invest in the likes of sandwich shops etc in these places.  It's great not having to endure the M1 journey from say Lisburn to Belfast these mornings the last few months.  I still think the office has a place and I'm not naïve in thinking that some companies will just allow people to WFH Mon - Friday 9 - 5, even a 3 day office week and 2 days WFH would be a flexible enough arrangement.  Companies need to evolve with the times, it'll be depressing having to go back to a full week in the office....it isn't school like!

Also, given we're are now in a recession, can't see people getting salary increases or that any time soon...again another argument they can make to WFH to compensate for same.

As for being single, sure it was nearly done all online anyway regardless if Covid had of happened or not lol

[Rossfan]

Not having thousands of cars and packed buses and trains piling in City Centres at the same time has to be a positive.
Can public and private organisations not provide some sort of "hubs" in various locations for those who can do all or most of their work in them?
Could be a great boon for a small town if even 30 or 40 people from the area were based there even 4 days a week rather than stuck in the middle of Dublin, Galway, Belfast or wherever.

[Rudi]

Not having thousands of cars and packed buses and trains piling in City Centres at the same time has to be a positive.
Can public and private organisations not provide some sort of "hubs" in various locations for those who can do all or most of their work in them?
Could be a great boon for a small town if even 30 or 40 people from the area were based there even 4 days a week rather than stuck in the middle of Dublin, Galway, Belfast or wherever.

I would see this as a major positive potential outcome of the remote working. It could keep some people working in the area they grew up & having a positive knock on effect for small local businesses, schools, clubs etc, whilst not putting a strain on large urban areas, housing, traffic management,  schools, healthcare etc.
Conversely J70 point about young ones building relationships with co workers is a valid point for mental wellbeing.

[thebigfella]

Not having thousands of cars and packed buses and trains piling in City Centres at the same time has to be a positive.
Can public and private organisations not provide some sort of "hubs" in various locations for those who can do all or most of their work in them?
Could be a great boon for a small town if even 30 or 40 people from the area were based there even 4 days a week rather than stuck in the middle of Dublin, Galway, Belfast or wherever.

That is what is starting to be discussed. Locations close to higher eduction campus's too so they can recruit graduates.

I'm not sure you'll see small towns benefit from opening hubs directly but more that they suddenly become commuter options for these hubs.

[GetOverTheBar]

This kinda flies in the face of what is being proposed for Belfast mind you?

45k square metres of office space - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54017655

[Rossfan]

Maybe the tide is going out on those kind of things?

Yes bigfella even if you only had regional hubs it would help keep people in rural areas e.g one in Longford would enable a lot of people in that County plus a lot of Ros, Leitrim and Cavan too to stay at home. With hubs rather than "WFH" there'd be a social element too.
By the way I see that Paul Reid the HSE CEO lives in Laythrum.

[Jeepers Creepers]

This kinda flies in the face of what is being proposed for Belfast mind you?

45k square metres of office space - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54017655

Belfast needs a serious residential injection if it is going to survive as a thriving city centre not more office space that no-one will want.

[Dougal Maguire]

Because we have to get back to normal. Why should shopkeepers, nurses, doctors & teachers have to go to work but you lazy feckers don't? People are happy to send their kids into packed schools but daren't dream about returning to their own workplaces. Scandalous. I thought we were all in this together. You are taking advantage of a global pandemic to suit your own lazy little needs. You should be ashamed.


Or at least, that's the type of shite other people had thrown at them when they raised back to work concerns.

That's an unbelievable statement. Who are the lazy feckers you're referring to?  There's any amount of evidence to demonstrate that people wfh are now more productive than when they were office based. What evidence do you have to support the lazy feckers argument?  What do you work at? Are you working from home? Are you a lazy fecker?

I thought you had turned a corner with the "late night" posts. Read the last line again. It may indicate that I don't actually believe the other stuff I wrote but was simply pointing out what bollix people were throwing about when others raised any concerns about returning to their workplaces.

Aw come on now, it wasn't that late! I didn't read the last lime at all hence my misunderstanding of your post. Sorry about that. As the man himself would say 'I stand corrected'

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/now-for-the-tricky-bit-we-need-to-move-from-a-state-of-fear-to-being-cautious-1.4346915?mode=amp

Shortall set out three ways the Government "is not playing its part – the need to honour its commitment to ensure we have an effective testing and tracing system in place; to ensure we have proper controls at our airports and ports; and to ensure that open information and data are made available, and that they would drive the policy in this area".

Ireland's response to Covid-19 was forged, understandably, in a time of crisis. Six months on, we still have a patchwork of regulations, guidance notes and laws that are often mutually inconsistent or lack a clear evidence-based rationale. This was clear during the controversy over Phil Hogan's involvement in the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner, and the inconsistencies also featured in the kickback in Kildare over local restrictions imposed on the county.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has been clear in fulfilling its public health remit but, above them, the co-ordination of actions has been haphazard, particularly since the change of government.

This matters, because the actions needed to stem the outbreak impinge on so many areas of life, and involve multiple Government departments and agencies. It is hard to think of a single decision on Covid-19 that the Government has made so far that wasn't just a rubber-stamping of NPHET's recommendations.

[Cunny Funt]

My weekly update.

Cases in the ROI this week - 921 (114 more than last week but a lot more testing done)
Deaths reported - 1 (that death happened in June)

[highorlow]

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/health-54000629

[GetOverTheBar]

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/health-54000629

Something I've long thought is happening.