Do We Really Understand What Essential Workers Go Through Daily?

 I was introduced to a new line of thinking about the frontline workers, me being one of them in the federal description of the term. I have an issue with this description for many reasons, but when looking at the medical workers, I think most people haven't realized what they are going through. The dashboard for the provincial Covid-19 cases currently states that 79 cases are in hospital and 33 cases in the ICU, in British Columbia. With that note, there are hundreds of open beds in hospitals awaiting more patients with the virus, but people waiting for surgeries are not allowed to utilize these openings, yet. Some people I have spoken with have said that these hospital medical staff couldn't be overworked with the small number of people in the hospital with the virus. I doubt they understand the work that goes into working with patients with Covid-19. 

From what I have read each patient in the ICU gets their own specific team: nurses, doctors, specialists, cleaning crew. Remember the patient isn't allowed visitors, regardless of the relation to them, and the "team" becomes their family. Day and night, this one patient has a new group of people caring for them for the time they are in the ICU. There is very little personal time with the patient if a ventilator is keeping the patient breathing, as sedation puts the patient in a coma for the time being. When the patient comes off the ventilator, the family still isn't there and the first people the patient sees is the "team". This is what I have seen on many sites from many cities in North America.

Imagine being part of that "team". Once you are assigned, you are with this patient from admitting to discharge. What you do as his or her "family" keeps this person alive. The patient looks at you, well your eyes, seeing a whole world of emotions through them, while the rest of you is covered from head to toe in protective gear: masks, gloves, clear visor, gowns, booties. All your patient sees is your eyes. The "team" has to support the patient medically, emotionally, psychologically, and physically while the family members cannot. This can and is taking a toll on each member of the "team". Imagine how exhausting this can be, knowing that each team member has family and friends that are missing them. Many frontline workers don't go home, fearing the chance of shedding the virus to their family. Imagine giving up your loved ones to help total strangers, from sickness to health. It takes a special type of person the enter the medical field, one that gives up their life for others.

So when someone says to you that we should open up the economy and get the world going again, ask them if they really mean it? Do they go out on their balconies, yards, window sills, and bang pots and applaud for the health care workers? Do they really understand the stress and toll on their lives this virus has added to their mental health? Do we all really want to overwhelm the hospitals again with new cases because we all need haircuts, need new shoes, need to have a beer with friends? Don't you think they want everything to go back to normal too? I want the world to look at frontline workers and be mindblown. Essential workers are named that for a reason, so treat them as such.

I am considered an essential worker, cooking food for people at UBC. I have always said that my industry will never go down because everyone needs to eat, and people are social so they eat together. People are also lazy and don't cook for themselves. Well, this virus has introduced people to their kitchens again. We all know that once the state of emergency is over EVERYONE will go out and meet friends and family, but will it continue after all of the sparkles are gone and our wallets empty again? Will the restaurants and bars, department stores and malls, theatres and art galleries, all be as busy as they were before Covid-19? We are all quite capable of cooking, as my favourite Aussie has shown us on Facebook videos. We can all shop online, have groceries delivered, bank online, even talk to a doctor. Why would we assume that the world would be exactly the same as before?

Working in the food industry, I subject myself to other cooks in a kitchen, with whom I have no idea what they do outside of work. I travel on transit with other commuters and have no idea whether they spent time with their friends at a party or whatever, without practicing physical distancing. I am at risk every day in comparison to people who are not working and self-isolating. I don't have the pleasure of having a plexiglass wall between me and the cook next to me. Yes, we wear gloves of course, and as a cook, our sterilization techniques would put your kitchen's cleanliness to shame, but the industry always has the smallest working quarters. Similarly, the food production lines have shown us that cramped workspaces increases the chances of getting Covid-19. Look at the poultry processing plants that have most of the virus cases currently. 

I am hoping changes happen before we all go back to work. I am lucky to be in a union, where calling in sick is not shunned unless you abuse it. Most people don't work for a union, and they can't afford to miss work because of a cough, sniffle, fever, etc. Essential workers are not only working through this state of emergency but they are the lowest-paid employees anywhere in the world. With that, we are also the least respected and treated like trash most of the time. We take all of the stress from our job, and the stress of the people we serve, daily, and owners constantly look to save a buck by keeping the business understaffed, while the customer is "always right". The service industry is "the help" and not to be treated like "normal people", and this must be changed throughout the world. Just because everyone is cooking their own food, and treating the local cashier with respect right now, doesn't mean tomorrow we will see the inside of the trash can again, when everyone is back to their ego-built bubble. Proper wages, sick days, proper staffing levels, better working quarters, less over-time...all of this needs to be implemented. Respect starts with the employer, and the federal government needs to give the employers the tools to give that respect. Taxing needs to be lowered perhaps....I'm not a politician.

If the economy needs to start up again, wallets need to open, but those workers need the respect before going back to work. The ones that have been working need a paid break too. Many people laid off have been getting money from the CERB and other government funds. They are not working and not risking their health, but still getting paid. Some unions, like mine, are still paying their staff that normally would be working, while I am still working, risking my health commuting and working with people outside my social pool. People who are working should be getting danger pay, in my opinion, but I'm just happy I can still pay rent and put food on my plate.

In the end, let's slow down on the need to open up the economy. We don't want to go backwards and overwhelm the essential workers again. Everyone is slowly figuring out how to use different ways to communicate, let's keep it up!