Thread regarding Honeywell International Inc. layoffs

Google, Amazon, Zillow, announcing work from home through 2020.

1iys,
The virus spreads because of human contacts!!!! Policies can affect (unfortunately strongly) how humans get in contact (or not) with each other.

What is bad here is that companies or governments are able to instill wrong behaviors by requiring people to make "impossible" decisions: either you lose your income or you get sick (and risk to die or see your loves one to die). A great company/country should not put you in such a position. It should be able to change policies so that it minimises such situations. In our case it boils dow to the fact that if you can work from home without disruption then please do: you will be safe an have a job (since you still work) and you will reduce the number of people in a site where there will be others that must go in as they cannot perform job at home.

For once this choice is not that difficult and achieves a lot of benefits for all.

It is not the game of who is less chicken, it is then game of who is smart and thoughtful!!!

1jxu,

COVID-19 spread because it's a contagious human disease. Not because of the actions of the government or lack thereof. I'm not going to get tested for coronavirus because of your fear. If I show symptoms, then I'll get tested. My rights outrank your fear. We're all going to be exposed to this no matter what we do. And we're going to be fine. I refuse to be held captive to fear and what might happen. We can't afford it any longer. In the next for weeks, there won't be an economy or jobs to return to at this rate.

Or, get this, Honeywell could do the right thing by employees and continue to allow those who can wfh to continue doing so instead of sticking with some draconian wfh policy based on whatever flawed principle or collaboration excuse they choose to use. We all know not allowing wfh has nothing to do with collaboration and more to do with having employees within physical view of managers to be micro-managed for “productivity”.

If you are scared to go back to work, you can always exercise your God-given right and quit!!

My fear (most likely well-founded) is that the Honeywell sites will re-open with the bare minimum precautions taken to ensure employee safety. The virus spread in the U.S. largely because the government did not implement aggressive testing and contact tracing protocols. The company should be actively taking all steps to ensure employee safety and have so far failed to communicate a thorough plan. Without testing and contact tracing their plans are clearly not sufficient. It is a shame (closer to an actual crime) that the federal government is now considering giving corporations blanket immunity to employee lawsuits over covid-19. This would be certainly throwing workers under the corporate bus. Here is rough outline of what I would consider a sensible re-opening plan (feel free to add suggestions)

WFH Policy

All workers that can effectively work from home should be allowed to continue working from home. This is obvious. It is infuriating that the company is risking lives for the sake of principle on this particular issue.

PPE

Face masks should be required for all employees (preferably Honeywell manufactured N95 masks) at all times. Hand sanitizer should be made widely available. Glove should be provided where required.

Social Distancing

Social distancing guidelines should be strictly adhered to. Meetings should be entirely online.

Testing

Everyone should be tested before being allowed to come back to work. Honeywell should seriously consider maintaining their own testing labs (along the plans of Amazon). In order to recoup costs, they might be able to offer this service to other companies if feasible.

Daily temperature screening at building entrances should be maintained.

Contact Tracing

Thorough contact tracing must be enforced. All employees should maintain a daily log of their physical contacts. Preferably this should be done with a software application. Relying solely on memory is foolish. If an employee tests positive, all relevant contacts need to be tested promptly and placed under self-quarantine until negative test results are obtained.

Facilities

All buildings should have their HVAC infrastructure reviewed for possible impact on virus transmission via air circulation. Remediation plans should be implemented as required.

The cafeteria should remain closed initially. It can be gradually reopened depending on the results of the containment effort.

Some type of restroom plan needs to be developed. Employees should be encouraged to avoid restrooms where feasible.

While those HHS criminals theorized about the potential catastrophic effects of a rushed opening, they were completely oblivious to (or didn’t care to contemplate) the actual (100x) catastrophe that had already occurred by shutting down the economy. When you are a Globalist Party member, Government Apparatchik, or even an acolyte in the Nomenklatura class, life it good; for the rest of us Proletariat - not so much.

What small business are smart enough to do, but a large global company leadership is too ignorant to mandate:
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Anyone entering the office (regardless of symptoms) is expected to wear a mask or face covering. Bandanas or handmade masks are acceptable. All Staff will be wearing facial masks as well.
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I work in ISC. I would estimate 3/4th of all the requests for action/assistance/issues I get come from lands far far away - India, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Singapore, China, England. Pretty much 24/7 emails coming in. I definitely don't need to be in the office.

Glassdoor is largely regarded as a joke as a source for reliable information. Many of the aerospace and defence companies are posting fake reviews praising the company and its management. There is no moderation on the part of Glassdoor to remove this promotional garbage. However, most of it is very obvious to anyone with a modicum of intelligence, and serves as red flag as regards the lack of ethics of a company that would engage of this.

Much like they monitor Glassdoor and solicit positive reviews from new, young employees. Anything to preserve the corporate image.

They also appear to monitor this site and vote down critical comments!

Also requires Honeywell to trust and value employees. Definitely difficult stuff for a company like Honeywell. I know with certainty that my manager and HR regularly listen to/read all of my communication, probably more now that we are working from home. In addition to keystroke monitoring and other surveillance measures intended to track productivity. I also suspect they are listening to private conversations inside my home, based on things repeated to me. Pretty awful feeling thinking and knowing that your employer doesn’t respect your right to privacy. This from a strong employee with no pip or other disciplinary actions on record. I have no expectation of privacy on my work laptop, but I certainly do in my home. This company is highly unethical in its treatment of suppliers and employees, but expects integrity and ethical compliance from employees and suppliers.

Um...how is that different from office work when your boss is in a timezone 13hrs different ftom yours? Unless you are a manufacturing employee all work is remote..puntuated by the occasional need to touch something like new hardware...oh wait ..we are a software company.

I am more productive working from home. Not as many distractions!!!

Remote work requires planning, scheduling, knowing exactly who is doing what and assigning tasks accordingly. Difficult stuff.