The below post is taken from the Video Blog, the Subject Matter Minute. If it’s a little hard to read, it’s because it’s taken from the spoken word. You can view the episode on YouTube if you would like. Find it here: Episode #35 -Covid-19 Episode #1 – Teleworking & The CDC
If YouTube is blocked for you or your agency, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to view it from Google Drive. (I would prefer you view on YouTube, so I know how many people have watched)
You can also listen to an audio version.
Hello everyone! And welcome to my world. Most of you are probably teleworking today. Welcome to the other side. I’m in full Covid apparel today. Not pretending by wearing a collared shirt. I mean, c’mon, I don’t wear a collared shirt when working at home. I get comfortable! Granted, many of you guys have it different from the “normal” teleworker in that your family may be around you. Normally, it’s very quiet for the teleworker, and honestly, I think we get more done. But, I’m going to have another episode, maybe next week, about the ins and outs of teleworking. Today, I want to talk about the Governor’s policy on teleworking that he put out this morning, as well as guide you to the CDC website and cover some important info on there.
First of all, as we’ve all been talking about, this is a new experience for everyone. And it’s going to be really hard for a ton of people. Us included. My wife has been laid off, as I’m sure a lot of spouses/family members have been for you all. It could be brutal.
And, actually, I should be vacationing right now. It’s “spring break” in Laramie, and we had a vacation planned in Phoenix. Well, since things were pretty unclear at the end of the week last week, we decided to go. So we drove Saturday and Sunday… stayed at a hotel in Albuquerque, where the front desk person made her conspiracy theory opinion very clear to me. Monday was a beautiful 75-degree day, so we hit the pool. Yes, we were starting to feel like we were part of the problem. Halfway through the day, they started removing chairs and barstools, and we thought, yeah, good idea. We spent the day at the pool and it was fabulous. The next morning, Tuesday, we got the email that the pool was closed. Then later, another that everything was closed. So no pickleball, cornhole, ping-pong, or anything. Then we heard that there was a storm coming into southeast Wyoming Wednesday evening. So, we had to either drive the whole way back on Wednesday or stay through the weekend with very little to do, and with the possibility of being told to leave.
So, we drove home Wednesday and got between Cheyenne and Laramie just as the storm hit. We thought we were going to die. Literally. It was the most terrifying drive I’ve ever experienced, and as a Wyoming native, that’s saying something. We finally got behind a semi and everyone stopped crying and we made it home.
Now here we are…… There is no more leaving.
Alright, let’s get to it… If you have been ignoring the emails from the Governor, you probably should go back and read them. As I mentioned, there was one this morning that “loosened” the rules on teleworking so that most of us can now do it. Obviously, there are people who can’t do what they do from a computer, and those folks have to decide as an agency who will work when.
Since we are keeping all State offices open, your office needs to work out some sort of in-office rotation. There are 3 folks that work in the HRD main office and they are rotating by the week. There should also be disinfecting protocols going on between rotations.
The governor’s directive is this: agency directors should use their best efforts to permit telework for as many employees as possible taking into account the ability of the employees to work remotely and the requirement that State offices remain open. Some employees may be asked to work some shifts in the office and some shifts through telework, in order to minimize contacts between employees while also ensuring that essential onsite functions continue to be performed. Ok? So work it out in your division.
Now I want to take you to some good information. Now, in theory, we are all informed, but to be honest, this was the first time that I had made it to the CDC website. I was relying on the second by second updates from my wife who apparently was getting it all from Facebook. Now, really, we all need to stop getting our information from Facebook. Now.
Let’s go to the site. There is a ton of info here, so please read through it. I’m going to show you 3 pages that I find interesting.
If you head on over to the cdc.gov page you will be able to find the coronavirus section very easily, on the front page. Let’s click on it. This is the coronavirus page. There’s a ton of good information.
First of all, let’s look at how to protect yourself since that’s exactly what we are all doing right now. This is good. Read through it. Obviously, stay away from sick folks… in fact, we have to stay away from everyone right. Steps to protect yourself… clean your hands often, avoid close contact with folks. Steps to protect others… this is good stuff. Stay home if you’re sick, cover coughs and sneezes. Here’s an important one… wear a face mask if you are sick… if you’re not sick, do not wear a face mask unless you’re caring for someone who is sick. Face masks are in short supply. Then, of course, cleaning and disinfecting. Ways to make your own stuff, because I know there’s a shortage of a lot of this stuff. What you need to know about hand-washing video down at the bottom.
I’m gonna go back… next, I want to show you this button. These two up here at the top I think are the best. If you think you are sick stay home, okay, except to get medical care if you get to that point. Separate yourself from other people in your home if they aren’t sick and you are. Try not to get everyone sick. Call ahead before visiting your doctor. Again, wear a face mask if you are sick. Cover your coughs and sneezes. Clean your hands often. Avoid sharing personal household items, and clean all high touch surfaces every day. And monitor your symptoms.
So those are two very good pages now I want to take you to one more because there are some helpful things here if you go to the symptoms page. First of all, know the symptoms… fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Okay? If you have the sniffles, you do not have Covid-19.
If you go down here there are a couple of nice things, especially if you’re gonna be in the office and feel like these should be hung up. There’s a couple of flyers… one is the symptoms of coronavirus disease, and it tells you to go in when you have these. And the other one is how to stop the spread of germs. A nice flyer printable flyer.
Okay, that’s it for today. There’s probably gonna be a few extra subject matter minutes dealing with issues related to the Covid-19 problem. Again, I want to welcome all you new teleworkers! Do us good… get your work done. I know you will… state employees take their jobs seriously, and like I say, you’ll get more done. Well, you would if your whole family wasn’t around, but you will still get work done. Welcome to comfort and the ability to see your family at breaks… it’s a good deal. I’ll see you next time.