Workers are brutally thrown against the wall over-and-over again with little to no opportunity to catch their breath and tend to their battered bodies under the unapologetic reign of the coronavirus.

  • Fear of public transportation
  • Anxiety of groups
  • Aversion to anything involving the close proximity to others
  • Overwhelmed with the technology needed to work remotely
  • Low-wage and hourly workers earning less of a paycheck or no paycheck at all
  • And more

The mental exhaustion the coronavirus winds rain down spiral until they become so violent that as soon as they absorb the heat and intensity of emotional and financial fears, one person after another is thrown into the eye of the storm.

This piece is dedicated to the laborers.

Russian Roulette or Foreclosure

Some, like store employees and medical personnel, are forced to play Russian Roulette, praying they beat the odds as they do the opposite of what governors and the president of the United States advise in an effort to keep their communities fed, cared for, and healthy. And then there are those on the other end of the spectrum who are forced to abandon work and pay their bills will little to no savings. Finally, there are those in-between who work as well as they can remotely and even though they struggle to adapt and maintain productivity, they are grateful to financially stay afloat.

The mental and emotional stress of playing Russian Roulette with the virus in order to keep a job and the financial stress with not even being allowed to play the game in the first place, and as a result being unable to pay bills, cannot be understated or underestimated.

Relief Is Coming

Head up and shoulders back because you are seen. The wisest and most empathetic companies are working on contingency plans and relief for your mental, emotional, and financial anguish.

From President Donald Trump signing the largest emergency relief bill in American history, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (C.A.R.E.S. Act), to Walmart announcing that “employees who contract the virus will receive up to two weeks of pay” and “… after two weeks, hourly associates who aren’t able to return to work are eligible for up to 26 weeks of pay,” employers and those with the power to enact change are trying to do just that.

Even though it’s hard to see the light of others while you’re cloaked in the darkness of your worries and fears, rest assured that light is present and it’s growing. Do. Not. Give. Up. Hope.

PSA to Employers: Relief is not coming fast enough

The issue is that change is not always delivered as quickly as needed. According to ABC News, “roughly 33.6 million people, or 24% of U.S. civilian workers, do not have access to paid sick leave, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The access rate to medical care benefits for part-time workers was 22% according to a 2019 report.” Although the C.A.R.E.S. Act and efforts from Walmart and others is absolutely better than nothing and will soften the blow of the coronavirus, the blow will still be devastating for a large percentage of the population. To use a boxing analogy, efforts like the C.A.R.E.S. Act slip a glove over the fist of the opponent, but the fierceness and pain of the opponent’s swift upper-cut is still coming.

If you are reading this and are in a position to help those in the eye of the coronavirus storm, remember what former president Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” And I might add, be incredibly honest about what you have to give (time, advice, finances, etc.) and then give generously… give as if someone else’s life depends on it because that’s exactly what the case may be.

Author: Evelyn Lindell