Coronavirus - COVID-19

I think people acting normally is good really.
All the quarantines & lock downs have made sod all difference.

While, understandably, there are people worried or genuinely terrified I think it's quite good to have some distractions to try to stop those nerves jangling so much & take your mind off things a bit.

Using the various health departments' hand washing advice, you can now use any song of your choice as a gauge for appropriate washing duration

Here is an example

People thrive on this stuff and crave the drama and sense of danger. On some level, they want to be scared and in a tizzy. I think it makes a lot of people feel alive when their lives often feel really boring to them. It reminds me of Y2k all over again. The media is on cloud nine. At least until our tiny collective attention span is done and the next big thing comes along.

This. All of this! The Y2K analogy has struck me as well. Also, I lived in Florida for ten years (please don't hold that against me!). Every time there is a tropical storm out in the Atlantic, the media there begins whipping everyone into a frenzy about the hurricane that will surely, but ultimately never does, hit the state.

With the disclosure of three Ohioans testing positive for COVID-19 today, Ohio just declared a state of emergency. Necessary in order to secure funding, but frustrating that the terminology plays into the media's hype machine.

Absolutely not trying to minimize how scary this is for at-risk/high risk groups (my parents are in their late 70s/early 80s, and continuing to send positive thoughts to chuckrh ), but also need to remember to keep perspective and -- seriously! -- practice good hygiene.

My company just announced a mandatory business continuity event. 100% of technology employees are to work from home tomorrow. 50% of retail employees are to work from home for the next ten days while feathering in the remaining 50% over the coming weeks.

Strange times.

Agreed about the overreaction.

I work from home full time. Have for many years. There is a certain discipline required to WFH... But it's two sided. You have to be disciplined enough to do the work and not be distracted by the desire to go throw in a load of laundry or whatever, but you also have to be disciplined enough to walk away from the work at the end of the day. Like Mr. K, I find it's very easy to get lost in the work and work extended hours, but over the years I have found a balance that satisfies my work ethic and employer's expectations, and my work-life balance.

Now, for all these people who are entering a WFH scenario for the first time, I think productivity could potentially go down initially. Also, I am in no way a sports fan, but for decades it has been said that US workers productivity hits its all-time annual low during the US college basketball tournament (March Madness). The perfect storm of many first time WFH employees and March Madness does not bode well for US companies this month.



(Edited only for clarity.)